The Student Room Group

most unique halls of residence in the uk?

hi just wondering if anyone at uni lives in a particularly unique halls of residence? something a bit more interesting compared to the usual 'block' halls. for instance at loughborough uni there is towers hall which is just 2 big towers going up 20 floors, its also the biggest fire hazard in leicestershire. anyone else know of any of intersting/cool looking halls in the uk?

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Haha! What an amusing question. Coventry University used to have a tower. Then a bunch of people jumped out of it and they closed it down.

Leeds has nothing of any interest sadly.
Reply 2
Liverpool John Moores University
North Western Hall
http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/Accommodation/58760.htm
Reply 3
ShinyApple
Haha! What an amusing question. Coventry University used to have a tower. Then a bunch of people jumped out of it and they closed it down.


What're you on about? I live there! It's still very tall (nineteen floors) and very residential.

No suicide this year so far.
Reply 4
Durham castle (uni of durham)... also has a cool student only bar
Reply 5
Ice_Queen
No suicide this year so far.


Yey! :smile:
Lancaster has a tower too- and I am told we have the highest suicide rate in the country because of a suicide pact a few years ago, causing a significant number of people to throw themselves off it... now there are big locks on all the balcony doors so no one can repeat the experience! There was also the murder about ten years ago... but I don't think that counts!
Ice_Queen
What're you on about? I live there! It's still very tall (nineteen floors) and very residential.

No suicide this year so far.



Priory? Have they reopened it???!!! Eeeep. Yeah, it was called suicide block for ages. They closed it down the last year I was in Coventry after the last guy jumped out of it. It was getting a bad name. I guess they couldn't afford to close it after all. :eek:
Reply 8
ShinyApple
Priory? Have they reopened it???!!! Eeeep. Yeah, it was called suicide block for ages. They closed it down the last year I was in Coventry after the last guy jumped out of it. It was getting a bad name. I guess they couldn't afford to close it after all. :eek:


Yeah, Priory :p: We still call it Suicide Halls. All of the windows have window guards on them, and it's not possible (as far as I know) to get out onto the roof anymore.
Reply 9
I didn't go there, but when I looked at Royal Holloway a few years back they seemed to have pretty cool halls in the original building. I'm sure it said something about some rooms having a mezzanine level ... sounds so much nicer than the 'box' I ended up in at my uni!

I've also stayed at New College, Oxford a few times and some of the rooms there are lovely. The last one I stayed in was MASSIVE (seriously, it was bigger than my whole flat) and had beautiful old windows and a ginormous 'stately home' type fireplace. However, in all the times I've stayed there I've never been able to have a hot shower, no matter how early I've got up, so that's a bit of a negative for me lol.
Ice_Queen
Yeah, Priory :p: We still call it Suicide Halls. All of the windows have window guards on them, and it's not possible (as far as I know) to get out onto the roof anymore.



Aha! That's how they stopped them jumping! Perhaps a program of mental health awareness was necessary too. Bleh. Poor folk.
ShinyApple
Aha! That's how they stopped them jumping! Perhaps a program of mental health awareness was necessary too. Bleh. Poor folk.


Quite possibly. But we are only in March, there is still time! Especially when finals come around.

I am going to be one of those sick curious people who have to go see :P Is that really wrong?
Reply 12
My hall overlooked the Royal Albert Hall :proud:

My room overlooked a brick wall, however.
Ice_Queen
Quite possibly. But we are only in March, there is still time! Especially when finals come around.

I am going to be one of those sick curious people who have to go see :P Is that really wrong?


Hmmmmm, to be fair, when the people jumped the traffic to the union shop was significantly increased. Is the shop still next to Priory?
Reply 14
Trevelyan college, durham. Its all hexagonal!
Reply 15
Wantage Hall, University of Reading!

It was the first ever purpose-built hall of residence in the country, and was built when Reading was an extension college of Oxford. Therefore, it has character, individualities and traditions that you don't get in your standard student hall of residence! Old Court is built in college style (enclosed lawn quadrangle) and is famed for its numerous formals throughout the year (including a Burns' Supper because the original Warden was a direct descendant of Burns!) - more so than any other Hall in Reading. It has a lovely oak-pannelled dining hall with a high table, and has various special traditions such as May-Day singing from the top of the clock tower, a concert in the Quad and Sheep Night.

In addition, the JCR Committee are active and there's a great community spirit and friendly atmosphere - I loved my year there!
willow162
Trevelyan college, durham. Its all hexagonal!


And a complete maze! I went to look round it, had to go to the loo and couldn't find my way back to the other applicants/tour guides - I felt like a little child lost in the supermarket! :frown: :p:

Aberdeen, unfortunately, seems to have nothing interesting, all halls have been re-built as large grey blocks in the last 30 years :frown: (though the newer ones do have blue bits on them to make them prettier)

Though on the suicide front, a girl hung herself in my room the year before I got there... We spent the whole year trying to figure out how she'd done it, because there was no obvious place to do it from, and nothing that looked like it had been taken out. Very bizarre, and slightly creepy!
Reply 17
I find it rather depressing that there are so many great student residences out there, with wonderful traditions and great atmosphere - yet it appears that most universities are now simply eager to throw up dull flats, often without even the most basic social provision or any sense of community.
We have some entertaining arcitechture in St Andrews:

Andrew Melville Hall is weird. I've not been inside, but apparently the rooms have 5 walls, none of which meet at right angles. It's supposed to look a like a battleship or something that goes in water, I can't remember. It won a design award for that.

New Hall looks quite sensible there, but it was designed by some guy who has a history of designing prisons. This is reflected by the sniper-turrets, and windows that you probably couldn't fall out of, even if you tried.
[Edit: Behold a sniper turret:
]
Teao the Cat
Lancaster has a tower too- and I am told we have the highest suicide rate in the country because of a suicide pact a few years ago, causing a significant number of people to throw themselves off it... now there are big locks on all the balcony doors so no one can repeat the experience! There was also the murder about ten years ago... but I don't think that counts!



I thought they were taking the tower down? At least all lancaster windows have those handy 'sucicde catches' evenon the ground floor:s-smilie: