The area of Cartmel, after which the college is named, is one of the most beautiful in Cumbria. It is home to the famous Cartmel Priory that was built by Augustian canons between 1188 and 1220. According to legend, the church was built between two parallel streams in response to a ‘heavenly voice’. A great part of the priory’s structure was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII but a large part survived because the ruling King realised that the villagers of Cartmel had nowhere else to worship. Cartmel is also famous for having the smallest National Hunt Racecourse in Britain.
Cartmel college residences were opened in 1968 – much to the relief of its members of staff who were called out to haul bedsteads and mattresses upstairs before the first students arrived! The old Cartmel (now County South and the Institute for Advanced Research) was designed by the Manchester-based architect, Haydyn Smith. Smith designed the college in such a way as to expose it to as much natural light as possible. The college was also dominated by a number of large, multi-purpose grassed areas that were very popular during the warmer months. Extra residences were built in 1969 to cope with the expanding student population.
In 1992 the John Creed block of en-suite accommodation was opened in Cartmel. It was named the John Creed block after John Creed, the founding principal of Cartmel College and the first Provost of the University.
