The name Wills Hall reflects the university's connection with the Wills family.
The fortune made by their famous tobacco empire, W. D. & H. O. Wills and later Imperial Tobacco, enabled Henry Overton Wills III to fund the University's foundation in 1908 with a pledge of £100,000 and he financed many of its finest buildings, such as the Wills Memorial Building.
His son George Alfred Wills provided the money to build a hall of residence in memory of his brother Henry Herbert Wills on the site of Downside House, formerly the residence of the Georges, a family of Bristol brewers.

George Alfred Wills originally planned to base the residence around Goldney Hall in Clifton, next to Clifton Hill House.
However, the Warden of the all-female Clifton Hill House felt that having so many young men so close to her residents would pose a significant risk and demanded that the new hall be sited at least two miles away.
Thus Downside House in Stoke Bishop was purchased, and a quadrangle of accommodation blocks erected around it according to the design of Sir George Oatley, with the rooms arranged on staircases (called "houses", A to N).
It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building.
A Latin inscription on the exterior of the dining hall dedicated the hall to Henry Herbert.

Wills Hall was officially opened by Winston Churchill in 1929, then the Chancellor of the University.
When he returned to open Churchill Hall in the late 1950s, he allowed himself to be "kidnapped" and his "release" was allowed only after he signed the following statement, that used to be displayed in the Warden's House at Wills, but which is now in the University's Special Collections Department: 
"I Winston Spencer Churchill MP, CH Chancellor of the University of Bristol, Declare There be No Finer Hostel Than Wills Hall Among The Universities of the British Empire".

The initial quadrangle sufficed until rising student numbers precipitated the building of a further accommodation block, an L-shaped configuration of three linked houses (X, Y and Z) which was opened in 1961.
Another expansion, in 1990, included a further accommodation block arranged on three floors (U, V and W), which featured en-suite rooms and a conference centre, the better to place the University in the conference market, which was becoming an important source of revenue.
Together with X, Y and Z houses, the new development completed a quadrangle now known as New Quad, the original accommodation being Old Quad.
At some points in the Hall's history the "Cambridge" tradition of referring to what Oxford calls "quads" as "courts" has predominated, and whilst at present the norm is to refer to "Old Quad" and "New Quad" for the accommodation blocks, the space next to the JCR Bar is still always known as the "Old Court Lounge".

Wills was founded as an all-male institution and was the last hall to accept both sexes: it went mixed in 1985, despite opposition from some traditionalists, but with the enthusiastic support of most students.
In that year, 70 women took up residence alongside 200 men, and over the next few years the numbers of women residents rose quickly.
Wills today is usually equally balanced between the sexes.
The first woman JCR president was Elise O'Connor, elected in 1986; one of the first women residents, Jane Thompson, became Deputy Warden in 1987.
The name Wills Hall reflects the university's connection with the Wills family. The fortune made by their famous tobacco empire, W. D. & H. O. Wills and later Imperial Tobacco, enabled Henry Overton Wills III to fund the University's foundation in 1908 with a pledge of £100,000 and he financed many of its finest buildings, such as the Wills Memorial Building. His son George Alfred Wills provided the money to build a hall of residence in memory of his brother Henry Herbert Wills on the site of Downside House, formerly the residence of the Georges, a family of Bristol brewers. 
George Alfred Wills originally planned to base the residence around Goldney Hall in Clifton, next to Clifton Hill House. However, the Warden of the all-female Clifton Hill House felt that having so many young men so close to her residents would pose a significant risk and demanded that the new hall be sited at least two miles away. Thus Downside House in Stoke Bishop was purchased, and a quadrangle of accommodation blocks erected around it according to the design of Sir George Oatley, with the rooms arranged on staircases (called "houses", A to N). It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building. A Latin inscription on the exterior of the dining hall dedicated the hall to Henry Herbert. 
Wills Hall was officially opened by Winston Churchill in 1929, then the Chancellor of the University. When he returned to open Churchill Hall in the late 1950s, he allowed himself to be "kidnapped" and his "release" was allowed only after he signed the following statement, that used to be displayed in the Warden's House at Wills, but which is now in the University's Special Collections Department: 
"I Winston Spencer Churchill MP, CH Chancellor of the University of Bristol, Declare There be No Finer Hostel Than Wills Hall Among The Universities of the British Empire".
The initial quadrangle sufficed until rising student numbers precipitated the building of a further accommodation block, an L-shaped configuration of three linked houses (X, Y and Z) which was opened in 1961. Another expansion, in 1990, included a further accommodation block arranged on three floors (U, V and W), which featured en-suite rooms and a conference centre, the better to place the University in the conference market, which was becoming an important source of revenue. Together with X, Y and Z houses, the new development completed a quadrangle now known as New Quad, the original accommodation being Old Quad. At some points in the Hall's history the "Cambridge" tradition of referring to what Oxford calls "quads" as "courts" has predominated, and whilst at present the norm is to refer to "Old Quad" and "New Quad" for the accommodation blocks, the space next to the JCR Bar is still always known as the "Old Court Lounge". 
Wills was founded as an all-male institution and was the last hall to accept both sexes: it went mixed in 1985, despite opposition from some traditionalists, but with the enthusiastic support of most students. In that year, 70 women took up residence alongside 200 men, and over the next few years the numbers of women residents rose quickly. Wills today is usually equally balanced between the sexes. The first woman JCR president was Elise O'Connor, elected in 1986; one of the first women residents, Jane Thompson, became Deputy Warden in 1987.
Wills Hall