London - Commonwealth Institute, Kensington High Street - postcard c.1970s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Commonwealth Institute, Kensington High Street, London W8
• Publisher:  Charles Skilton (05125)
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  4&half p. light blue Machin
• Postmark(s):  Chippenham 1974
• Sent to:  Benenden Chest Hospital, Kent
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The Commonwealth Institute was an educational charity connected with the Commonwealth of Nations, and the name of a building in Kensington formerly owned by the Institute. The successor charity is now based at New Zealand House in Central London. The building on Kensington High Street will become the new home of the Design Museum in an £80 million pound redevelopment opening in 2016.

The Imperial Institute, as it was first known, was established in 1887 as a result of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 by the governments of the United Kingdom and several countries of the British Empire to promote research which would benefit the empire. Initially this was strongly biased towards scientific research that supported the industrial and commercial development of the dominions and colonies.

The Imperial Institute was from 1893 housed in a building on Exhibition Road, South Kensington. The building was designed by T.E. Collcutt and built by John Mowlem & Co from 1887–1894;^[1] it was paid for by public subscription.^[2] Originally, it had three copper-roofed Renaissance-style towers, but a single 85-metre tower, Queen's Tower, is all that remains of the Imperial Institute after demolition in the 1950s and 1960s^[3] to make way for Imperial College.

The Commonwealth Institute Act of 1958 changed the name of the Institute, and also changed its mission to education rather than research.

In 1962, the Commonwealth Institute moved to a distinctive green-roofed building on Kensington High Street, immediately south of Holland Park. The building was opened on Tuesday 6 November 1962 by Queen Elizabeth II. The building was open to the public and contained a permanent exhibition about the nations of the Commonwealth, which was designed to promote trade among them.

From 1962 to 2000, the operation of the Commonwealth Institute was funded by the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In addition to the exhibition, the Institute ran an important library of Commonwealth literature and hosted cultural events. In 2000, ownership of the building was transferred to a Trust managed on behalf of the High Commissioners to London of the Commonwealth nations. Comprehensive repair works were carried out in 2000–1, funded by the FCO, including the complete replacement of the roof, but by this point the Trust had closed the building to the public.

In 2002, the Trust closed the Commonwealth Institute building completely, returning some exhibits to member countries and donating the remaining 11,800 items to the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum in Bristol, which itself closed in 2009 amid allegations of the unauthorised sale of some items from its collection ^[4] - the remainder now reside with the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.

The closure of the Institute building led to controversy because of the secrecy under which it was carried out, the recent expenditure of money on repairs to the building, and the proposal by the trust to demolish the building and sell the site for residential development. Restructuring of the charity and disposal of the building cost about £7 million in redundancies, restructuring and professional fees by July 2006.

The work of the Institute is now carried on by a registered charity, The Commonwealth Education Trust,^[5] was established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute.^[6] The aim of the Trust is to promote education in the Commonwealth, through activities that include support for the Centre for Commonwealth Education at the University of Cambridge. The assets of the Trust exceed £13 million.

type=printed

london borough=kensington and chelsea

period=post-war (1945 - present)

postage condition=posted

number of items=single

size=continental/ modern (150x100mm)