King's College was founded as a 'university college' in 1829 in response to the theological controversy surrounding the founding of "London University" (which later became University College London) in 1826. In December 1828, Sir Robert Peel proposed to the Bishop of London that the college be granted a site between the Strand and the Thames, running parallel to the yet unfinished Somerset House at a peppercorn rent in perpetuity.Its royal charter was granted in August 1829 "...for the general education of youth in which the various branches of Literature and Science are intended to be taught, and also the doctrines and duties of Christianity... inculcated by the United Church of England and Ireland." The King's College London Act 1903 effected the abolition of the religious tests for staff, except within the Theological Department. It has since grown considerably amd in July 2006, it was granted degree-awarding powers in its own right, as opposed to through the University of London.