Hidden LSE

Posts about the lesser known and quirky side of LSE’s history.

The world below – archaeology at LSE

LSE Archivist Sue Donnelly writes about this Spring’s archaeological dig on Houghton Street at LSE.

London’s many building sites are the source of frequent disruption and irritation but they also provide opportunities to find out more about the history hidden beneath the buildings and streets. The preparatory works for the Centre Buildings Redevelopment was an opportunity to discover what lies […]

August 26th, 2016|Hidden LSE, Places|1 Comment|

The ‘hidden’ women of LSE

LSE Centennial Professor Mary Evans charts the history of women at LSE and the changing attitudes towards gender in higher education and society that occurred throughout LSE’s early decades. 
LSE opened in 1895 and among its famous founders were Beatrice Webb and Sidney Webb. Much less well known among those who contributed to the funds for the School was Charlotte Payne Townshend, the wife of George Bernard […]

Making an LSE oral history

Clara Cook shares her experience making an LSE oral history. The Tales from Houghton Street podcast and collection are now available at LSE’s Digital Library. 

The first recording I ever made of someone’s voice was when I was 2 years old. I held out a tape recorder to my mother and asked her to say the words ‘peanut butter.’ Since then I have […]

LSE on the big and the small screen

Sir Mark Spencer, special advisor to the Prime Minister: [intending to dupe Hacker into taking a thankless job] But Sir Humphrey Appleby is bound to tell Hacker he’d be crazy to take it on.

Sir Arnold Robinson, Cabinet Secretary: Yes. “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes”, I can hear him say. “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”, roughly translated. Though Humphrey would […]

February 22nd, 2016|Hidden LSE|3 Comments|

LSE history trivia – did you know?

How well do you know your LSE history trivia? Here are 38 facts you probably didn’t know about LSE, originally released during LSE’s 120th anniversary celebrations in 2015:

1. King George VI’s 1939 Christmas broadcast contained a poem by an LSE teacher

Find out more about Minnie Louise Haskins, author of The Gate of the Year which is a preamble to the poem God Knows.

2. […]

December 30th, 2015|Hidden LSE|0 Comments|

Funding the vision – Henry Hunt Hutchinson and his will

How did the will of a Derby lawyer lead to the foundation of the London School of Economics and Political Science? LSE Archivist Sue Donnelly finds out.

On 2 August 1894 a Derby attorney, William Harvey Whiston, wrote to Sidney Webb. The letter enclosed the will of Derby lawyer Henry Hutchinson and stated that the value of the estate was […]

September 30th, 2015|Hidden LSE, People|0 Comments|

Ghosts of the Past

Ghosts of the Past combines old and new, providing a glimpse into how different – or indeed how similar – LSE of the past was to LSE today.
This photo gallery was created by LSE’s Design Unit and School Photographer Nigel Stead for the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2015. The archive photos used are from the popular LSE Library Flickr […]

September 24th, 2015|Hidden LSE|1 Comment|

“A Life of Adventure” – LSE at 120

“The life of the School has always been a life of adventure”

William Beveridge, Director of LSE from 1919 to 1937, uttered those words in 1930, when the university was a mere 35 years old.

Fast forward to the present. It’s been 85 years since Beveridge’s speech and 120 years since the university first opened its doors. But the adventure hasn’t […]

August 27th, 2015|Hidden LSE|1 Comment|
  • Foundation stone
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    A royal visit – laying the foundation stone of the Old Building

A royal visit – laying the foundation stone of the Old Building

On 28 May 1920 George V and Queen Mary left Buckingham Palace in an open carriage escorted by the Life Guards. They were accompanied by Herbert Fisher, Minister for Education and as they approached St Clement Danes the church bells began to ring. Halting on Clare Market the royal party entered Passmore Edwards Hall as the Royal Standard was […]

Suffragettes and LSE – early neighbours

Now home to LSE, 20 Kingsway used to house the Tea Cup Inn – a tea shop for suffragettes. Look closely and traces of the suffragettes, LSE’s early neighbours, can still be found around our campus today.

LSE moved to Clare Market and Houghton Street in 1902 to occupy the newly-built Passmore Edwards Hall – and was surrounded on all sides by suffragette […]