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York Place Ragged School was founded in 1864 by the philanthropist and educationist Quintin Hogg (1845-1903), inspired by his observation of the poor in London. With Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird (1847-1923, later 11th Baron Kinnaird), he rented rooms in York Place (formerly Of Alley), off the Strand, for a boys' school, initially a day school, which subsequently began to open in the evenings. Hogg was himself involved in teaching the boys. Another of Hogg's Eton friends, the Hon Thomas Henry William Pelham (1847-1916), was also involved in its inception.

The Strand premises were gradually expanded, and a boys' home opened in 1866. The school was associated with a mission room. Later initiatives also catered for girls. By 1869 the institution had more spacious premises at Castle Street, Long Acre. York Place was retained as a home for young women.

Hogg, who was engaged in various philanthropic and educational enterprises, also founded the Youths' Christian Institute (later known as the Young Men's Christian Institute). The removal of this Institute to larger premises in Long Acre in 1878 marked its separation from the Ragged School, which ceased when the Board Schools made such institutions less necessary. The missionary work and boys' homes continued under others, but Hogg himself was increasingly absorbed with his Institute.

Marian Henrietta Hewlett (1843-1915) decided to begin art and domestic science classes for girls in Harrow in 1887. Under the auspices of the Harrow Band of Mercy, premises were rented at no 102 High Street in 1888, and public funding (for technical education) was received from Middlesex County Council from 1890 (and from 1894 its Technical Education Committee). Boys were also admitted. Students were drawn from Harrow and the surrounding districts. A new building for Harrow Technical School opened at Greenhill, in Station Road, in 1902 (extended in 1907 and 1932). Teaching included art, photography, commercial and domestic subjects, particularly in evening classes. The School of Art was increasingly important. Many of the instructors were part-time.

The name was changed to Harrow Technical College and School of Art in 1948. The first building on a 25-acre site at Northwick Park (acquired in 1936) was begun in 1954, completed in 1959 and formally opened in 1961. It housed the technical and commercial departments (Engineering, Science, Photography, Commerce, and Domestic Studies) - the School of Art did not move from Station Road until later. Following the White Paper on Technical Education in 1956 (Cmnd 9703) Harrow was designated an area college.

From the 1960s alterations were made in Harrow courses and status under the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), with more degree-level courses and an increased number of full-time and part-time day students and staff. Links were formed with polytechnics including PCL (the Polytechnic of Central London, formerly Regent Street Polytechnic). Harrow specialisms included photography, fashion and ceramics. Additions were made to the buildings at Northwick Park in the 1970s. In 1978 the college was renamed Harrow College of Higher Education.

In 1990 Harrow merged with PCL, which in 1992 became the University of Westminster. The Harrow campus was re-developed to house Harrow Business School, Harrow School of Computer Science, and the Schools of Communication and Design and Media (now the School of Communication and the Creative Industries). It was formally opened in 1995.

The Young Men's Christian Institute became Regent Street Polytechnic when the Polytechnic Scheme of Administration was approved by an Order in Council on 23 June 1891. The Scheme, which was drawn up under the auspices of the Charity Commissioners, established a new governing body and ensured annual funding from the City Parochial Foundation.

