Victoria University of Manchester

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Victoria University of Manchester

The Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester) was a university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education....
in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, England

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester
University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a "red brick university" civic university located in Manchester, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration....
".

The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College, named after John Owens, a textile merchant, who left a bequest of £96,942 for the purpose.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Victoria University of Manchester'

Start a new discussion about 'Victoria University of Manchester'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester) was a university

University

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
, England

England

Alfred Waterhouse

Alfred Waterhouse was an England architect, particularly associated with the Victorian era Gothic revival. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the country....
. It was granted its Royal Charter

Royal Charter

A royal charter is a charter granted by a Monarch to create institutions or other forms of incorporated bodies . In the United Kingdom legal tradition a royal charter is in the form of letters patent....
in 1880, becoming the first institution of the federal Victoria University

Victoria University (UK)

Victoria University was a federal university established by Royal Charter, 20 April 1880 at Manchester: a university for the North of England open to affiliation by colleges such as Owens College which immediately did so....
. In 1884, University College Liverpool joined the University, followed in 1887 by the Yorkshire College in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England. It is the urban core and administrative centre of the wider metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds....
.

In 1903, the college in Liverpool left the Victoria University to become the independent University of Liverpool

University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool is a university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group, and founded in 1881 it is also one of the six original "red brick university" civic universities....
and Leeds followed in 1904 to become the University of Leeds

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire and, with over 33,000 full-time students, one of the largest universities in the United Kingdom....
. The remaining Manchester site was renamed Victoria University of Manchester.

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

On 5 March 2003 it was announced that the University was to merge with UMIST on 1 October 2004, to form the largest conventional university in the UK, the University of Manchester

University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a "red brick university" civic university located in Manchester, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration....
, both the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST then ceasing to exist.

Many famous people worked and studied at the Victoria University of Manchester: see People associated with the University of Manchester

People associated with the University of Manchester

Many famous people have worked or studied at the Victoria University of Manchester and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology institutions which merged in 2004 to form the University of Manchester....
.

Motto and arms

The motto of the University was "Arduus ad solem", meaning "striving towards the sun". It is a metaphor for aspiring to enlightenment

Enlightenment (concept)

Enlightenment broadly means wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception. However, the English language word covers two concepts which can be quite distinct: religion or spiritual enlightenment and secular or intellectual enlightenment....
. It is a quote from Virgil

Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works?the Bucolics , the Georgics and the Aeneid?although several Appendix Vergiliana are also attributed to him....
's Aeneid

Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin Epic poetry written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Rome....
book VI, 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 university coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways....
. 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.

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 used to be a set of coats of arms relating to the history of the component colleges on the gates.

Victoria University of Manchester

Motto and arms

See also

External links