At a time when the existing colleges in Thrissur were not adequate enough to meet the requirement of the student population who were desirous of higher education, strong public demand and enthusiasm of some prominent citizens prompted the formation of a committee to consider establishing new centre of learning. His Highness Sree Kerala Varma, the Maharajah of Cochin was happy about the idea and sanctioned a grant of one lakh rupees and a loan of five lakh rupees (later converted as grant) and sufficient timber for the construction of building. Further, he allotted the ‘Merry Lodge Palace’, the residence of Rajarshi Sri. Ramavarma, the abdicated Maharajah of Kochi, who was in power till 1932 and the surrounding greenery to make abode for this centre of learning. The College was named ‘Sree Kerala Varma College’ after the founder H.H. Sree Kerala Varma. The golden words inscribed on the ‘Merry Lodge Palace’ “Pure be my life for ever” became the motto of the college to commemorate the principles of the former occupant of the palace.
The college got affiliation to the Madras University with none other that Kavithilakan Prof. P. Sankaran Nambiar at the helm as Principal. After the formation of Kerala State in 1956, the College got affiliated to the Kerala University. Subsequent to the establishment of University of Calicut on 23-07-1968, the College became affiliated to it.
The college celebrated its Silver Jubilee in the Year 1972-73 and the Golden Jubilee in the year 1997-98. 2007-08 was the Diamond Jubilee year of the College.
Now, the College is leading educational institution in our state. There are 16 degree courses and 8 post graduate courses.
In 2009 January, the college was awarded the highest grade ‘A’ by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
Gymnasium : The college Gymnasium is housed in the Main Block. A wide selection of equipment for fitness, trainging, exercising and body building.functions are in place at the gymnasium.
Pure Vegetarian Canteen.
Co-operative Society:Main objectives of the society are to encourage thrift and self-help among members and to purchase books, stationary and other educational accessories required by members and associates. It also runs provision stores, issues loans to the members, serve as a bureau of information, and publish books written by members. The society has nearly 120 employees as members and 2000 students as associates.
NDS Stadium: The Prof. N D Subramaniam Stadium of the college has facilities for playing various games like Cricket, Basketball and Football.
V V Raghavan Auditorium (VVR): V V Raghavan Auditorium (VVR) is the main auditorium of the campus where programmes of large scale are conducted. Seating Capacity is around 500 and area is approximately 3000 square feet. It was constructed using Hon M P Sri V V Raghavan's local area development fund and inaugurated in the year 2006.
Computer Lab: The lab is equipped with 25 computers with internet connectivity. Printing, scanning and copying facilities are available in the lab. The lab facilitates ICT-enabled teaching-learning practices. Sessions pertaining to certain papers/courses are held in the lab.
Library:The College Library is a spacious two storey building, housed next to the Administrative Block. The library has over 70,000 books, subscriptions to both online and print periodicals and magazines, back volumes, and access to INFLIBNET and NLIST. The library caters to the staff, students and research scholars affiliated to different departments. The library is equipped with OPAC facility. Reprography services are provided in the Co-Operative store adjacent to the library building.
IGNOU Study Centre: Sree Kerala Varma College is host institution to Indira Gandhi National Open University Study center 1407, one of the biggest study centers of IGNOU in Kerala.
Hostel Facility
The College provides hostel facilities for men and women.The women's hostel is situated within the college campus and men's hostel is in a short distance from the college campus near the NDS stadium complex of the college. Women's hostel provides accomodation for nearly 220 students and men's hostel for nearly 120 students.