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University of London (England)

Last modified: 2016-06-04 by rob raeside
Keywords: london |
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[University of London] image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 October 2010

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Background Information

The University of London is a university made up of 18 colleges in the Greater London area as well as other institutes and central bodies. It was founded in 1836 as an examining board for University College London and King's College London, and medical schools in London. It is now a federation of self-governing colleges which are becoming increasingly independent, with several now awarding their own degrees.

Senate House and several of the colleges are located in Bloomsbury in central London, with other colleges in other areas of central London or further afield in the East End (Queen Mary), New Cross (Goldsmiths) and even Egham in Surrey (Royal Holloway). I would assume the flag is used at Senate House only, not by any constituent college.
Jonathan Dixon, 3 March 2016


Description of the flag

The University of London has an armorial flag. The flag shows the cross of St. George. At the top edge is a blue stripe with an open book on its centre. In the centre of the cross is a radiant golden (= yellow) sun, superimposed by a Tudor rose, which is superimposed by a golden (= yellow) 5-point star. The rose is topped by a crown. The flag is divided into four parts of equal height by the blue stripe and the horizontal cross bar.
Source: Campbell and Evans (1953); p.49
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 October 2010


Queen Mary College

The flag is yellow with the shield from the coat of arms. It is flown outside the People's Palace building on occasions such as graduations. The shield can be seen at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Mary,_University_of_London_Crest-2.png.
Jonathan Dixon, 19 February 2005

Queen Mary University of London is a constituent college of the University of London, situated in London's East End. It was formed from the 1989 merger of Queen Mary College and Westfield College to form Queen Mary & Westfield College, and the 1995 incorporation of the medical colleges of St Barts Hopsital and the London Hospital into QMW. Queen Mary College itself has its origins in technical schools at the People's Palace, a 19th century philanthropic establishment providing educational and cultural activities to the East End, which began offering University of London degrees in 1907. Westfield College was founded as a University of London affiliated college for women in 1882.

The current arms shown on the flag are the arms of the college after the merger with the medical colleges:
Bordure: yellow and blue
White chevron bearing three feathers in black outline
Above the chevron, two sunbeams issuing from clouds under triple imperial crowns on blue
Below the chevron, a yellow cross quadrate on black.

The sunbeams/cloud/cross devices on blue come from the former arms of Queen Mary College, themselves based on the arms of the Drapers' Company (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Drapers_Company), which provided a grant for the original technical schools and continues to be associated with the college.
The cross quadrate comes from the former arms of Westfield College (http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk/node/1317.
The three feathers come from the arms of the London Hospital (http://www.schoolsofnursing.co.uk/Collections1/Collections17.htm).
The chevron comes from the arms of St Barts Hospital (http://www.flickriver.com/photos/23885771@N03/7924704894).
Jonathan Dixon, 3 March 2016