Sub-sub-sub-series 3 - Room Inventories and Valuations

'Furniture Account': During the war [WW1] many students left the College, and their rooms were left vacant or used by Cadets in training. It was then found desirable that the furniture which was the property of those who had gone should be purchased by the College in order to clear their accounts. The goods so acquired formed the nucleus for the furnishing of rooms by the College. During the last three years of Dr Tanner's tenure as Tutorial Bursar the number of rooms so furnished grew to 71, the required capital being taken out of the Tutorial Bursar's floating balances. The standard of the furnishing at that time was not high. The bulk of the furniture was old, including many shabby basket chairs and broken settees as left behind by the men going down. The estimated value at cost price was about £20 per set. By 1924 the number of sets had grown to about 100 and it was clear that there was a demand for the new system. This demand was all the greater because the large number of undergraduates in residence reduced the average tenancy of a set of rooms in College to no much more than one year, scholars execepted. At the same time undergraduates appeared to find that it was an advantage not to have to put down a sum of £20 or more for purchase of furniture.

Accordingly in 1924, the Council regularised the finance of the scheme by authorising a definite loan from the Senior Bursar of £2700 to be repaid with interest at 5% by instalments. At the same time a higher scale of rentals was adopted which permitted the raising of the standard of furnishing by extensive repairs and replacements. Even with the increased rental the system remained in demand. Later further loans were authorised and in the year 1933 a further extension of the scheme was undertaken.