Victoria University of Manchester

Victoria University of Manchester

Armsof the Victoria University of Manchester, adopted 1871
Former names	Owens College
Motto	Latin:Arduus ad solem
Motto in English	Striving towards the sun
Type	Public
Active	12 March 1851–1 October 2004
Location	Manchester , England, UK 53.4675°N 2.2325°W/53.4675; -2.2325
Colours	Scarf: Blue, green white

TheVictoria University of Manchester,usually referred to as simply theUniversity of Manchester,was auniversityinManchester,England. It was founded in 1851 asOwens College.In 1880, the college joined the federalVictoria University.After the demerger of the Victoria University, it gained an independent university charter in 1904 as the Victoria University of Manchester.

On 1 October 2004, the Victoria University of Manchester merged with theUniversity of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology(UMIST) to form a new, larger entity named theUniversity of Manchester.

History

1851–1951

Cobden's House, Quay Street

Owens College was founded in 1851, named afterJohn Owens,a textile merchant, who left a bequest of £96,942 for the purpose. Its first accommodation was atCobden HouseonQuay Street,Manchester, in a house which had been the residence ofRichard Cobden.In 1859, Owens College was approved as a provincial examination centre for matriculation candidates of theUniversity of London.As the college progressed the premises became inadequate so a move toChorlton on Medlockwas planned in 1871.Alfred Waterhousewas the architect of the new college building, west of Oxford Road, which was opened in 1873.

Owens College became the first affiliate college of the federalVictoria Universityin 1880. In 1884,University College Liverpoolalso joined the Victoria University, followed in 1887 by theYorkshire CollegeinLeeds.In 1903, University College Liverpool left the Victoria University to become the independentUniversity of Liverpool;Leeds followed in 1904 to become theUniversity of Leeds.

The new Victoria University of Manchester was established by royal charter on 15 July 1903; the university and Owens College were merged by Act of Parliament on 24 June 1904. TheManchester University Presswas founded by James Tait in 1904 (as the Publications Committee of the University), initially to publish academic research being undertaken at the Victoria University of Manchester. The office was accommodated in a house in Lime Grove.Distribution was then in the hands of Sherratt & Hughes of Manchester; from 1913 the distributors wereLongmans, Green & Co.though this arrangement came to an end in the 1930s. The MUP offices moved several times to make way for other developments within the university. Since 1951 these have beenGrove House,Oxford Road,then the formerUniversity Dental Hospital of Manchester(illustrated) and until the present time theManchester Medical Schoolin Coupland Street.

1951–2004

In the mid-1960s the university and the city corporation commissioned Hugh Wilson and Lewis Womersley to produce a new plan for the campus. The final report was issued in 1966; it recommended removing traffic from Oxford Road to the adjacent main routes east and west, and building of the Precinct Centre – subsequently constructed in 1970–1972.The Precinct Centre building included the oldest part of theManchester Business School,Devonshire House and Crawford House and St Peter's House, the University Chaplaincy. It stood on Booth Street East and Booth Street West and Oxford Road ran through it at ground level. The architects were Wilson & Womersley, in association with the university's planning officer, H. Thomas; for St Peter's House the architects were Cruickshank & Seward.The Precinct Centre was the largest public building completed in the campus redevelopment, containing office and shopping space, a pub, library and post office amongst other town centre facilities, designed to separate pedestrians from traffic.

The Precinct Centre was demolished in August 2015 as part of Manchester University's £50m redevelopment of Manchester Business School.

On 5 March 2003 it was announced that the university was to merge withUMISTon 1 October 2004, to form the largest conventional university in the UK, theUniversity of Manchester,following which the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST would cease to exist. The new university was inaugurated on 1 October 2004.

The university had more than 18,000 full-time students (including 2500 international students from more than 120 countries) by the time it merged with UMIST. It was regarded as one of the top universities in the country, frequently achieving top ratings for research.

Officers

See alsoCategory:Vice-chancellors of the Victoria University of Manchester

The chief officers of the university were the vice-chancellor,the registrar, the bursar and thelibrarian.In later years many administrative changes were made that increased the independence of the Director of Estates and Services, the Director of the Manchester Computing Centre, and eventually combined the offices of registrar and bursar as that of registrar and secretary, the last holder of this post was Eddie Newcomb (1995–2004).

