John Curwen acquired land in Earlham Grove for the College, and laid a stone in May,1879 in memory of miss Glover the originator of the Tonic Sol-fa system, and the first wing of the college was opened by the 8th Earl of Kintore on the 7th July.

When the Headquarters of the College was moved to London in 1890, Harding Bonner leased the premises as the Forest Gate School of Music. In 1897 "Earlham Hall" was built in front of the original buildings and in 1916 the school was renamed "Metropolitan Academy of Music". The College closed during World War II and the premises were later used as offices by the London Co-operative Society.