Third-oldest university in England debate

There is much debate over which university in England is the third oldest with several higher education instutions either explicitly claiming the distinction or asserting a foundation date that predates the conventional date for another claimant.

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 existance 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. 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.

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 have been officially accorded the title of "university".

Date of foundation, legal establishment or award of the title "university"?

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:

• 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.
• 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.
• The granting of a Royal Charter. However not all universities were founded by Royal Charter and in additional a Charter can be granted to other institutions, such as colleges.
• The legal conferrment of the title "university" by Act of Parliament or the Privy Council.

Claimants

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

University College London

University College London (UCL) was established in 1826 as the "University of London" 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". 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. The term "university" does not appear in the charter. 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. 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 claimed is based on the Royal Charter of 1829 it does not appear to have been created as a university.

University of Durham

The University of Durham (now Durham University) was established by Act of Parliament in 1832 as the "University of Durham". However its Royal Charter was not conferred until June 1 1837 and the first students graduated a few days later. 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 this stage none had completed this 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

• 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 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 singled merged institution formed.
• 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.

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 offical 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.

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" the third oldest institution is Lampeter" (founded 1822, chartered 1828). Using it to mean "Great Britain" or "the United Kingdom" (regardless of whether all of Ireland or just Northern Ireland is included), the third oldest institution is St Andrews" (founded between 1410 with a charter on incorporation; received a Papal Bull 1413).