Norwood Technical College, also known as The Lower Norwood Working Men's Institute, was endowed by the Scottish philanthropist Arthur Anderson (1792-1868) to benefit the local community in 1860. As well as founder of the college, Anderson co-founded the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) (1840) and was a Liberal MP for the Orkney and Shetland Constituency (1847-1852).
In 1895 Lower Norwood Working Men's Institute merged with London County Council (LCC) classes to become Norwood Technical Institute as a branch of the Borough Polytechnic Institute. The Borough Polytechnic Institute Governors managed the Institute from 1895 until 1905 at the cost of the LCC. In 1905 the Institute became independent as one of the first fully maintained technical institutions of the LCC. During the war years 1939-1945, the college figured prominently as a centre for training wireless mechanics and operators. After the war, science and technical courses expanded and the Jackson Building was opened.
The Institute was renamed Norwood Technical College in 1950 later South London College in 1974. The College's original site was closed in the late 1990s and the site was cleared in 2000. South London College, Brixton College and Vauxhall College merged in 1992 to become Lambeth College.