About University of Chichester

In 1828, students were accepted for the first secular university institution in the country, which later became University College London. In response, it was felt that London needed another university institution where the role of the Church would be formally recognised. In 1829, King's College London was established, with William Otter as its first Principal. William Otter moved on to become Bishop of Chichester in 1836 and took an earnest interest in the promotion of education. After his death, a college for training schoolmasters was established as his memorial in April 1839. Eventually, Bishop's Training College moved to new buildings on the new site in October 1850 and was named Bishop Otter College. These buildings are the historic core of the University at the Chichester campus. In 1873, the College became a training college for women as a result of the campaign by Louisa Hubbard to encourage the acceptance of women as teachers. Male students were not introduced until 1957. In 1942, during the Second World War, students and staff of the College were evacuated to Stockwell College in Bromley and the RAF took over Bishop Otter College. Chichester played a crucial part in the D-Day landings of 1944, where one of the lecture rooms on the Bishop Otter campus became the Operations Room of RAF Tangmere, the nerve centre controlling squadrons of fighter planes involved in the D-Day landing.