The Wilson College, established in 1832 in Mumbai, is one of India's oldest colleges; its foundation precedes that of the University of Mumbai, (to which it is affiliated), by 25 years. Wilson College was granted autonomy by Mumbai University in November 2021. It was awarded an A rating by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2005.

Located opposite Mumbai's Girgaon Chowpatty, the college building was constructed in 1889 and designed by John Adams in the domestic Victorian Gothic style. It is listed as a Grade III heritage structure in the city. , the college offered a variety of subjects for both higher secondary and undergraduate students which include University Aided courses for the Arts and the Sciences as well as self-financed courses such as Mass Media, Information Technology, Management Studies, Biotechnology, Electronics & Computer Science.

History

The Wilson College was founded by the Scottish missionary Rev. John Wilson, in 1832. Beginning as Ambroli English School in Girgaum, Mumbai, it later saw several changes of sites and names, eventually being called the Wilson School. The collegiate section, from which Wilson College evolved, came about in 1836.

Soon after their arrival in Mumbai in February 1829, Wilson and his wife Margaret Wilson began studying the local language of Marathi. Margaret started a school for girls in 1829 at Ambroli House in Girgaum at Mumbai, with Marathi being the chief medium of instruction and learning. An English boarding school was opened in 1832, which later became the St. Columba School. The Ambroli English School is the direct forerunner of the present college.

On 14 December 1861, the collegiate section of Wilson's institution under the name of Free General Assembly's Institution became the first privately owned, non-government institution to be affiliated to the university.The Wilsonian. 1942. In 1952, the management of the college came under an autonomous Board of Governors in India. Since 1963, the college functions under the management of John Wilson Education Society. Wilson College is a Christian minority institution and is closely related to CNI. It aims at education of the Christian community and extends its facilities and services to other communities too.

The students of Wilson College are from nearly every ethnic, religious and social group, of the country as well as of the world.

The motto of the college is "Fides, Spes, Caritas" (Vishwas, Asha, Prem) — Faith (in God), Hope (that the college can achieve the highest level of moral, spiritual and intellectual excellence, and love that steers one through life).The Wilsonian. 1965.

After the death of Dr. Wilson in 1875, Rev Dr Dugald Mackichan served as a successor, having already served the college for six months at the time of Wilson's death. Nine years later, Mackichan became principal and held the position until 1920, becoming one of the most distinguished principals of the college.The Wilsonian. 1948. Mackichan, who taught physics and was instrumental for setting up the college's physics laboratory, was a distinguished physicist in his own right and had formerly worked with British scientist Lord Kelvin.

The Postal Department, Government of India honoured its founder and the institution by issuing a Special Day Postal Cover in 2004. In 2007 to commemorate the completion of its 175 years, a stamp and first day cover of Wilson College was issued.

The Wilsonian

The Wilsonian, the annual magazine publication of Wilson College, was first printed and published from Pune by the Scottish Mission Industries Co. Ltd. on behalf of the Wilson College Literary Society with the first issue appearing in 1909.The Wilsonian. 1983.

The names of the editors do not appear until 1933. The Wilsonian was published twice a year from 1909 until 1944, when it was decided to publish it only once a year. The Wilsonian has been an annual publication ever since. Launching its debut issue, the motto of The Wilsonian was:

Be thou the bond to bind in love and peace Wilsonians all that are And were, and are to be

Architecture

The building has first-floor classrooms with teakwood trusses. These classrooms are protected by deep verandahs, which overlook the Girgaum Chowpatty beach and are protected by the Mangalore tiled roof.

The arched veranda with its segmental sandstone arches on the ground floor forms one of the common features of the building. The deep over-hanging verandahs on the west façade facing the sea form a buffer between the classrooms and the exteriors. They bear the brunt of the heavy rains and the sunlight.

As seen in most of the buildings in that period, Minton tiles have been used for the college verandah flooring. The main staircase area has some mosaic tile decoration with floral motifs. The use of red terracotta tiles in the first floor and the second floor makes the floor look different and these are in a relatively good condition. Many original teakwood doors and windows still exist in the college.

The entrance lobby with its grand staircase is one of the features in all the buildings designed by John Adams. The grand timber staircase with the multi-foil circular panel design in the handrail is another feature extensively used by John Adams in his design. The classrooms have been designed north–south opening into the west verandah. They have ample windows for ventilation and natural light.

The library, with its teakwood mezzanines and catwalks, is one of the best-maintained areas in the college. The teakwood mezzanines are the extra reading and storage areas in the library – the library furniture has been designed keeping in mind the exact space provision for the storage. The library is divided into bays, which are partitioned with the storage cupboards.

The assembly hall is designed with two level balconies, which were designed to accommodate an orchestra for important functions. The teakwood balcony is supported on the teakwood decorative brackets. There is a multi-foil circular stained glass window with the college crest on it.