The Scheme changed the name and status of a well-established and rapidly expanding institution. The Young Men's Christian Institute (originally the Youths' Christian Institute), founded and funded by Quintin Hogg (1845-1903) in Covent Garden, had moved to 309 Regent Street in 1882, and gradually assumed the title of Polytechnic, which came from the name of the building, well known to the public as the former home of the Royal Polytechnic Institution. Hogg's vision was to provide for the athletic, intellectual, social and religious needs of young men, and to this end he provided a range of sporting and social facilities as well as an increasing range of educational and vocational classes. His institution attracted a great deal of attention from the technical education lobby, and also from Henry Cunynhame, one of the Charity Commissioners, whose reports prompted the Commission's decision to devote a substantial proportion of the revenue created by the City of London Parochial Charities Act (1883) to endowing Regent Street and establishing a network of polytechnics on the Regent Street model throughout the metropolis. The City Parochial Foundation (CPF) was established in 1891 to administer the funds. The 1891 Scheme, with some amendments, shaped the government of Regent Street Polytechnic until 1970. From 1893 the Polytechnic also received grants from the Technical Education Board (TEB) of the London County Council. The London Polytechnic Council (LPC) was established to inspect and co-ordinate the work of the polytechnics. Both the TEB and the LPC were abolished following the London Education Act in 1904, when the LCC took over responsibility for education in the metropolis. By then it had overtaken the CPF in provision of financial support for the polytechnics, and continued to fund and to manage them until 1965, when it was succeeded by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). The maintenance grant for Regent Street was negotiated on an annual basis. CPF funding, which remained at the level established by the 1891 Scheme, was withdrawn from the polytechnics in 1962.

The establishment of a formal management structure and the increasing dependence upon outside funding, which brought external accountability and loss of independence, eventually led to the breakdown of Hogg's unified vision. The educational side, which dealt with students and the organisation of classes, became separate from the Institute side, which catered for members of the social and sporting clubs, with the eventual decline of the Institute. This was a slow process, however, with many individuals participating in the full range of activities, and the Polytechnic remained remarkably unchanged until after World War Two. When Hogg died in 1903, he was succeeded as President by Kynaston Studd, who remained in office until his death in 1944, and did much to continue the traditions of the founder. Two major appeals were launched to support expansion, the first for the rebuilding of no 309 Regent Street in 1910-1912, and the second to build the Polytechnic Extension building in Little Titchfield Street, which was formally opened in 1929. Both buildings continued to provide sporting and social facilities for members of the Institute as well as workshops and classrooms for students of the Education Department.

The Education Department provided a wide range of courses, with a rapid expansion of commercial subjects alongside the original trade and technical classes. Courses ranged from post-elementary school entry for craft and technical training at 13 to preparation for University of London external degrees. Most teaching was in the evening and part-time, though day classes increased throughout the period. Following World War Two there was a rapid growth in the demand for further education and training, which was reorganised following the White Paper on Technical Education (Cmnd 9703) in 1956. The variety of levels of work at Regent Street meant that it was designated a regional college rather than a college of advanced technology, after which the governors decided to reduce the proportion of lower level work. Following the establishment of the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) in 1964, a number of degree courses were approved and became operational. In 1960 the London County Council announced a plan to turn Regent Street into a tri-partite federal college by adding a new College of Architecture and Advanced Building Technology (CAABT) and also a College of Engineering and Science (CES). The existing commercial subjects would remain centred on 309 Regent Street. CAABT was allocated the Luxborough Lodge site in Marylebone Road and CES a site in New Cavendish Street. Both schemes suffered prolonged delays and the new buildings were not finished until 1970. Meanwhile the publication of the White Paper, 'A Plan for Polytechnics and Other Colleges' (Cmd 3006), had announced the creation of some 30 polytechnics throughout the country to form what became called the public sector of the binary system of higher education. The 13 existing colleges managed by ILEA were to be reorganised into five. Holborn College of Law, Languages and Commerce was merged with Regent Street to form PCL (the Polytechnic of Central London). At a ceremony on 21 May 1971, the Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham, grandson and namesake of Quintin Hogg, opened the new buildings and designated the new institution.

The Polytechnic Institution was opened in August 1838 to provide the public with (in the words of its prospectus of 1837) 'a practical knowledge of the various arts and branches of science connected with Manufactures, Mining Operations, and Rural Economy'. The idea was that of Charles Payne, former manager of the Adelaide Gallery in the Strand. William Mountford Nurse, a builder, provided the initial capital. Sir George Cayley (1773-1857), landowner and aeronautical scientist, became chairman of the provisional committee and later of the directors. His influence helped to raise the necessary share capital. A house at no 5 Cavendish Square was purchased, and a new gallery building (designed by James Thompson) added, with an entrance on Regent Street.

