Third oldest university in England debate

Third oldest university in England debate

There is much debate over which university in England is the third oldest after Oxford (established c. 1096) and Cambridge (established c. 1209). Several English higher education institutions either explicitly claim the distinction or assert a foundation date that predates the conventional date for another claimant. "Being old is good for a university, so when Durham advertised itself this week as 'England's third oldest university', University College, London, immediately sought to put the record straight." cite news|title=Battle of the oldies|publisher="The Times Higher Education Supplement"|date=August 28, 1998] "...the question still remains who came third?" cite news|title=The third oldest university in England... or is it?|publisher="The Northern Echo"|date=April 11, 2007] "The University of London... was granted its first charter in 1836 and is the third-oldest university in England." cite news|title=Split over power shake-up|publisher="The Times Higher Education Supplement"|date=May 4, 2007] "Being part of a university is also part of the attraction of Durham Business School. Anne-Marie Nevin, its development officer, says: "We're part of the third-oldest university in England, after Oxford and Cambridge." cite news|title=Why it's a real pleasure to study up North|publisher="The Times"|date=October 1, 2001]

University status

Part of the debate is complicated by the fact that many present day universities existed either in total or in part for many years, sometimes centuries, before becoming a university. For example the University of Nottingham can trace its existence back to an adult education school opened in 1798, but did not become a university college until 1881 and only received its Royal Charter, with the title of "university" and the ability to confer degrees, in 1948. Similarly the School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London can potentially date teaching at St Bartholomew's Hospital to the hospital's founding in 1123. [cite book
first=Negley
last=Harte
title= The University of London: 1836-1986
publisher=London: The Athlone Press
id=ISBN 0-485-12052-6
pages=52
year = 1986
] However this was not a university in its own right. In addition Queen Mary is not a university but a college of the federal University of London.

Definitions of "University" Formation

Much of the debate revolves around disagreements over what precisely constitutes the "birth" of a university. Several different moments have been proposed but they often result in different institutions emerging as the "third oldest". Amongst these are:

Act of Parliament

The legal conferment of the title "university" by Act of Parliament or the Privy Council.
#Durham University (1832)
#University of London (1836)
#University of Nottingham (1948)

Earliest Point Teaching Can Be Traced

The earliest point at which teaching can be traced. This is generally not cited and many of the institutions that can trace centuries old roots do not regularly feature in debate about the title.
#University of London (St Bartholomew's Hospital - but did not become part of the university until 1995) (1123)
#Durham University (Ushaw College - but did not move to England until 1808 and did not become part of the university until 1968) (1568) [ http://www.ushaw.ac.uk/html/about/welcome.php About Ushaw College] Accessed 22-10-2007 ]
#University of Nottingham (1798)

Institution Opening Its Doors

The point at which the institution opened its doors. In addition to the above, this does not always coinciding with its legal incorporation as a university.
#University of London (St Bartholomew's Hospital - but did not become part of the university until 1995) (1123)
#Durham University (Ushaw College) (1568- but did not move to England until 1808 and did not become part of the university until 1968)
#University of Nottingham (1798)
#University of Westminster (1838) as the Royal Polytechnic Institution

Date Royal Charter Granted

A fourth definition, occasionally used, is the date of the granting of a Royal Charter. However not all universities, including the two which claim to be the oldest - the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, were founded by Royal Charter and in addition a Charter can be granted to other institutions, such as colleges.

Colleges of the University of London

The University of London was established in 1836 as an examination and degree conferring authority, and later constituted in 1900 as a fully federal university, with most teaching and research throughout its history being carried out by its constituent colleges. The colleges are heavily independent in many of their functions and are usually listed separately in rankings of universities, but none had been officially accorded the title of "university" until the independence of Imperial College London, which has awarded its own degrees since 2007.

Claimants

Amongst the most prominent claimants of the title are the following:

University College London

University College London (UCL) was established in 1826 as "London University", but was unsuccessful in obtaining a Royal Charter. Part of the opposition was due to its avowedly secular nature but also because it was claiming the title "university". [cite book
first=F.J.
last=Cobb Hearnshaw
title= The Centenary History of King's College London
publisher=London: G.G. Harrap & Company
id=
pages=67-68
year = 1929
] Until 1836 the institution had no legal recognition as an educational institution and was unable to confer degrees. In 1836 it was awarded a Royal Charter, but as a university college, with degrees being conferred by the new University of London.

