The Veterinary College of London was founded in 1791 by a group led by Granville Penn, a grandson of William Penn, following the foundation of the first veterinary college in Europe in Lyon, France in 1762. The promoters wished to select a site close to the metropolis, but far enough away to minimise the temptations open to the students. Earl Camden was just then making arrangements to develop some fields he owned to the north of London, and he replied to the College's newspaper advertisement for a suitable site with an offer to sell it some of his land.