The Beyer building is part of the Old Quadrangle, of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, on

Oxford Road, Manchester Wilmslow Road is a major road in Manchester, England, running from Parrs Wood northwards to Rusholme where it becomes the Oxford Road. The name of the road changes again to Oxford Street when it crosses the River Medlock before reaching Manches ...

. The quadrangle comprises the oldest buildings of the University and was completed in 1904, prior to the Owens College becoming the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. A ...

. The original college building on Oxford Road (now called the John Owens building) was built in 1873. The Beyer building was the second side to be completed in 1887. It was funded entirely by

Charles Beyer Charles Frederick Beyer (an anglicised form of his original German name Carl Friedrich Beyer) (14 May 1813 – 2 June 1876) was a celebrated German-British locomotive designer and builder, and co-founder of the Institution of Mechanical Engineer ...

through his will of 1876. Beyer was a well known philanthropist and co-founder of

Beyer, Peacock & Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company close ...

, one of the world's most famous locomotive manufacturers. He was a life governor of Owens college, actively involved in the Owens College Extension Movement, and the single biggest donor to the Extension fund, which in total raised over £100,000 (£10 million today) to construct the original building at Oxford Road. The architect was

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

. The building was designed to accommodate the natural science (Biology, Geology) departments, which it continued to do until the 1970s. It also featured state of the art laboratories and lecture theatres. It connects to the Manchester museum (the third side of the Quadrangle), which was also built in 1887, also by Waterhouse. This allowed students to access the many specimens from the museum.

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{{University of Manchester, state=collapsed Buildings at the University of Manchester