Notable people

Members of the Victoria Manchester University physical and electro-technical laboratories staff, 1910, includingErnest Marsden,back, second from right;William Wilson,middle row, third from left;Hans Geiger,middle row, second from right;Herbert Stansfield,seated, second from left; ProfessorsArthur SchusterandErnest Rutherford,seated, centre.

Main article:List of University of Manchester people

In the early decades of Owens College, a few outstanding faculty members set high standards for the new institution. These included statisticianStanley Jevons,juristJames Bryce,William Eyre Walker (Art Master) and particularlyHenry Enfield RoscoeProfessor of Chemistry and Principal of the college.It also educated the youngJ. J. Thomsonbefore he went toTrinity College, Cambridge

Since the later 1800s, many notable people have worked and studied at the Victoria University of Manchester as, for example,Benedict Cumberbatch.

Motto and arms

The motto of the university wasArduus ad solem,meaning "striving towards the sun". It is a metaphor for aspiring toenlightenment.It is quoted fromVirgil'sAeneid,Book II,and the archives do not record the reasons for its choice.The original verse refers to a serpent and the sun, both of which featured in the universitycoat of arms.The serpent is traditionally associated with wisdom. The arms were granted in October 1871 to Owens College while the Victoria University had arms of its own which fell into abeyance from 1904 upon the merger of the college with the University.

According to Norman Marlow (A. N. Marlow, Senior Lecturer in Latin, Department of Classics at the university in the 1960s), the mottoArduus ad solem– taken from Aeneid II – was a play on words, relating to Manchester's geographical situation. The Virgilian context referred to Pyrrhus, appearing in shining armour 'like a snake which has sloughed its skin, reaching upwards with an effort towards the sun'; the motto was chosen by the Professor of Latin at the time (Augustus Wilkins) and the coat of arms was applied for – suggesting both the idea of the institution striving towards excellence, and the city (with its particularly high annual rainfall) 'reaching upwards with difficulty towards the sun'.

The emblem of the university in use for a number of years (last used September 2004) was based on the archway into the quadrangle from Oxford Road, where there are two coats of arms, of the Victoria University and the Victoria University of Manchester, flanking the gates.

See also

• Armorial of UK universities
• Victoria University
• The University of Manchester
• List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
• Listed buildings in Manchester-M13

Further reading

This is a list of books about the Victoria University of Manchester and its predecessor Owens College.

• Charlton, H. B. (1951)Portrait of a University,1851–1951: to commemorate the centenary of Manchester University.Manchester: Manchester University Press
• Fiddes, Edward (1937)Chapters in the History of Owens College and of Manchester University, 1851–1914.Manchester: Manchester University Press (Fiddes was registrar of the university 1904-20 and Ward Professor of History 1926–31)
• Hartog, P. J.(1900), editorThe Owens College, Manchester: a brief history of the college and description of its various departments.Manchester: J. E. Cornish
• Pullan, Brian, with Michele Abendstern (2000)A History of the University of Manchester, 1951–73.Manchester: Manchester University PressISBN0-7190-5670-5Selected pages
• Pullan, Brian; with Abendstern, Michele (2004)A History of the University of Manchester, 1973-90.Manchester: Manchester University Press.ISBN978-0-7190-6242-1
• Thompson, Joseph (1886)The Owens College its foundation and growth: and its connection with the Victoria University, Manchester.Manchester: J. E. Cornish
• Tout, T. F.&Tait, James(eds.) (1902)Historical Essays by the Members of Owens College, Manchester: published in commemoration of its Jubilee, 1851-1901.London: Longmans, Green 1902
• Whitworth Art GalleryTreasures of the University of Manchester: an exhibition to celebrate the granting of the royal charter to the Victoria University in 1880; Whitworth Art Gallery, 26 April -- 28 June 1980

External links

• 1874 – Owens College, Manchester, Lancashire
• The University of Manchester
• Old website of The Victoria University of Manchester (closed Sep 2004)
• University of Manchester Archivesheld bythe University of Manchester Library
• Lists of students at Owens College