Canterbury Christ Church University - History

History

Canterbury Christ Church College (CCCC) was founded in 1962 by the Church of England in order to meet the needs of church schools at a time of teacher shortage. Classes were originally held in the priory next to St Martin's Church, a building which has seen many uses including the private residence of a Bishop of Dover and also the residence for the principal of CCCC. The founding principal was the Revd Frederick Mason.

The campus for the then Canterbury Christ Church College (nicknamed "C4") was constructed at North Holmes Road, Canterbury, on land which had once been used for orchards and domestic buildings of the adjacent St Augustine's Abbey, part of Canterbury's World Heritage Site. The campus is a low-rise development centred around a courtyard adjacent to the college chapel of Christ in Majesty. The chapel roof, formed of four isosceles triangles in glass, is a distinctive local landmark. The buildings are largely named for former Archbishops of Canterbury.

In the early 1970s, the first degree programme, the Bachelor of Education, was established. In 1977 the college began to offer joint honours degrees in other subjects. In the late 1980s, the college was substantially enlarged by the addition of health studies.

In 1995, the college was awarded the authority by the Privy Council to grant its own degrees for taught courses, upon which the college's name was changed to Canterbury Christ Church University College. This form of the name was adopted to avoid confusion with Christ Church University, New Zealand.

In 2000 the Broadstairs Campus was opened and in 2004 the Medway Campus, where the main building is named Rowan Williams Court.

It was awarded the title of "university" in 2005, which recognised the successful delivery of degree programmes. With the title came a new name: Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU).

The Archbishop of Canterbury was later appointed, by virtue of office, as chancellor, the honorary head of the institution. The inauguration of the university and the installation of Rowan Williams as chancellor took place in a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in December 2005.

The university has developed rapidly since its inception in 1962 and now has nearly 20,000 students based at campuses across Kent, in Canterbury, Broadstairs, Folkestone, Medway and Tunbridge Wells. As well as being the largest centre of higher education in Kent for the public services – notably teacher training, health and social care and the emergency services – the university also offers academic and professional programmes, including credit-bearing higher education entry certificates, doctorates and research degrees. Policing and law courses have also been delivered both for UK and overseas law enforcement agencies. The university gives academic validation to ordination and post-ordination training courses for Anglican clergy delivered by the Canterbury and Rochester dioceses.

In 2007, the university attracted publicity due to its controversial policy forbidding civil partnership ceremonies to take place at its properties. This decision by the university's governing body has since been reversed.

In 2009, the university was granted power to award research degrees by the Privy Council.

In 2011, Canterbury Cathedral hosted a ceremony as Robin Baker CMG became the first vice-chancellor in the UK to be installed by the Most Revd and Rt Hon Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.