White plaque № 43782

Sir Charles Herbert Reilly (4 March 1874 - 2 February 1948) One of the most important figures in the history of 20th century architecture, Professor Sir Charles Reilly dominated architectural education and had a profound influence on architectural practice. Appointed Roscoe Professor of Architecture at the University of Liverpool in 1904, he built a thriving institution - lengthening the architecture course to five years, securing exemption from the Royal Institute of British Architect's examinations, and founding the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Architecture. In 1909 Professor Reilly was appointed as the architect for this building, the Students' Union - one of the first student guilds in the country to have its own purpose-built space. The proposal to form a Students' Union "for the provision of magazines and periodicals, and the promotion of good fellowship..." had originally been put forward by student Ramsay Muir, and in 1892 two Students' Representative Councils (SRCs) were formed, one for men and one for women. Liverpool was the first English university to give its students the opportunity to influence the running of the institution in this way. In 1904 the SRCs were replaced by a Guild of Undergraduates, but it was not until 1913 that the student body was given a permanent home here. Professor Reilly retired from the University in 1933 and was knighted for his pioneering approach to the teaching of architecture in 1944.

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