Ellen Wilkinson Commons Now Open

27 Jun 2025

The Ellen Wilkinson Commons is officially open, replacing the former PGCE Labs corridor on the ground floor (C Block) of the Ellen Wilkinson building

This vibrant, collaborative space provides students, staff, and visitors with a much-needed communal area for the Ellen Wilkinson building with amenities such as meeting pods, flexible seating, charging points, vending machines, and a water cooler.  

The Commons also offers six meeting rooms—including a boardroom—named after stops from the historic 1936 Jarrow March, a 282-mile protest march against poverty and unemployment in which Ellen Wilkinson played a prominent role, a wellbeing room, and a kitchen. 

We are delighted to welcome everyone to this new space, created to honour Ellen Wilkinson’s legacy and foster connection within our community. 

This Summer, SEED Operations, MIE leads, and the Estates team will finalize touches and introduce management procedures for the space.  

Meeting rooms will be available for booking via Resource Booker in time for the new academic year, until then, you are welcome to use the spaces on a first come, first served basis.  

All SEED colleagues will have an opportunity to explore the space, if they haven’t already, during the SEED summer social. A formal launch event will be explored for the new academic year.