Hornsey College of Art

Hornsey College of Art is a former college centred in Crouch End, London, now part of Middlesex University.

Founded in 1880, it became the Hornsey College of Arts and Crafts in 1955.

The 1968 Sit-In
During 1968, the college was the scene of some intense student protests - students occupied the Crouch End Hill site. Students attending the multi-site college convened to discuss the withdrawal of Student Union funds and resolved to sit-in. During this period students effected a temporary administration of the college. They were supported by sympathetic academic staff and visiting artists. The students managed themselves in an open and democratic manner, with respect for equal rights, and produced a number of documents offering a critique of the then education system. Some of these documents are presented as part of a project called The Hornsey Project. The college was repossessed by local authorities at the beginning of the summer break.

The action can be viewed as part of the generational consciousness expressed across Europe during May 1968, commonly identified with the student riots in Paris.

After the protests, Tom Nairn who would go on to become one of the United Kingdom's foremost thinkers on nationalism was dismissed from the college. Another radical lecturer, Kim Howells, later became a trade union official and a Minister in the Tony Blair government.