The chapel is placed in the north-west corner of the building. The central nave with its arches and the columns has been designed with good acoustics. Each bay of the nave and the side isle has the original lamp fittings illuminating the chapel.

The white marble courtyard fountain is renaissance revival fountain based on one of the famous designs of the famous Italian sculptor Gianlo Renzo Bernini. The fountain is a 3-piece sculptor and is a garden ornament fountain, an order from the catalogue, which was a typical feature in the 19th century. The sculpture depicts the scroll motifs and the long tresses of hair representing the water and river sea nymphs. Fish motifs can also be seen in the hands of the sea nymphs.

Facilities Library

The Wilson College Library was established in 1832. At present it holds approximately 73,000 books and has a staff ch contains information about the location of books. Students can find the books if they enter the name of the author, the book or the theme. The library can accommodate more than 100 students at a time.The Wilsonian. 1960.

The Reference Section extends to the old hall and contains a wide range of books such as encyclopaedias, world books, dictionaries, thesaurus, competitive exam digests, books on history, etc., theses and dissertations, mini displays, magazines and newspapers are also a part of the reference section. The library has taken annual membership with N LIST to access E-resources.

The library also has a rare book section which includes books such as Commentary of Newton's Principia, Minute Book – Dr. Machichan's Signature, Italian–English Dictionary-1829, Madras Christian College Magazine 1890–91, The Holy Bible −1610 A.D., A Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Monier Williams-1872 and Dictionary of English Language-VOL.II-Samuel Johnson-1773. The library also has a digitalised collection and microfilms of Old Gujarati books. It offers immediate access of books to those pursuing a MA, MSC and PhD and offers open access to staff and students. It also issues books to alumni and retired teachers.

Hostels The Wilson College runs three hostels to provide accommodation for its students.

St. Andrew's House is one of the two boys' hostels run by the college, and was established in 1961.

There are 21 double rooms and 11 single rooms in the hostel. Since 1984, St. Andrews House has organised an annual mini-marathon. Sandathon is an exclusive inter-hostel road race for undergraduate residents of the hostel.The Wilsonian. 1990.

Since 2004, this marathon has become open to other college students from Mumbai. The hostel regularly publishes newsletters (Sandy News) and magazines (Sandy Vision). The hostel is also wi-fi enabled. Mackichan Hall, named after Dr Dugald Mackichan (Principal of the college from 1884 to 1920) is the other boys’ hostel run by Wilson College. There are 46 single rooms and 12 sharing rooms in the hostel.

Pandita Ramabai Hostel (PRH), the girls’ hostel of Wilson College was established in 1932. The hostel conducts an annual ‘Fresher’s Night’ where the new residents come together and perform for other residents of the hostel. PRH also has a tradition where residents send anonymous gifts to fellow residents at Christmas, with the names being revealed on Christmas Eve.

Chapel

The Wilson College Chapel is open during the college hours for private prayer and meditation. Short prayer services that include Hymns and Bible reading are conducted every day during the morning and the afternoon recess in the chapel.

The chapel organises a festival called the "Chapel-O-Fiesta" with games and events. It also organises various YMCA camps in Maharashtra. The chapel also has a choir which stood won the intercollegiate carol singing competition at Sophia College in 2010.

The 75th jubilee of the chapel occurred in 2010.

The Andrew’s Vision Centre

The Andrew's Vision Centre popularly known as the AVC came into existence in 2008. The residents of the Saint Andrew's House supported the initiative and raised funds for the establishment of the AVC through Sandyfest, a special festival which was conducted by the Saint Andrew's House. The motto of the Andrew's Vision Center is "To help visually challenged students to be educationally, technologically, psychologically and socially enriched so that they are better equipped to face the challenges of life"

The Andrew's Vision Centre is sponsored and supported by the Rolta Foundation, alumni and the well-wishers of the hostel. The AVC provides a platform for visually impaired students to study in and is located near the Audio Visual room of the college. The center is open from 9 am to 4 pm.

'NVDA’ and ‘JAWS’ are the software used by the students to scan and read their notes. ‘Talking typing teacher’ is also used to help students improve their communication skills, English grammar and to learn new words in the English language.

The volunteers associated with the centre record notes for the students. It also provides general knowledge books in Braille and textbooks and notes of Standard 12 (Maharashtra Board) in Braille for the students. The centre also has books and notes of different subjects which can be accessed and read by the students with the special software called ‘Dazy’.

The AVC at present has 24 visually challenged students. The students of the centre represent the Wilson College in different competitions conducted by various colleges in Mumbai. The students also participated in an exhibition match for the visually challenged students which is organised by Saint Andrew's House. The Wilson College Blind Football Team was formed in the early days of 2017. They acquired an impressive victory over the rest of Mumbai teams and went on to play in the National Blind Football Match held in Cochin, Kerala. The AVC students actively participate in all college activities and events.