Victoria University was an English federal
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
established by royal charter on 20 April 1880 at
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
: a university for the
North of England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
open to affiliation by colleges such as
Owens College, which immediately did so.
University College Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
joined the university in 1884, followed by
Yorkshire College, Leeds, in 1887. The university and the colleges were distinct corporate bodies until Owens College merged with the university in 1904. A supplemental charter of 1883 enabled the granting of degrees in medicine and surgery.
The aspirations of Manchester and Liverpool to become independent city universities meant that the Victoria University was short-lived. Liverpool left the university in 1903 to become the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
; Leeds was granted its own royal charter in 1904 and became the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
; Manchester, the only remaining site, was granted a new royal charter as the
Victoria University of Manchester.
The armorial bearings of the Victoria University showed charges representative of the three colleges: ''Per pale argent and gules, a rose counterchanged, in dexter chief a terrestrial globe semée of bees Or, in sinister chief a fleece Or, in point a liverbird rising argent, beaked and membered gules holding in the beak a fish argent'' with the motto ''Olim armis nunc studiis'' ('Formerly by weapons, now by studies'). The globe and
bees
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfam ...
is for Manchester, the
liver bird for Liverpool, the fleece for Yorkshire and the rose for the counties of Lancaster (red rose) and York (white rose). The arms fell into abeyance in 1904 when those of Owens College were adopted for the Victoria University of Manchester.
There was also a proposal that
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
be included: in 1903, F. J. Munby and others (including the
Yorkshire Philosophical Society) proposed a 'Victoria University of
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
'. See
University of York
The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for post-nominals) is a collegiate research university, located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, co ...
.
The Christie Cup is an inter-university competition between Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester in numerous sports since 1886. After the
Oxford and Cambridge rivalry
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the U ...
, the Christie's Championships is the oldest inter–university competition on the English sporting calendar. The cup was a benefaction of
Richard Copley Christie, a professor at Owens College.
Vice-Chancellors
*1880–1887: Joseph Gouge Greenwood (also Principal of Owens College 1857–1889)
*1887–1891:
Adolphus William Ward (also Principal of Owens College 1889–1897)
*1891–1895:
Gerald Henry Rendall (University College, Liverpool)
*1895–1897:
Adolphus William Ward (second term)
*1897–1901:
Nathan Bodington
Sir Nathan Bodington (29 May 1848 – 12 May 1911) was the first Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds having been Principal and Professor of Greek at the Yorkshire College since 1883.''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' accessed 25 J ...
(Yorkshire College, Leeds)
*1901–1903:
Alfred Hopkinson (also Principal of Owens College 1898–1904; afterwards Vice-Chancellor of the Victoria University of Manchester until 1913)
Chancellors
*1880–1891:
The 7th Duke of Devonshire
*1892–1904:
The 6th Earl Spencer, afterwards Chancellor of the
Victoria University of Manchester.
See also
*
Red brick university
*
List of split up universities
This is a list of universities which were split into more than one new institution. Over the history numerous higher education institutions were split up or some scholars left already established institutions and established new ones. Some of the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria University (Uk)
History of Liverpool
History of Leeds
Defunct universities and colleges in England
University of Leeds
University of Liverpool
University of Manchester
History of Manchester
1880 establishments in England