| Description | These records cover all aspects of the building and maintenance of the college and its grounds, including papers and architectural plans of the accommodation areas, chapels, exterior building, college grounds, gymnasium, kitchens, laboratories, lecture rooms, library, lifts and staircases, sanitation systems, swimming baths, utilities, and new wings and blocks. |
| Admin_History | The procurator was responsible for the management of the college building since its formation in 1808. This followed the system established at the English College in Douai in which the procurator played a leading role in the financial administration of the college generally. The procurator was often required to seek out the necessary funds in order to realise the ambitious building plans of successive presidents. This was particularly evident in the presidency of Mgr Charles Newsham (1837 - 1863), who embarked on a extensive building programme in order to enlarge the capacity of the college and to bring its arrangements into line with more modern requirements. This saw the construction of the original St Cuthbert's Chapel (with its attendant chapels), the library, infirmary, museum, exhibition hall, lavatories, kitchens, farm buildings, and the junior seminary. Following the controversy surrounding the Sherburne - Heatley case, in which it was alleged that college funds had been misappropriated and largely used to fund Newsham's ambitions, greater control of funds was ceded to the diocesan bishops. This perhaps explains why, with the exceptions of the new St Cuthbert's Chapel in 1882 and the East Wing (conference centre) in 1962, the building programmes of successive presidents tended to be more modest in scope and were largely confined to the upgrading of the original building. |