York Historic Environment Record

Derwent College was built as part of the first phase of new buildings for the university in 1963-1965 to the design of the architects Robert Matthew and Johnson-Marshall and Partners (RMJM), with Stiratt Johnson-Marshall and Andrew Derbyshire as the partners in charge. Sir Stiratt Johnson-Marshall was one of the most important and respected architects to emerge in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. He pioneered the CLASP (Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme) prefabricated system for schools and designed the Commonwealth Institute (Grade II*-listed). Both Derwent and Langwith College were the first university buildings to be erected using the CLASP system, which had never been used on this scale before. On the whole, Derwent College still demonstrates a relatively high degree of survival externally. Regrettably, some of the windows have been replaced but these match the original glazing pattern and the pyramidal roof lights have also been lost. Whilst it has undergone some renovations internally, the extent of the original fixtures and fittings were rather limited (e.g. the only built-in items in the study bedrooms were heater and washer units and wardrobes) and the college still retains many original staircases, parquet and linoleum floors, flush timber doors and glazed softwood doors, partitions and ceilings. REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION Derwent College, built at the University of York in 1963-1965 to the design of the architects Robert Matthew and Johnson-Marshall and Partners (RMJM), is recommended for listing at Grade II for the following principal reasons: Historic interest: * as one of a wave of new universities that improved access to higher education and marked the highpoint of publicly-funded architecture in post-war Britain; * as a physical manifestation of the University of York Development Plan, which was heralded as the beginning of contemporary university planning in Britain. Architectural interest: * the University of York is arguably the greatest work of the influential architects Sir Stiratt Johnson-Marshall and Sir Andrew Derbyshire of RMJM, the only practice to design four universities in Britain; * for the innovative combination of teaching and social facilities as well as residential accommodation in a single college, enabling it to instantly function as a university and allow for expansion by adding further colleges on the same principles; * Derwent and Langwith Colleges were the first university buildings to be erected using the CLASP prefabricated system, a model for a rapidly-built, economical and standardised form of welfare state architecture, which had never been used on this scale before; * the relationship of massing and height of the college to its neighbour in Langwith, Heslington Hall, and the landscape, as well as their layout, are exceptionally well-thought-out; * for the six sculptural relief panels by the artist Fred Millett, which add flourish to the main pedestrian walkway. Group value: * with the Grade II*-listed Heslington Hall, as well as the former Langwith College, the covered walkway to the west of that college, Central Hall, two sculptures by Austin Wright (‘Dryad’ and ‘Untitled’), and the designed landscape, which are all separately designated.