This page is provided as support for my talk about the University of Kent and its site in Canterbury. This talk was given on the 21st May 2025 under the auspices of the University of Kent Former Staff Association.

It is provided primarily so that references can be provided in a useful and accessible form. Suggestions for additions or improvements are welcomed.

See also the links to my memories on the home page.

I would like to thank the University of Kent, of course. However, they bear no responsibility for content, or opinions expressed, on this site.

Contact

If you wish to contact me (and you don't already have my email address), you can use an online form to make initial contact. To do so, just click here.

The Talk

The following direct material is available:

• Recording of the talk (on YouTube). Note that unlike a Zoom style recording, the slides are not shown; download the slides (link below) to follow along.
• Just the slides for the talk. These are in PowerPoint format.

Acknowledgements

The talk would not have been possible without the help of a number of people, who include friends and former colleagues (and even people who once taught me).

• Jamie Angus-Whiteoak
• Peter Brown
• Derek Butler
• Richard Collier
• Chris Dawson
• Paddy Farrell
• Ray Glover
• Denis Linfoot
• Tony McDonnell
• Ian McWhirter
• Ted Parker
• Mohamed Sobhy

References

There are many references, including books and other documents. Strictly speaking, most of them are sources rather than references.

Books

• Hidden History - Philanthropy at the University of Kent, Triona Fitton, 2015. ISBN 978-1-902671-92-5.
• From Vision to Reality, Graham Martin, 1990. ISBN 978-1-902671-93-2.
• University of Kent 1965-2015 - Celebrating 50 years, University of Kent, 2015. ISBN 978-0-904938-03-6.

Other documents

• Proposed Site at Canterbury for the University of Kent, Ove Arup and Partners, 1962
• Report on Subsidence, Professor AW Bishop with Harris and Sutherland, 1975
• An Informal History of Darwin College 1970-1990, Peter Brown (ed.), 1992
• Jennison Building - Study for Improvement (draft), Beetroot Design, 2011

Images

I have been asked for images that I mentioned during the talk, which I didn't include due to time and space limitations. There are also others that I feel deserve a wider audience. I will include them here as time permits.

Maps

• A rather poor quality outline of the proposed site. Note the rather strange boundary 'notch' near the centre of the picture, near the bend in the old Giles Lane. This is now the Monkswell car park, and presumably the land wasn't initially available.
• Lord Holford's original plan for the University. The proposed stadium (on land that the University never acquired) is at bottom left.
• A recent university map showing the current land ownership. It is interesting to compare this with the initial proposed site. Note the land acquired to the north, which may be sold off for housing.
• Two separate maps from 1962, showing the topography and geology of the site.
• This map happens to show boreholes, etc. It is included here, however, because it shows the first 500 metres of the tunnel (from the north portal) and illustrates the possible impingement on Rutherford College.

Electronics (later Jennison)

• There are two different views of the construction of the Jennison building. This is during site clearance, and this is during construction.
• This is a preliminary model of how the tower was expected to work. The cabin would be at the focus of a dish mounted on the actual roof, and would form a radio antenna.
• Here are three separate views of the raising of the tower: one, two, and three.
• A nice photograph of the completed Jennison building, with the tower in and dish situ. Note the completed (but empty) plinth in the right foreground.
• A view from the top of the tower, looking towards the Whitstable Road.
• The tower was also useful for mounting other antennas, as seen in this view.
• Three different views of Roger Jennison's model of his proposed sculpture, to be placed outside the Electronics building. They are here at one, two and three.

The Tunnel

• Here are two different invitations to parties in the tunnel; one and two. They appear to date from 1968.
• This PDF file contains several clippings from the student newspaper of the time, InCant, relating to the tunnel.
• This is a picture (circa 1967) of students out for a walk, at the north portal of the tunnel. The oval shape of the tunnel is clear, with the bottom arch naturally filled to form a level surface. The students are, left to right:
  • Chris King (Physical Sciences/Chemistry)
  • Ann Thomas (now Ann Bradford) (Physical Sciences/Physics)
  • Kevin Pye wielding the boulder (Physical Sciences)
  • Les Bradford (Physical Sciences/Electronics)
  • Pat Balsdon (now Pat Pole) (Humanities)
  • Robin Wilson (Physical Sciences)
• This diagram shows how the ground above the collapsed tunnel was stabilised, using tube a manchette (or just TAM) grouting. The grout material was PAF (Pulverised Fuel Ash from power stations, etc.) mixed with cement.

  The tube is a PVC or metal pipe in which rubber sleeves cover holes that are drilled in the pipe at specific intervals. The tubes are inserted into holes that have been bored into the work area. Grout is pumped to a packer that has been slid into the tube. Seals on the packer force the grout through the holes in the tube, past the flexible rubber sleeve, and into the grout zone to help stabilize and/or seal it.

  The diagram shows how the PFA grout is initially used to fill the tunnel cavity. More grout is then forced in to force the ground above sideways, to restore the natural horizontal stress and stabilise it.

Miscellaneous

• Georeferenced Maps, National Library of Scotland
• University article reporting on the new sculpture outside the Electronics (Jennison) building
• Link to the the Crab and Winkle Line Trust, who are involved in preserving and enhancing the remains of the Whitstable to Canterbury railway.

Random snippets

These were picked up along the way, and are included because they may be of some interest.

• The collapse of the tunnel was disastrous for the University, both operationally and financially. Kent was one of the few universities to take out insurance against subsidence. However, the cover was only for about half a million pounds, and the damage totalled several times that amount.

  The University Grants Committee (the major funding body at the time) noted that the University had tried to be prudent. It stepped in with a long term loan, at quite a high rate of interest. The University was assured that, if remedial works were completed, the loan would be written off. Both of these events subsequently happened.

• The talk mentions the use of design and build contracts, which can save money and streamline the production of new buildings. The contractor can of course use an existing (or modified) design, which may bring down cost.

  Tyler Court was built as student residences, and the first phase (now known as Tyler Court A) was design and build. It provides a large number of student rooms, as well as a large reception area and other areas which, at least initially, seemed to have no function.

  When viewed from outside, it strongly resembles a Travelodge of the time.

• It has been argued by some that the focus on the First 500 (approximately!) is all very well, but it is rare to hear anything about the first members of staff, a number of whom are very much still with us. Some of them contributed much of their working life to the University, yet they are rarely mentioned or recognised.

  Please take a moment to think about them, and (mentally at least) thank them for their contribution.