People's Palace Journal Digital Release

23 July 2026

The Centre for Digital Collections is pleased to announce that the People’s Palace Journal collection has now been released online. 

The vast collection consists of 14 Volumes equating 2336 digital assets.

About the collection

The People's Palace (1888–1953) was a charitable institution on Mile End Road, London, established to provide an educational and cultural centre for the people of East London. It hosted a wide variety of events, including lectures, concerts, organ recitals, exhibitions of birds, flowers, animals and artwork, as well as fêtes and other community activities.

The technical and higher education offered at the People's Palace later evolved into Queen Mary University of London. In 1896, the higher education provision became known as East London Technical College, before changing its name to East London College in 1905. East London College became a school of the University of London in 1907.

The Palace Journal was a weekly publication produced by the People's Palace between 16 November 1887 and February 1896. Described in its first issue as a "chronicle of the rise and progress and the onward march of the Palace", it provides an invaluable record of the early history of both the People's Palace and Queen Mary.

The journal contains articles about the Palace alongside wider public interest content, including poetry, short stories and regular features such as Palace Gossip, Men Who Have Risen, The Members' Column, The Ladies' Column, Society and Club Notes, Musical Notes, Class Notes, Letters to the Editor, Competitions, Puzzles and Prizes, and some lovely advertisements.

You can view the People’s Palace Journal collection and all other collections on the Digital Collections Website. 

Coming soon: the Westfield College Photograph Collection - a wonderful visual historic record of staff, students and college life through the years. We look forward to sharing it with you in due course.