The Royal Indian Engineering College (or RIEC) was a British college of Civil Engineering run by the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...

to train civil engineers for service in the Indian Public Works Department. It was located on the Cooper's Hill estate, near Egham, Surrey. It functioned from 1872 until 1906, when its work was transferred to India. The college was colloquially referred to as Cooper's Hill and I.C.E. College (I.C.E. being an acronym for Indian Civil Engineering).

History

A Public Works Department was created in India in 1854, with responsibility for the construction of roads, canals and other civil engineering projects. It experienced difficulties in recruiting suitably qualified staff from the United Kingdom, and in 1868 a scheme was proposed for a dedicated training college in England. The chief advocate of this scheme, and effective founder of the college, was Sir George Tomkyns Chesney. The India Office bought the Cooper's Hill estate for £55,000 in 1870; and the college was formally opened on 5 August 1872, with Chesney as its first President. The college educated about 50 students a year, who paid fees of £150 each. The curriculum included pure and applied mathematics, construction, architectural design, surveying, mechanical drawing, geometry, physics, geology, accounts,

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, whose two official norms are Hindi and Urdu * Fiji Hindi, a variety of Eastern Hindi spoken in Fiji, and ...

, and the history and geography of India. By the late 1870s the college was training more civil engineers than were required in India; but, rather than scaling down its activities, Chesney broadened them. From 1878, the college began to train candidates for the Indian Telegraph Department. From 1881, it began to train candidates for non-Indian services, such as the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, the

Egyptian Government The politics of Egypt are based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. ...

, and the Uganda Railway. In 1885, the first forestry school in England was established at Cooper's Hill, with

William Schlich Sir Wilhelm Philipp Daniel Schlich (28 February 1840 in Flonheim – 28 September 1925 in Oxford), also known as William Schlich, was an eminent German-born forester who worked extensively in India for the British administration. As a professor ...

as the founding director. In the face of competition from new training facilities for engineers elsewhere (notably at the new "redbrick" universities), the college closed on 13October 1906.

Architecture

The principal building at Cooper's Hill was a mansion house erected c. 1865 for the unprincipled company promoter, Baron Albert Grant, to a semi-Gothic design by F. & H. Francis. The conversion of the house for educational use, the design of the interiors, and the addition of a new south wing (including a chapel) were undertaken by the architect Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt.

Rugby football team

In its day, the college's rugby union team, referred to by its opponents as "Cooper's Hill", was one of the most prominent rugby clubs in England. In the 1870s, it produced a number of famous international players including

Stephen Finney Sir Stephen Finney CIE (8 September 1852 – 1 March 1924) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1872 to 1873. Early life Stephen Finney was born on 8 September 1852 in Marylebone. He was educated at Clifton College and ...

, Petley Price, W. C. Hutchinson, N. F. Macleod, and F. D. Fowler. By the 1890s, the team was deemed of medium strength, and a long way behind the form of its heyday. This was put down to boys leaving school earlier than they had previously, thus the team became composed of men who were physically smaller in stature and physique than their predecessors.Marshall, Francis, ''Football; the Rugby union game'', (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited) It boasted the following internationals who played for their countries whilst attending the college: *

(''first capped 1872'') * Henry Marsh (''first capped 1873'') * John Davidson (''first capped 1873'') * Josiah Edward Paul (''first capped 1875'') * W. C. Hutchinson (''first capped 1876'') * P. L. A. Price (''first capped 1877'') *F. D. Fowler (''first capped 1878'') *F. Dawson (''first capped 1878'') *N. F. MacLeod (''first capped 1879'')

After closure

After the college moved out in 1906, the buildings stood empty until bought in 1911 by Baroness Cheylesmore for use as a private home.Brunel University - Coopers Hill, Runnymede
Later, the site became Shoreditch College of Education, a teacher's college specializing in handicraft education, before becoming the Runnymede Campus of Brunel University (until 2007). The site was acquired in 2016 by the Audley Group for conversion into a retirement village, due to open in early 2019.

Cultural references

*The college is mentioned by Rudyard Kipling in his novel '' Stalky & Co.'' (1899): one of the main characters, M'Turk, following schooling at the fictionalised United Services College, is supposed to be "going up for Cooper's Hill".

Presidents

* Lt Col. Sir George Tomkyns Chesney, 1872–1880 *Gen. Sir Alexander Taylor, 1880–1896 *Col. John Pennycuick, 1896–1900 *Col. Sir John Walter Ottley, 1900–1906

Other staff

Staff at the college included: *

Calcott Reilly Callcott Reilly (28 October 1828 – 21 May 1900Institution of Civil EngineersObituary1900.) was a British civil engineer, civil and construction engineer, construction engineer. He is noted for his work on stress (mechanics), uniform stress, as ...

, Professor of Construction, 1872–1897The Royal Engineering College, Cooper's Hill (1871-1906)
/ref> * William Cawthorne Unwin, Professor of Hydraulics and Mechanics, 1872–1884 * Arthur Herbert Church, Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, 1888–1900 * Peter Martin Duncan, Lecturer in Geology and Mineralogy, 1872–1890 * Harry Govier Seeley, Lecturer in Geology and Mineralogy, 1890–1905 *Lt George Sydenham Clarke, Professor of Geometrical Drawing, 1871–1880 * Wilhelm Philipp Daniel Schlich, Professor of Forestry, 1885–1905 * Alfred Lodge, Professor of Mathematics, 1884-1904"Prof. Alfred Lodge"
Obituary, '' Nature''. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved 13 April 2014 * Joseph Wolstenholme, Professor of Mathematics, 1871–1889 * Herbert McLeod, Professor of Chemistry * Charles Alfred Barber, botanist * William H. White, architecture *

George Minchin George Minchin Minchin (born George Minchin Smith, 1845–1914) was an Irish mathematician and experimental physicist. He was a pioneer in the development of astronomical photometry: the first-ever celestial photometric measurements were m ...

