St Michael's Church (and the surrounding land) in the snow. It's a black-and-white photograph from 1970.

Above – St Michael’s Church, c. 1970. © The Open University.

The first church on this site was built in 1189. At this time the area was ‘walled’ or fenced, giving it the name ‘Walton’. The church was thoroughly restored in 1861 and again in the 1970s.

When the University moved onto the campus the church was dilapidated. The last parish service was held there in 1974. The Open University leased the building and undertook a programme of extensive restoration and the church reopened with a concert in 1978.

Several staff of The Open University have been buried in the churchyard, including the University’s first Secretary Anastasios Christodoulou.

The building is now frequently used for University clubs, choir rehearsals and performances, exhibitions and other functions.

Walton Hall in the snow. The photo is black-and-white and is from 1975.

Above – Walton Hall, c. 1975. © The Open University.

A photo of Walton Hall and the OU campus in the snow. The photo is from 1994.

Above – Walton Hall, c. 1994. © The Open University.

In 1201 Walton appears in records as an estate, consisting of land that had been taken from the Bow Brickhill Parish. The earliest owners are believed to have been the Rixbauds around 1200.

The earliest surviving part of Walton Hall, the rear red brick portion, was built in the 1690s by the Gilpin family. They bought the Hall from the Beale family but sold it after a few years to London lawyer Sir Thomas Pinfold (1638-1701). The Pinfolds chose to live in nearby Walton Manor while most of Walton Hall was rebuilt. The front white square part of the Hall was built by Thomas’ grandson and subsequent owner of the Hall, Captain Charles Pinfold (c.1777-1857), in 1830.

In the early 1900s the Hall was sold to Dr Vaughan Harley, a Professor of Medicine and member of the family that gave its name to Harley Street in London. Dr Harley’s eldest daughter Diana and her husband, Brigadier Eric Earle, were the last family to live there.

During the latter part of the Second World War the Hall was used to house forty WRNS who worked at Bletchley Park. The Earles moved into the nearby Walton Lodge cottage during the war. The Brigadier died in 1965 and the Hall was briefly occupied by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation Planning and Architect’s Offices.

By November 1968 Walton Hall had been identified as a potential site for the new Open University through the offices of Lord Campbell of Eskan, the chairman of the Milton Keynes Development Corporation. On 1st April 1969 building work began to incorporate the new staff and the move from Belgrave Square in London to Milton Keynes took place in October of that year.

In 1970 Lord Mountbatten officially opened the first new buildings on the campus.