When the RCO started in 1864 by Richard Limpus it was called the "College of Organists". It was given a Royal Charter in 1893. In 1903 it was offered an extremely cheap 99-year lease on a beautiful building in Kensington, West London. The college was there until 1991 when it moved to a church in the City of London. In 2003 it moved again to Birmingham.