Kingston University
Kingston's institute opened in 1899 to teach the town's trades; its art school, founded the same era, became one of London's most quietly influential — the place where Eric Clapton learned stained glass before the guitar won. The town itself is older than any university in this guide: seven Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned at Kingston, and the Coronation Stone sits outside the guildhall as proof.
The modern university spreads along the Thames from Kingston Hill to Penrhyn Road, with a strong reputation in design, engineering and nursing. Students share the riverside with the swans; the ancient market place, the stone and the bridge give the campus town a sense of ceremony rare at the edge of a great city.
Field notes
- The Coronation Stone, by the guildhall, marks seven Saxon coronations between 900 and 979.
- Eric Clapton studied stained glass at the art school — he was, reportedly, passable.
- The riverside towpath reaches Hampton Court in an afternoon's walk — a field trip the art school quietly endorses.
Notable connections
In brief — from the field guide
A technical institute and art school on the Thames since 1899, in the ancient coronation town of the Saxon kings — the Coronation Stone still sits by the guildhall, between the university and the river.
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