The College was born from the vision of the Church of England, which wanted to create just one of two such church colleges in the whole 20th century. Dr. Hugh Pollard, the very first principal, welcomed just 89 students with open arms. Imagine the echoing halls, the clean scent of fresh paint, and the Queen Mother herself arriving to open the college officially in 1967. Yes, the Queen Mum! That must have made for quite the tea party.
Now, why St Martin? He was a Roman soldier famous for tearing his cloak in two to help a beggar and later embraced a life of kindness and teaching. Fitting for a college that transformed an old barracks into a place dedicated to helping others, don’t you think? Just as St Martin swapped his sword for compassion, this campus traded in drilling for learning…and hopefully fewer marching orders.
The college started small, but wow, did it have ideas. Under Dr. Pollard and his successors, it grew like a particularly studious beanstalk. Robert Clayton, the next principal, kicked things up a notch by introducing health, radiography, and nursing courses. Suddenly, it wasn’t just teachers leaving these doors, but healthcare heroes too. By the time of Dr. Pollard’s retirement, 700 students filled the buildings-definitely more bustling than those first days of nervous beginners.
Dr. Ian Edynbry took over in the late ‘80s and delivered the college’s greatest plot twist yet: campus expansion! St Martin’s branched out, first by blending with Charlotte Mason College in Ambleside, then by snapping up Carlisle’s former City General and Maternity hospitals. The campus here on Fusehill Street sprang to life with brand new student digs-en-suite rooms, high-tech spaces, and a modern sports complex. I like to imagine students doing cartwheels in the new halls, just because they could.
Professor Chris Carr came next, tasked with keeping all these plates spinning and bringing unity to the different sites. That meant more shiny new complexes and libraries, plus a library in Ambleside that would make any book lover shed a tear of joy. If only overdue fines were as historic as the books!
By 2005, St Martin’s College boasted over 11,500 students and 1,000 staff-more people than you’d find in a small town, and nearly all here to learn, teach, and that most important element of university life: survive on instant noodles.
The vibe here was open and lively. From psychology to technology, from teacher training to sport studies, you could find it all. The college was especially respected for training the UK’s future teachers and healthcare professionals-quite literally changing the face of classrooms and hospitals across the nation. And for those with extra energy, there were clubs, sports, or a breezy hike through the Lake District nearby. If ever there was a time to get fresh air between studies, this was the spot.
But even the best universities face drama. In 2007, in a plot thicker than any campus soap opera, St Martin’s merged with Cumbria Institute of the Arts and UCLan’s local sites to become-drumroll-the University of Cumbria. This was the result of a big report by Sir Martin Harris, who must have had an impressive collection of pens for all that note-taking. Some changes didn’t go down so easily. When the Ambleside campus was set to close in 2009, students, townsfolk, and even MPs protested right here-not just for tradition, but for the soul of Cumbrian education.
The tale ends on a hopeful note: by 2014, Ambleside reopened, greener than ever, now teaching environmental and outdoor education among other things. So here you are, standing where history keeps evolving, where two worlds-a soldier’s barracks and a student’s playground- collided to create something entirely unique. Not many places go from military parade to academic parade, after all, and if these walls could talk, they’d surely have some tales to tell. Maybe even a few jokes about missing assignments. Welcome to St Martin’s College-where the uniform is curiosity, and every student gets to march to their own beat.
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