Gibbet Hill
Encyclopedia
Gibbet Hill is the location of, and name for the University of Warwick's
southern campus, based close to the outskirts of Coventry
, in the West Midlands
, England
.
The Gibbet Hill campus is home to School of Life Sciences, the University's Estates Office, Warwick Medical School
, and some maths houses. The campus also has its own cafe, serving hot and cold meals throughout the day.
Gibbet Hill is linked to the university's main campus by a path through Tocil Wood, as well as Gibbet Hill Road. It is approximately one kilometre from the heart of Central Campus and takes 10–12 minutes by foot to reach Gibbet Hill. Gibbet Hill is 25–30 minutes away by foot from the Westwood Campus.
The hill itself is named after the crossroads at the apex of the hill (just beyond the campus on the Kenilworth road) on which a scaffold for public hangings called a Gibbet
used to stand. Ironically it is now the scene of many car accidents.
In recent years, redevelopment work has taken place at Gibbet Hill, including the conversion of some former mathematics facilities into medical teaching buildings.
The Gibbet Hill site was the entire campus for the first few years of the University of Warwick's existence. The original 1960s building at the core of the development housed offices and tutorial rooms for all university departments, together with the two lecture theatres. Students in their first year shared many general lectures, whatever their subject - on the first day they were all addressed together in ELT1. The two storey building that was part of the Estates Office was the original library.
At that time the university also occupied Wainbody House in Stoneleigh Road and 6 Gibbet Hill Road. Wainbody House continued to be used for office accommodation until it was sold by the university in 2004 for £695,000 and converted into flats. 6 Gibbet Hill Road was rented as postgraduate accommodation for several years, but is now used by the university chaplaincy.
Gibbet Hill Road contains a number of large detached properties, many of which date from before 1930, and along with Kenilworth Road & Cryfield Grange Road it is known to be Coventry's premier residential location on the Warwickshire border.
The university also maintained a house at 110 Kenilworth Road as the residence of its vice-chancellor. This property was sold in 1985 with the proceeds of the sale used to finance the renovation of Cryfield Farmhouse and its outbuildings for the use of Warwick's vice-chancellors.
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
southern campus, based close to the outskirts of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Warwick Medical School
The school was opened in 2000 and is as part of the University of Warwick. Originally linked with Leicester Medical School, Warwick Medical School was granted independent degree-awarding status by the Privy Council on the recommendation of the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom...
, and some maths houses. The campus also has its own cafe, serving hot and cold meals throughout the day.
Gibbet Hill is linked to the university's main campus by a path through Tocil Wood, as well as Gibbet Hill Road. It is approximately one kilometre from the heart of Central Campus and takes 10–12 minutes by foot to reach Gibbet Hill. Gibbet Hill is 25–30 minutes away by foot from the Westwood Campus.
The hill itself is named after the crossroads at the apex of the hill (just beyond the campus on the Kenilworth road) on which a scaffold for public hangings called a Gibbet
Gibbet
A gibbet is a gallows-type structure from which the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. In earlier times, up to the late 17th century, live gibbeting also took place, in which the criminal was placed alive in a metal cage...
used to stand. Ironically it is now the scene of many car accidents.
In recent years, redevelopment work has taken place at Gibbet Hill, including the conversion of some former mathematics facilities into medical teaching buildings.
Early years
Gibbet Hill campus was originally known as 'East Site', and until the 1997 redevelopment and extension of the (then) Mathematics and Biology buildings, the lecture theatres were named accordingly as ELT1 and ELT2. They are now named GLT1 and GLT2.The Gibbet Hill site was the entire campus for the first few years of the University of Warwick's existence. The original 1960s building at the core of the development housed offices and tutorial rooms for all university departments, together with the two lecture theatres. Students in their first year shared many general lectures, whatever their subject - on the first day they were all addressed together in ELT1. The two storey building that was part of the Estates Office was the original library.
At that time the university also occupied Wainbody House in Stoneleigh Road and 6 Gibbet Hill Road. Wainbody House continued to be used for office accommodation until it was sold by the university in 2004 for £695,000 and converted into flats. 6 Gibbet Hill Road was rented as postgraduate accommodation for several years, but is now used by the university chaplaincy.
Gibbet Hill Road contains a number of large detached properties, many of which date from before 1930, and along with Kenilworth Road & Cryfield Grange Road it is known to be Coventry's premier residential location on the Warwickshire border.
The university also maintained a house at 110 Kenilworth Road as the residence of its vice-chancellor. This property was sold in 1985 with the proceeds of the sale used to finance the renovation of Cryfield Farmhouse and its outbuildings for the use of Warwick's vice-chancellors.