, Professor of Applied Mathematics *

Dietrich Brandis Sir Dietrich Brandis (31 March 1824 – 28 May 1907) was a German-British botanist and forestry academic and administrator, who worked with the British Imperial Forestry Service in colonial India for nearly 30 years. He joined the British civil ...

Harry Marshall Ward Harry Marshall Ward (21 March 1854 – 26 August 1906), FRS, , was a British botanist, mycologist, and plant pathologist. Born in Hereford, the eldest child of Francis and Mary Marshall Ward, Harry Ward was educated at Lincoln Cathedral s ...

, botanist *

Horace Bell (engineer) Horace Bell (17 June 1839 – 10 April 1903) was an English civil engineer. As his career progressed he also became increasingly prolific as an author. After eight years working in England as a railway engineer Bell relocated to Presidencies and ...

Alumni

Ali Nawaz Jung Bahadur Mir Ahmed Ali, Nawab Ali Nawaz Jung Bahadur ( In Urdu - میر احمد علی نواب علی نواز جنگ بہادر ) (born on 11 July 1877) was chief engineer during the rule of Nizam of Hyderabad. He was responsible for major irrigatio ...

, engineer * George Charles Beresford, photographer *

Herbert George Billson Herbert George Billson (1871–1938) was a British colonial administrator and natural scientist who worked for the Imperial Forestry Service in India and became Chief Conservator of Indian Forests. Early life Herbert Billson was the son ...

, forester * John Boyle, politician * David Carnegie, explorer *Lt Col Sir Peter Clutterbuck, soldier and forester * George Coles, cricketer * John Davidson, rugby union player *

, rugby union international *

Cecil Ernest Claude Fischer Cecil Ernest Claude Fischer (9 July 1874 – 19 October 1950) was a botanist born in Bombay to European parents. He worked principally in the Indian Forest Service. Life Fischer was born in Bombay, India on 9 July 1874. Prior to university tr ...

, botanist *

Frederick Gebbie Sir Frederick St John Gebbie Order of the Indian Empire, CIE (7 August 1871 – 20 March 1939) was a British civil engineer in India. Gebbie was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was educated at Edinburgh Collegiate School, the University ...

, civil engineer * Henry Guinness, civil engineer and banker *

Charlton Harrison Sir Charlton Scott Cholmeley Harrison, (18 May 1881 – 3 July 1951), was a British civil engineer who spent his career from 1902 until 1933 in British India. He was the chief engineer in overall charge of the construction of the Sukkur Barra ...

, civil engineer *

William Hutchinson William, Willie, Willy, Billy or Bill Hutchinson may refer to: Politics and law * Asa Hutchinson (born 1950), full name William Asa Hutchinson, 46th governor of Arkansas * William Hutchinson (Rhode Island judge) (1586–1641), merchant, judge, ...

, rugby union international *

Christopher Ling Christopher George Ling (6 November 1880 — 21 May 1953) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. The son of Christopher Ling senior, he was born in November 1880 at Wetheral, Cumberland. He was educated at Bradfiel ...

, cricketer * Francis McClean, civil engineer and pioneer aviator * Henry Marash, rugby union international *

Arthur Edward Osmaston Arthur Edward Osmaston (4 March 1885– 30 June 1972) was a forest officer and naturalist in India. He studied at the Royal Indian Engineering College, Cooper's Hill, and joined the Indian Forest Department in the United Provinces. During his t ...

, naturalist *

Bertram Beresford Osmaston Bertram Beresford Osmaston CIE (3 January 1868 – 1961) was an officer in the Imperial Forestry Service in India. Known to many as "BB" he was born at Yeldersley Hall, Derbyshire. Born ninth into a family of fifteen, he was educated at Cheltenha ...

, forester * Josiah Edward Paul, rugby union international * Gervas Pierrepont, 6th Earl Manvers, soldier *

Hugh Theodore Pinhey Hugh Theodore Pinhey (7 December 1858 – 6 February 1953) was a British soldier and one of the last surviving veterans of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Early life and adulthood Hugh Theodore Pinhey was born on 7 December 1858 in Kolhapur (n ...

, soldier * Petley Price, rugby union international * Frederick Campbell Rose, civil engineer *

Robert Scott Troup Robert Scott Troup Order of St Michael and St George, CMG Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (13 December 1874 – 1 October 1939) was a British forestry expert. He spent the first part of his career in Colonial Indi ...

, forester *

Frederick Sprott Sir Frederick Laurence Sprott (10 July 1863 — 24 March 1943) was an English first-class cricketer and engineer. The son of James Sprott, he was born at Shrewsbury in July 1863. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, from where he attended the ...

, cricketer and engineer * John Claude White, engineer and photographer *

Trevredyn Rashleigh Wynne Sir Trevredyn Rashleigh Wynne (1853–1942) was the Managing Director of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway Company from 1915 until 1930 when he became Chairman. During his long career he expanded the length of the Indian Railways by more than 5 times its ...

, railway executive

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

The reforms of the Indian Public Works Department
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1872 Educational institutions disestablished in 1906 Brunel University London Indian Civil Service 1872 establishments in England