University of Westminster
The Royal Polytechnic Institution opened at 309 Regent Street in 1838 — a purpose-built theatre for science demonstrations, magic lanterns and diving exhibitions, and arguably Britain's first polytechnic. In February 1896 its hall staged the first public film screening in the United Kingdom, weeks after the Lumière brothers' Paris premiere; the audience is recorded as unsettled.
The polytechnic tradition — evening classes, trades taught properly, education paid for by the pint in the institution's own public house — carried through the Polytechnic of Central London to university status in 1992. Today the university is known for media, architecture and fashion, with its Harrow campus carrying the art-school lineage that counts Vivienne Westwood among its alumni.
Field notes
- The Lumière screening of February 1896 was the UK's first — tickets included a demonstration of the Cinématographe's mechanism.
- The old Regent Street building once housed a diving pool in its basement theatre.
- The Polytechnic's 'public house' licence survived into living memory — education by pint.
Notable connections
In brief — from the field guide
Grown from the Royal Polytechnic Institution of 1838 — arguably Britain's first polytechnic — whose Regent Street hall staged the UK's first public film screening, by the Lumière brothers, in February 1896.
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