A brief history of the College

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College past

The present Hall (the main building of the College), which was designed by the famous Scottish architect William Burn, was built in 1845 for local wealthy landowner Sir Christopher Turnor

The College was opened in 1949 as the Training College of Kesteven Education Authority and continued as a teacher training establishment for almost 30 years, until it’s final closure in 1978

Originally known as Kesteven Training College and latterly as Kesteven College of Education, this Victorian country mansion and associated grounds are now owned by the NUT and the estate is run by Stoke Rochford Management Ltd on their behalf

The following sections are copied directly from the Kesteven Training College prospectus - do you remember it?

You can view a full copy of the College prospectus (pdf 2.03 Mb), if you’d like to take a trip down memory lane

The College
The College, which provides places for 265 men and women students, was opened in 1949 as the Training College of Kesteven Education Authority. It is situated at Stoke Rochford, a mansion standing in 37 acres of park and woodland five miles south of Grantham on the Great North Road. The present Hall, which is the main building of the College, dates from 1845, but a succession of houses is known to have been built on the site from Roman times.
In the 15th century, the Stoke estates acquired their present name when they passed into the hands of Sir Ralph de Rochfort. Then in 1637, they passed, by marriage, to Sir Edmund Turnor in whose family they have remained ever since. In its more recent history the house gave shelter to Belgian refugees during the first world war, and in the last war it was occupied by officers and men of the Parachute Regiment as they prepared to take part in the Battle of Arnhem.

Student life
A modern hostel block a few hundred yards from the Hall provides accommodation for well over a hundred students in well-appointed study-bedrooms, and a further hostel in the nearby village of Buckminster provides accommodation for about 60 men students. The Hall itself, while housing lecture rooms, dining rooms, students’ lounges, the library and administrative offices, also finds room for a further seventy students. A number of men students live in approved lodgings in Grantham and travel daily by a College-run bus.
The corporate life of the College is organised through a Students’ Union with its own President and senior members - all elected by the student body. The many social and cultural societies with their own constitutions, exist within the framework of the Union. The Sports clubs, which are entirely run by the students themselves, give plenty of opportunity for students to meet their contemporaries from other Colleges and Universities in the area.
A short non-denominational service is held on each weekday, and on Sundays transport to Grantham is provided for those students wishing to attend services there.
The College Nurse cares for the health of the student community and the Medical Officer makes regular routine visits.

Now who said that nostalgia was a thing of the past?

If you would like to read a much more in-depth and detailed treatment of the history of Stoke Rochford Hall, perhaps you would like to take a look at A Short History of Stoke Rochford Hall (pdf 337 kb), which was principally prepared by the late Terence R Leach, Vice Chairman of the Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology