Established in 1966 with a generous grant from the Leverhulme Trust, it is the longest established Victorian Studies Centre in Britain. The three founding professors were Professor Philip Collins, Professor of English, Professor Jack Simmons, Professor of History, and Professor H J Dyos, Professor of Urban History.  They were joined shortly after by Professor J A Banks, Professor of Sociology; his wife Professor Olive Banks also contributed seminars on the Centre's module on Victorian Women. 

The Centre's current research and teaching staff are drawn from the College of Arts, Humanities and Law and the College of Social Science, and comprise members of the School of English, the School of Historical Studies which includes the internationally renowned Centres for Urban History and English Local History, and the Department of History of Art and Film.

Philip Collins Seminar Room

You can read about the official opening of the Centre's Philip Collins Seminar Room in an article of the University's eBulletin.