Universities
The ancient universities in England, Scotland and Ireland are, in order of formation:
| Year | Contemporary location | Current location | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1096 | Kingdom of England | Oxford, England, UK | University of Oxford | "There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris." Teaching suspended in 1209 (due to town execution of two scholars) and 1355 (due to the St. Scholastica riot). All Souls College and University College have repeatedly claimed that they own documents proving that teaching in Oxford started in the year 825, but these documents have never seen the public light (allegedly, John Speed dated his famous 1605 Oxford maps based on these documents). |
| 1209 | Kingdom of England | Cambridge, England, UK | University of Cambridge | Founded by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute caused by the execution of two scholars in 1209. |
| 1413 | Kingdom of Scotland | St Andrews, Scotland, UK | University of St Andrews | Founded by a Papal Bull |
| 1451 | Kingdom of Scotland | Glasgow, Scotland, UK | University of Glasgow | Founded by a Papal Bull |
| 1495 | Kingdom of Scotland | Aberdeen, Scotland, UK | University of Aberdeen | King's College was founded in 1495 by Papal Bull and Marischal College in 1593; they merged in 1860 |
| 1582 | Kingdom of Scotland | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK | University of Edinburgh | Established by a Royal Charter granted by James VI in 1582 |
| 1592 | Kingdom of Ireland | Dublin, Ireland. | University of Dublin | Founded by Charter of Queen Elizabeth I.Trinity College is the only constituent college of the university.
The first University of Dublin (unrelated to the current university) was created by the Pope in 1311, and had a Chancellor, lecturers and students (granted protection by the Crown) over many years, before coming to an end at the Reformation. |
These universities often find themselves governed in a quite different fashion to more recent additions. The ancient universities of Scotland also share several distinctive features and are governed by arrangements laid down by the Universities (Scotland) Acts.
In addition to these universities, a number of now-obsolete universities were found during this period, including the University of Northampton (1261-1265), royal attempts to establish universities in Fraserburgh and Durham, plus the predecessor institutions to the University of Aberdeen founded in 1495 and 1593 (discussed below).
Following the creation of the ancient universities, no more universities were created in the British Isles until the 19th century. Precisely which of these 19th-century institutions was the earliest post-ancient university is a matter of debate. In brief, the main university-level foundations after this time are:
- St Davids College, Lampeter was established in 1822 (Royal Charter 1828),
- University College London in 1826 (Royal Charter 1836 when it joined with King's College London to form the University of London)
- King's College London in 1829 (Royal Charters 1829)
- University of Durham in 1832 (Royal Charter 1837).
The more recent red brick universities of the later 19th century such as the University of Birmingham were soon to follow. Thereafter a number of new universities were formed in the late 20th century, many from the conversion of polytechnical colleges.
Read more about this topic: Ancient University
Famous quotes containing the word universities:
“... though mathematics may teach a man how to build a bridge, it is what the Scotch Universities call the humanities, that teach him to be civil and sweet-tempered.”
—Amelia E. Barr (1831–1919)
“To be sure, nothing is more important to the integrity of the universities ... than a rigorously enforced divorce from war- oriented research and all connected enterprises.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“The rush to books and universities is like the rush to the public house. People want to drown their realization of the difficulties of living properly in this grotesque contemporary world, they want to forget their own deplorable inefficiency as artists in life.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)