The Institution received its charter of incorporation in 1839. The Gallery housed a large exhibition hall, lecture theatre, and laboratories. Public attractions included exhibitions, working machines and models, scientific lectures, rides in a diving bell - a major attraction - and, from 1839, demonstrations of photography. In 1841 Richard Beard opened the first photographic studio in Europe on the roof of the building.

The Institution became known for its spectacular magic lantern shows, pioneered by Henry Langdon Childe (d 1874), and a new theatre was added in 1848. John Henry Pepper (1821-1900) was appointed lecturer and analytical chemist in that year. He was its most famous showman, also expanding the teaching role of the Polytechnic, which began evening classes in 1856 under the auspices of the Society of Arts. By the 1870s these were formalised under the Polytechnic College. By 1841 the Institution was calling itself the Royal Polytechnic, probably due to the patronage of Prince Albert.

Expansion gradually gave way to financial difficulty, reflecting a long-standing tension between education and the need for profit. A fatal accident on the premises in 1859 caused the first company to be wound up and a new one formed. Various regeneration schemes were considered, but in 1879 a fire damaged the roof, precipitating the final crisis. By 1881 the Royal Polytechnic Institution had failed, the assets sold at auction and the building (no 309 Regent Street) put up for sale. It was purchased by the philanthropist Quintin Hogg (1845-1903), and the RPI succeeded by his Young Men's Christian Institute (later known at the Regent Street Polytechnic), which opened in 1882. Hogg lived for some years in the house in Cavendish Square.

The Youth's Christian Institute (later known as the Young Men's Christian Institute) grew out of York Place Ragged School, which had been founded in 1864 by the philanthropist and educationist Quintin Hogg (1845-1903). Hogg founded the Institute in 1873 (some sources wrongly given the date as 1871) to provide for the needs of older, working boys who were evidently reluctant to break their connection with the School. It was in this period that Hogg developed his vision for providing for the athletic, intellectual, social and religious needs of young men which later characterised the polytechnic movement.

The initial premises were between Endell Street and Castle Street, which it shared with the Ragged School, but it outgrew these, having increased its membership to some 300, and in 1878 removed to larger premises in nearby Long Acre. Membership fees paid for free use of a library, social rooms, gymnasium and entertainments for members; a small additional fee was required from students for technical classes. Non-members paid larger fees. Robert Mitchell (1855-1933), the Institute's honorary secretary, agreed to become the full-time Secretary. A more ambitious programme of classes was instituted: Science and Art classes began in 1878. A savings bank was also inaugurated. Soon there were 500 members and a year-long waiting list. A monthly magazine, Home Tidings (from 1888 The Polytechnic Magazine), was started in 1879.

Hogg's search for larger premises identified a suitable site in St Martin's Lane, but in 1882 he instead purchased the lease and equipped and enlarged no 309 Regent Street, which provided much larger premises than Long Acre. The building had until 1881 housed the Royal Polytechnic Institution, which failed in that year. It became known as the Polytechnic Young Men's Christian Institute. The premises at Long Acre were closed. Hogg was its President, and Robert Mitchell its Secretary and, from 1891, the Director of Education.

From 1882 an expanded programme of classes began, including science and art classes held in conjunction with the Science and Art Department (of the Board of Trade), and a scheme of technical and trade education, related to the City and Guilds of London Institute of Technical Instruction and to the London Trades Council. The building housed classrooms, a swimming bath, gymnasium, and a refreshment room. Activities included debating and gymnastics. By 1888 membership was 4,200, in addition to 7,300 students, and over 200 classes were held weekly; concerts, lectures, and an annual industrial exhibition were also held. Membership was open to those aged between 16 and 25. A Young Women's Branch, housed in separate premises in Langham Place, was also begun. In the early 1880s the Institute attracted much favourable attention from the technical education lobby.