As well as being a college of the University of London and not a university in its own right, UCL's lack of formal legally recognised status before 1836 is often cited as a reason why it does not qualify as the oldest institution.

King's College London

King's College London was established in 1829 (although its medical school has a much longer history, which would later lead to opposition to using "Est 1829" in the college logo), as a counter to UCL, with the aim to provide non-secular education. It received its Royal Charter that year; however this was in part because it was not seeking to be a university, unlike its rival. [cite book
first=F.J.
last=Cobb Hearnshaw
title= The Centenary History of King's College London
publisher=London: G.G. Harrap & Company
id=
pages=67-68
year = 1929
] The term "university" does not appear in the charter. [cite book
first=F.J.
last=Cobb Hearnshaw
title= The Centenary History of King's College London
publisher=London: G.G. Harrap & Company
id=
pages=70-74
year = 1929
] The college opened its doors to students in 1831. Students at King's either sat exams for degrees of Oxford and Cambridge, or for professional qualifications, or (from 1834) for the Associate of King's College, and the college did not award degrees of its own.cite web |url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/iss/archives/175th/faq04.htm |title=FAQs 4. Did all students sit University of London examinations? |work=175 years King's College: In the beginning... |publisher=King's College London |accessdate=2006-11-10] Following the establishment of the University of London in 1836, King's became a college of it.

Like UCL, King's lacks "de jure" status as a university. Although its claim is based on the Royal Charter of 1829 it does not appear to have been created as a university.

Durham University

Several attempts to found a university at Durham took place, notably under the reigns of Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell. However, The University of Durham (now trading as Durham University) was established by Act of Parliament in 1832 specifically with the title 'University'. Students were admitted onto degree programmes on that basis. However its Royal Charter was not conferred until June 1, 1837 and the first students graduated a few days later.cite web |url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/about/history/foundation/ |title=The University: The Founding of the University |work=The University |publisher=Durham University |accessdate=2006-11-10] Before the granting of the Charter there was some internal debate over whether or not the Act of Parliament gave the University the power to award degrees, though at that stage no students had completed their studies. As a precaution, explicit degree conferring powers were sought when the Charter was conferred.

For Durham the point of the debate is about whether it achieved University status in 1832 by Act of Parliament, or did not until 1837, when it received its Royal Charter. Not all universities in the United Kingdom possess charters, with the "post-92" institutions deriving their university status from the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.

University of London

The University of London was established and chartered in 1836 as a degree awarding body.

Of all the main claimants, the University of London's birth is the least ambiguous, being clearly datable to 1836. However this postdates dates claimed by the other three institutions.

Other institutions claiming an earlier foundation

Although most debate revolves around UCL, King's, Durham and the University of London, several other institutions claim earlier foundation dates. However not all claim to have had university status from that date. Amongst them are:

Current universities

*Wye College was founded in 1447 by John Kempe, the Archbishop of York, as a college for the training of priests. It is now part of Imperial College London.
*In 1595 the Merchant Venturers' School was founded in Bristol, which subsequently became the Merchant Venturers' Technical College and was a precursor of the University of Bristol, the University of the West of England and City of Bristol College.
*The University of Nottingham's roots go back to an adult education school founded in 1798 but it did not become a university college until 1881 and only achieved university status in 1948.
*The University of Cumbria's history goes back to the establishment in Carlisle of a ‘Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts’ in October 1822
*The present University of Manchester uses "Est 1824" in its current logo. This is the date of the foundation of the Mechanics' Institute in Manchester (later the "University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology") but it did not have university status at this time. The institution historically known as the "University of Manchester" was founded in 1851 as a college, becoming the first institution of the federal Victoria University in 1880. Following the withdrawal of the other institutions, it became a single institution in 1904. In 2004 the two universities were formally dissolved and a single merged institution formed.
*Leeds Metropolitan University can trace its roots back to 1824, the year in which the Leeds Mechanics Institute was founded. In 1868 the Mechanics Institute became the Leeds Institute of Science, Art and Literature and Leeds College of Technology in 1927. A second element, Leeds College of Art, was founded in 1846 with a third constituent part, Leeds College of Commerce, in 1845. Finally, the Yorkshire Training School of Cookery was founded in 1874. By 1966, it had been renamed the Yorkshire College of Education and Home Economics. It then joined with other colleges to become Leeds Metropolitan University, which was founded as a University in 1992.
*The University of Huddersfield was established in 1825 as the Huddersfield Scientific and Mechanic Institute.
*Liverpool John Moores University similarly traces its roots back to a Mechanics Institute founded in 1825.
*The University of Sheffield's origins lie in the Sheffield School of Medicine, founded in 1827.
*The University of Central Lancashire traces its roots to 1828 when the Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was founded. However it was not awarded university status until 1992.
*The University of Leeds's School of Medicine was founded in 1831, but did not become part of a university until it joined the Victoria University in 1887. It became a separate institution in 1904.
*The University of Gloucestershire stems from a Mechanics Institute founded in 1834. However, the University was only given university status in 2001.

