Royal Holloway didn’t have a separate Student Union building until 1965. The first SU was located in the bungalow with an adjoining building, both of which were demolished to make way for the Davison building. The Union was the first place to sell alcohol on campus and was opened in the same year that male undergraduates were admitted to both Colleges for the first time. At Bedford there wasn’t a separate SU building but the students had their own common room and bar.

PP60/2/1/1/4/3/33 Oliver Bar at Bedford College

RHC AS/121/6 Extract from the Student Union handbook 1973-74

It wasn’t until after the merger of the two Colleges that the purpose built Union was opened, the same SU which serves the student body today. The Student Union (both the building and the organisation) continues to be the centre of student social life today, organising events and club nights for the students.

Uncatalogued, Student Union games room c.1987

RHBNCSU/Pubs/SUN/1988/1 Egham SUN [Student Union newspaper] October 1988

All of the images in this exhibition have come from personal papers and the College collections held in the Royal Holloway Archives. If you would like to find out more about our collections, visit our online catalogue.

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