Royal College of Saint Almsworth
This article is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
The Royal College of Saint Almsworth, sometimes referred to simply as "Saints", is a university situated near a lake at the base of Almsworth Hill, not far outside the city of Almsworth.
Locations
Notable locations on the Saints campus include:
The central quad
Originally a set of disparate teaching buildings and other facilities, the campus was unified in the 1960s by the construction of a central quad of green space, surrounded by administrative and office spaces for the university. The former main library, also built as part of this project, has since been repurposed as a student hangout and study area. The center of the quad is occupied by a brutalist clock tower shaped like a spike. [SD 18]
The central tower
Distinct from the clock tower in the quad, the central tower of the Royal College was once "the jewel" of campus but is now "slightly shabby" and houses a laundromat, a small supermarket, and one of two bookshops. On top, it retains its only original feature, Café One. [SD 18] Following the construction of the Anthill, it is no longer actually the center of campus geographically (or culturally). [SD 30]
Café One
A restaurant at the top of the central tower. Intended as a trendy social hub, it "never caught on" and now sells sausage sandwiches, baked potatoes, and other cheap, portable food. [SD 18]
The Anthill
Functionally (if not geographically) the center of the Saints' campus, the Anthill is a lecture theatre complex of interlocking brown domes and circular green skylights built in the late 1990s. Officially the Arthur Nathan Turner Halls, though no students refer to it as such (its namesake was reportedly "not happy" with the nickname, but died before he could remove the Royal College from his will). [SD 8] The building features curved fascia, internal viewing windows, and large lecture theatres. Despite its "ostentatious" construction, [SD 20] from a birds-eye view it unintentionally resembles a "a big poo". [SD 23]
The Anthill features an area referred to as "the nook": a cosy, rounded area on the ground floor of the Anthill, home to a scattering of desks, vending machines, and booths for conducting impromptu meetings. [SD 23]
Since 2004, the building has lent its name to the campus' quarterly cultural newsletter: News From The Anthill. [SD 8]
The Anthill was built over the site of a gentleman's club that was closed in the 1970s and a crumbling lakeside promenade. [SD 15]
The Student Union Bar
Formerly a village pub, now a bar at the edge of campus. A footpath near the Student Union Bar is the primary route to reach Dorley Hall.
Almsworth HIll
Christine often retreats to a bench atop Almsworth Hill on campus when she is feeling stressed out or in a ruminative mood. It has a "marvellous" view of the campus. [SD 3] Melissa concedes that it's more of a "hillock" and states that "there are rabbits" there. [SD 26]
The Royal College of Saint Almsworth sits at the base of Almsworth Hill, a shallow bump in the landscape only worthy of a proper name because the surrounding countryside is so persistently flat, and Christine Hale sits at its very top, on a bench dedicated to someone whose name has long since rubbed off, waiting for night to fall. [SD 3]
Other locations
- Windsor Tower - A campus residential tower. It is "famously" always open to guests. [SD 20]
- The Halliday Building - An office building on the edge of campus opposite Dorley Hall, where the school "warehouses" some of the lecturers. As one of the less glamorous buildings at Saints, its less plush offices are generally delegated to less "fashionable" degrees, such as Linguistics -- Professor Dawson has an office on the third floor. [SD 23]
| Locations in The Sisters of Dorley | |
|---|---|
| In England | Almsworth, Cherston-on-Sea, London, Stenordale Manor |
| In Almsworth | Dorley Hall (basement), Egg Nation, Legend, Royal College of Saint Almsworth |