University of Surrey
The University of Surrey received its charter on September 9, 1966, and was at that time situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology before gaining university status. Its roots however go back to the Battersea Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1891 to provide further and higher education for London's poorer inhabitants.It moved to Guildford, Surrey in 1968 to a new 83 acre site on Stag hill, adjacent to Guildford Cathedral. A further 228 acres allocated to the University has remained undeveloped, although there are plans to expand the University into this area.
The original master plan for an institution with 5,000 students has been exceeded, with the number of students now in excess of 10,000.
The University forms part of the "Federal University of Surrey", along with the University of Surrey Roehampton (USR), formerly the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education. However, proposals were put forward in late 2003 for USR to seek its own university title, possibly as 'Roehampton University, London'.