Colleges of the University of London

None of the constituent colleges of the University of London is a university in its own right, but several have long roots:
*Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, the medical school for Queen Mary has long roots. Teaching at St Bartholomew's Hospital is believed to date back to the hospital's foundation in 1123, though the hospital's Medical College was not founded until 1843. The London Hospital Medical College was founded in 1785. The two medical schools merged together and became part of Queen Mary in 1995. Queen Mary itself was founded in 1885, whilst Westfield College was founded in 1882. The two merged in 1989, taking the official title "Queen Mary and Westfield College", though this is no longer used for day to day purposes.
*Heythrop College was founded in 1614 in Belgium, though did not move to London (after several other locations) until 1970 and became part of the University in 1971.
*St George's was founded in 1733.
*The Royal Veterinary College was founded in 1791 but did not become a part of the University until 1949.
*The Royal Academy of Music was founded in 1822 and received a Royal Charter in 1830.
*Birkbeck was founded in 1823 as the London Mechanics Institute, but did not become a part of the University until 1920 or receive a Royal Charter until 1926.
*Gresham College was founded in 1597 and only enjoys an informal relationship with the UoL. Described as "the Third University of England" by Chief Justice Coke in 1612.
*Regent's Park College has its origins in the days when those who were not Anglicans were not able to become members of Oxford and Cambridge, the only universities that then existed in England. The London Baptist Education Society was founded in 1752. In 1810, the Society became a collegiate institution, opening a Baptist College in Stepney, and in 1856 it moved to The Regent's Park in London, whence the name derives. As early as 1841 Regent's Park College was affiliated to the University of London and its students were able to read for university degrees in the Arts and Law, as well as training for Christian ministry. In 1901 the college became an official Divinity School of the University of London. However, in 1927, the college moved to Oxford and in 1957 became a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford
*Richmond University started off as a theological college in the 18th C before joining the University of London. It became independent in 1977.
*The Institute of Zoology was founded in the 1960s but is part of the Zoological Society of London which was founded in 1826.

Inns of Court

In earlier centuries, the four Inns of Court, together with the associated Inns of Chancery, were sometimes described as constituting a "third university"; but since this never conferred degrees (unless the status of barrister can be regarded as such) it was not a university in the currently accepted sense.

Other early degree-awarding bodies

*The Archbishop of Canterbury has awarded "Lambeth degrees" since 1533.
*Worshipful Society of Apothecaries founded 1617 is permitted to award degrees
*Sion College, a theological college in London was founded in 1630.

The definition of "England"

The term "England" has not always been used with rigid precision and various different past definitions produce alternative answers. Using it to mean "England and Wales" (as the Wales and Berwick Act 1746, which was in force until 1967, stated) the third oldest institution is Lampeter (founded 1822, chartered 1828). However, as with the colleges of the University of London, Lampeter has never been awarded "de jure" status as a university being first an independent college with degree-awarding powers and later a constituent institution of the University of Wales.cite web |url=http://www.lamp.ac.uk/uni/history.html |title=University of Wales, Lampeter - A Brief History |work=The University |publisher=University of Wales, Lampeter |accessdate=2007-04-04] Also, the University of Caen in Lower Normandy was founded by Henry VI of England in 1432, when the territory was still part of the crown of England. There are several other universities founded by Englishmen which are not part of England today, such as Harvard in New England.

Notes


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