Description:A view of the site now occupied by the Chapel taken from the Library building. The Nissen Huts housed the Student Union and Chapel until the 1960s. Around 120 huts had been built during the Second World War to house American troops in the build-up to D-Day. When the University College of North Staffordshire (later Keele University) opened in 1950 these huts provided accommodation for staff and students, some right up to the 1970s. On the left is the Conference Hall, later the Walter Moberly Building. On the right is the new Student Union building, completed in 1963.
The manor of Keele was bought in 1544 by William Sneyd and for the next 400 years the estate was owned by the family, and Keele Hall became the families principal seat. The last owner of Keele, Colnel Ralph Sneyd sold the estate to Stoke-on-Trent corporation in 1949, as they were looking for a site for the University College of North Staffordshire.
The university was given its charter in August 1949, and was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 17 April 1951. Alexander D. Lindsay, an educationalist, was a prominent campaigner to establish the university, and he became its first principal. Educationalists came from around the world to see the educational innovations Lord Lindsay established at the University.
Image copyright Keele University.