Lenton Times Magazine - Cripps Hall

Cripps Hall

Much of the funding of Cripps Hall of Residence was provided by Cyril Thomas Cripps and his son, Cyril Humphrey Cripps, who were Northamptonshire industrialists. The buildings were designed by Donald Hanks McMorrran and George Whitby and have since been granted Grade II listed status. Their architectural practice was also responsible for the design of the Lenton Hall of Residence and the teaching block which currently houses Law & Social Sciences.

John Laing and Son was the building firm engaged in its construction. The foundation stone for Cripps Hall was laid in September 1957 and the whole student complex was completed by July 1959. Its official opening was carried out on 15 October 1959. This was carried out by Messrs Cripps, father and son. They revealed that they had initially offered £250,000 when the new hall of residence was first muted. In the ensuing years the overall cost had risen to about £500,000 and Messrs Cripps had increased their contribution to £400,000.

It was designed to accommodate 200 male students. An edition of Nottingham Evening News dated 15 October 1959 carried the following description:
Each undergraduate has his own study bedroom equipped with a built-in wash basin and wardrobe. A few will have smaller bedrooms and share a study with a companion. There are no corridors in the building, and the rooms open on to halls or staircase landings approached from stone-flagged walks surrounding the two grass courts. The courts are at different levels and each has a distinctive character. The grass of the high court is unbroken, and from one open side, terraced above the hill on which the hall stands, there is a broad panorama of Nottingham and the Trent Valley. The Great Hall, 100 feet long and 30 feet high, is the finest room in the building. The coffered ceiling is of solid mahogany, the high dado is panelled in solid English oak and the wall behind the high table is of Ancaster stone. Here is the long oak tables and benches and the mahogany high table and chairs, have been designed to complete the superb effect. The building also includes a suite of panelled common rooms, a library, a house for the warden, flats and rooms for the resident staff and a games room, workshop, laundry, dark room, and music rooms for the students.

Following a further substantial donation from the Cripps Foundation the university built a brand new health centre which opened in 2018. The buildings which housed the original Cripps Health Centre have since been converted into an extra accommodation block attached to Cripps Hall. Named 'Lower Cripps' this has added a further fifty-five rooms to the hall's capacity. Cripps now accommodates 373 students and since September 2000 this has included female students.

Photographs - Cripps Hall


Aerial View of Cripps Hall - 2022

Mr Cyril Thomas Cripps (left) Mr Cyril Humphrey Cripps (right) and C.H. McMorran, the architect (centre) pose for their photograph in front of a model of the hall of residence at the official opening of the hall in October 1959. The original version of this photograph can be found on the the Cripps Hall Trust webpage.	A view of the lower quadrangle taken soon after the official opening. The original version of this photograph can be found on the Cripps Hall Trust webpage.	A view of the upper quadrangle, also taken in 1959. The original version of this photograph can be found on the Cripps Hall Trust webpage.

A view of the Cripps Hall of Residence taken from Lenton Hall Drive. This image originally featured on a webpage provided by Allsopp Construction Ltd which [in 2025] was involved in an extensive refurbishment programme of some of the university's halls of residence including Cripps.	This image focuses on the bellcote and clock tower and is one of a number taken by Mark Somerfield in June 2022 which can be found on the Historic England's website.	This image looking towards the upper quadrangle and the bellcote and clock tower is one of a number taken by Mark Somerfield in June 2022 which can be found on the Historic England's website.

This photograph of a paved courtyard taken at Cripps Hall of Residence was also taken by Mark Somerfield and is featured on the Historic England's website.	Taken in 2022 by Paul Bexon this shot shows the extent of the grassed area in the upper quadrangle.	Taken in 2022 by Paul Bexon the focus is on some of the attractive planted areas within this hall of residence.

This was designed by the architects to serve as the warden's house and is located at the northwestern corner of the complex of buildings. The photograph was taken by Mark Somerfield in 2022 and features on the Historic England's website.	Taken in 2022 by Paul Bexon this shot focuses on the route into the Great Hall which houses the communal dining room.	Paul Bexon took this and several other photograph in 2022 while measures designed to mitigate the impact of Covid were still in place. So these tables arranged in the lobby leading to the dining room were intended to create a queuing system that kept students at a distance from one other.

The entrance to the dining room once a student had negotiated the barriers erected in the lobby shown in the previous photograph.	The dining room would normally have tables stretching lengthways along the hall but because of Covid they had been split up and students had to space themselves out while they 'enjoyed' their meals.	Three portraits hanging on the wall of the dining room. From left to right they depict: Sir Cyril Cripps (1892-1979); Edward Cripps (1951-2009); and Sir Humphrey Cripps (1915-2000).

A shot of the dining room taken by Paul Bexon in 2022 but looking back the other way.	This black and white photograph is taken from Cripps Hall's Wikipedia page and shows the more usual layout of the dining tables in the great hall.	This shot of the Cripps Hall library was taken by Matt Buck in August 2012 and also appears on the Cripps Hall Wikipedia page.