A history of De Montfort University

De Montfort University’s story begins in a disused warehouse in the centre of Leicester, where the first students of Leicester School of Art took their classes in 1870.

In the same year, the Reverend James Went began to teach a series of technical classes at the nearby Wyggeston Boys School. Demand for lessons was so high that the Leicester School of Technology was founded in 1882.

These two institutions are the seeds from which DMU has grown. They provided training for the technical workers of industries based in the city and the classes were immediately popular.

Both schools moved to the current campus in 1897 when a new building was opened on the Newarke to enable them to share premises. The building, which was extended twice in the early years of the 20th century, is still a central part of the DMU campus, known as the Hawthorn Building.

20th century

By the 1930s, the schools had been renamed the Leicester Colleges of Art and Technology, and art students were invited to help with a spectacular event that took place in 1932. The Pageant of Leicester was a celebration of the city’s history, involving a procession that snaked its way through city centre streets, past the college building on the Newarke and ending at Abbey Park. Students and staff made the costumes, props and scenery used to depict key scenes in Leicester’s history, from its founding as a village to the opening of Abbey Park in 1882.

During World War 2, students had to bring a gas mask to lessons, which were often interrupted by air raid sirens. A report from the time says many staff and students kept their sandwiches in the gas mask cases.

In 1946, a major step towards the modern era of higher education took place when the university bought three houses ‘for the provision of hostels for men and women students’. The houses would be the institution’s first student accommodation.

Modern era

The campus changed considerably in the 60s and 70s. The Fletcher Building was opened by the Queen Mother in 1966; it was joined a few years later by the James Went Building, known informally as the barcode building because of its unusual windows. The building was demolished in 2004.

The institution became Leicester Polytechnic in 1969 and expanded greatly during this period of its history. A former factory was converted into the Clephan Building and Scraptoft Teacher Training College merged with the polytechnic to create DMU’s former Scraptoft Campus.

The polytechnic was established as a corporation in 1989, but the most significant change came in 1992 when Leicester Polytechnic was awarded university status and became De Montfort University.

That year, Milton Keynes Campus was opened by the queen, and further expansion took place in 1994, as DMU merged with Lincolnshire College of Art and Design, Lincolnshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture and Bedford College of Higher Education. 

Charles Frears

The Charles Frears Campus was formed in 1995, following a merger with Charles Frears College of Nursing and Midwifery.

Charles Frears was originally a private house belonging to a respected member of Leicester society in the mid to late 1800s. The house was sold to the Bishop of Leicester and after his death in 1946 it passed to Leicester Royal Infirmary so that it could be used to train medical staff.

Nursing and midwifery training moved to the Edith Murphy Building in 2011, but the historic building and its picturesque surroundings remain a London Road landmark.

A new century

The last decade has seen many changes at DMU, including the transfer of courses and facilities at Lincoln and Bedford to institutions local to those campuses, and the consolidation of the university onto the main campus in Leicester city centre.

Recent years have seen the opening of significant new buildings that enhance DMU’s modern, state-of-the-art facilities, including the Campus Centre, the PACE Building and the Hugh Aston Building.

While the future is unknown, DMU's strategic plan and the dynamic leadership of the vice chancellor and the Executive Board mean that exciting times are ahead for De Montfort University.