Following the City of London Parochial Charities Act in 1883, it became clear that funds would be available to endow the Polytechnic and to found and support institutions on the same model across London. A public appeal was launched in 1888 to raise the required matching funding. The Scheme was finalised under the auspices of the Charity Commissioners in 1891, when the Institute was reconstituted as Regent Street Polytechnic, managed by a newly created governing body.

The Polytechnic of Central London (PCL) was designated on 1 May 1970 as a result of the White Paper, 'A Plan for Polytechnics and Other Colleges' (Cmd 3006), published in 1966. This outlined the arrangements for implementing the government's policy for a dual system of higher education, divided by the binary line, first outlined by Anthony Crosland, Secretary of State for Education, in a speech at Woolwich Polytechnic in 1965. The polytechnics in the public sector would provide vocational, professional and industrially-based courses, some for degrees awarded by the Council of National Academic Awards (CNAA), some at sub-degree level, and some to provide a second chance for those who had missed the opportunity for further education on leaving school.

PCL was the result of a merger of Regent Street Polytechnic with Holborn College of Law, Languages and Commerce. The new institution was structured as a limited company, incorporated on 22 April 1970. The memorandum and articles of association (1970) defined the responsibilities and constitutional framework, including the powers of the Court of Governors and of the Academic Council. London polytechnics continued to be funded and to an extent managed by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). Degrees were awarded by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) which both validated new courses and carried out a more general quinquennial review of institutions.

By 1970 the plan to turn Regent Street into a tri-partite federal college, first announced by the LCC in 1960, was finally implemented when the buildings on the two new sites at Marylebone Road and New Cavendish Street were finished. At a ceremony on 21 May 1971, Lord Hailsham, Lord Chancellor and grandson and namesake of the founder Quintin Hogg, combined opening the new buildings with the formal presentation of the Instrument of designation to PCL. Marylebone Road housed architecture, building, civil engineering, surveying and town planning, together with a separate block for management studies; electrical and electronic engineering, life sciences, mathematics and physics, and mechanical engineering moved to New Cavendish Street. In the early 1970s the extension building between Riding House Street and Little Titchfield Street was refurbished for the School of Communication, and Languages moved to a newly acquired building in Euston Centre in 1978. The Sidney Webb College of Education was amalgamated with PCL in 1975 and closed in 1980. In 1990 Harrow College of Higher Education merged with PCL.

Between 1970 and 1988 PCL expanded and developed to provide industrial, commercial, professional and scientific education, training and research for students at all levels of higher and technical education. By 1988 there were roughly 5,000 students on full-time and sandwich courses, the majority of whom were following CNAA degree and post-graduate courses; 6,000 students followed part-time and evening courses. PCL ran Europe's largest programme of short courses, with 17,000 people every year engaged in mid-career and personal development. Among a number of innovations was the development of one-year foundation programmes leading to degrees in engineering and science, which were subsequently adopted nationwide as a way of widening participation. Research activity increased. In 1988, PCL was awarded a total value of £3.2 million in external research awards (compared with £30,000 in 1970), although it was excluded from applying for the public research funding available to universities.

The Education Reform Act of 1988 removed polytechnics from the control of local authorities and transferred their funding to a new body, the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council (PCFC), which was itself replaced in 1992 when the Higher and Further Education Act created a single Higher Education Funding Council, abolishing the binary line by removing any remaining distinctions between polytechnics and universities. PCL became the University of Westminster in 1992.

In 1988 PCL celebrated the 150th anniversary of its predecessor, the Royal Polytechnic Institution, with a programme of special events. The Polytechnic Institute, representing the sports and social clubs characteristic of Regent Street Polytechnic, continued to function during this period, though its activities declined considerably as pressure for educational use in the buildings increased.