Keyham Royal Naval Engineering College
The Royal Naval Engineering College was a specialist
establishment for the training of Royal Navy engineers. It was founded as
Keyham College in 1880, new buildings were opened in Manadon in 1940 and the
old college site at Keyham closed in 1958. The college was renamed HMS
Thunderer in 1946, and closed in 1994.
RNEC Keyham College
Construction of Keyham College on the dockside in the Keyham suburb of
Plymouth started in February 1879, at a cost of £30,000 and opened in
July 1880 as Training Schools for Engineer Students, replacing the hulk of HMS
Marlborough which had been used as accommodation for engineering students since
1877. Students spent five years living at the college, and undergoing training
in workshops around the dockyard, before spending a further two years at
Greenwich college and then assigned to ships as Assistant Engineers.
The
college originally only contained accommodation, replacing that provided by
Marlborough, but an additional building was later constructed containing
lecture theatres, a laboratory and a gymnasium which was subsequently converted
to a test engineering shop. The two buildings were connected by a bridge. Later
further workshops were added, as was a covered parade ground. An extension to
provide accommodation for an additional 50 students was built in
1895-1897.
The Selborne-Fisher scheme of 1903 meant that engineering and
deck officers received the same basic training and led the closure of the
college in 1910. However it reopened in July 1913 and on the outbreak of the
First World War the following year the students were sent off to serve on
warships and the college turned over to special entry cadet training. After the
war, the college reverted to engineer training.
RNEC Manadon
Plans were announced in 1937 to move the college to Manadon, and
the new college opened in May 1940 at the manor house, expanding rapidly during
the Second World War. By 1945 there were several new permanent and temporary
buildings on the site, and the original manor house was being used for staff
accommodation.
In December 1946 the RNEC Manadon had been renamed HMS
Thunderer. Further permanent building work took place following the end of the
war, with a recreation block completed in 1947, and the instructional block,
boiler house and factory workshop completed in 1951.
The old Keyham
College closed in 1958 and was converted to the Dockyard Technical College,
reopening in November 1959. The buildings were demolished in 1985.
HMS
Thunderer continued until 1994, when engineer training was transferred to the
University of Southampton.
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