Wargrave Local History Society’s September meeting was a presentation by Dan Remenyi about the Henley Management College.
He had had a close association with the college, having worked in the computer industry for a number of years before teaching computer management at the college.
He began with a brief history of the site.
The college is based in one of the most beautiful houses alongside the Thames, Greenlands. There had been a house there since possibly Tudor times, and by the Civil War it was occupied by a Royalist family – but when Charles I was defeated, the Parliamentarians used their guns to demolish the house.
In due course, a new house was built on the site, which was bought by the Smith family (of W H Smith fame), who had founded a newsagent’s business in London 1792. The family acquired a number of estates in this area, including of Hambleden village nearby – later generations being known as Viscount Hambleden.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, the building at Greenlands was made available to the government to use, but, at the end of the war, the family decided that they did not wish to re-occupy the house.
In 1939, Great Britain was not really prepared for war and British industry was not able to respond as needed.
A programme to train managers led to the formal registration of the Administrative Staff College in 1945. It was in needed a home and Greenlands was provided to those starting the college for a peppercorn rent of £100 per year.
The first principal was appointed in 1946 – Noel (later Sir Noel) Hall – and courses were planned to start in 1947, although that was delayed until March 1948.
Facilities at that time were described as “just good enough”.
The courses were based on the ideas of the Army Staff College, where those on the course engaged in syndicate group work, learning from each other’s experience, and a strong emphasis on self-development.
It was a great success, and ‘the world came to Henley’ which was the clear leader in management development, with a two-year waiting list for entrants.
However, financially the fees charged did not cover its costs, and over the years this became a recurrent problem. A later principal, Thomas Kempner, introduced the idea of liaison with Brunel University, offering degree courses for the first time. an MA.
Re-named as an MBA (Master of Business Administration). The course was then readily filled, and Kempner made the Henley Management College into a good business.
This was the ‘golden age’ of Henley, but competition from universities that set up their own business schools meant that the number of course participants declined.
A young and energetic former director at Cadbury Schweppes, Chris Bones, became principal, and believed that the College should change radically, but it was again struggling financially.
As a result, a merger with Reading University was arranged, with Henley Business School (as it had become) at both Greenlands and Whiteknights in Reading.
More details of the Society can be found at www.wargravehistory.org.uk – or email info@wargravehistory.org.uk to confirm meeting details.
PETER DELANEY
