Old College, Aberystwyth | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
Town or city | Aberystwyth |
Country | United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 52°24′53″N4°5′18″W / 52.41472°N 4.08833°W |
Construction started | c.1795 |
Completed | 1865 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | John Nash; John Pollard Seddon |
Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | University College of Wales Old College Building |
Designated | 21 July 1961 |
Reference no. | 10251 |
Old College, Aberystwyth, is a building that forms part of the University of Aberystwyth in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. The first building on the site, of which nothing remains, was a villa constructed c. 1795 by John Nash for Sir Uvedale Price. This building was converted into the Castle Hotel in the 1860s by John Pollard Seddon. The hotel was a failure and the building was then sold to University College Wales, Aberystwyth, later a constituent member of the University of Wales. Pollard was retained to redevelop the building as an education institute, and to undertake complete reconstruction after a disastrous fire in 1885. During his tenure, Seddon engaged Charles Vosey to design a mosaic triptych to decorate the building's exterior.
Old College continued to accommodate teaching departments of the university throughout the 20th century, but was progressively turned over to administrative uses as the university developed its Penglais Hill campus overlooking the town. In 2014 the last of the teaching departments moved out, at which point the university began planning, and fundraising, for a redevelopment of the whole Old College site and its transformation into a heritage/cultural and learning centre. As of 2024, completion of the project is planned for 2027.
Old College is a Grade I listed building.
The first building on the Old College site was Castle House, a villa designed in 1795 by John Nash for Uvedale Price. [1] In 1864 the building was purchased by Thomas Savin who intended to convert the building to a hotel. Savin hired John Pollard Seddon to undertake the reconstruction and work progressed at speed, with the Castle Hotel opening in 1865. However Savin soon ran into financial difficulties and was forced to sell the building only two years after opening. [2] [3] The purchaser was University College Wales, Aberystwyth, which intended to convert it to a higher education institute. The college paid £10,000, £70,000 below the amount paid by Savin. In 1893 University College became a constituent part of the University of Wales. [2] Seddon was retained to undertaken reconfiguration.
In 1885, the building was damaged by fire and only survived through the University's board paying for repairs as public funds were not available. During the renovation, Seddon was re-engaged to lead the project. During Seddon's tenure, he commissioned a former pupil, Charles Vosey, to design the three mosaic murals now located at the top of the tower, although Cadw suggests they were originally intended for another location. [1] The mosaics were controversial; Vosey's original conception included religious imagery which he intended to symbolise "Science tearing down Sacerdotalism". [4] Some of the university staff were enraged, one don suggesting; "the only blot to spoil the picture being the unfortunate mosaic" and Seddon, who had personally paid for it, was obliged to pressure Vosey to amend the design. [5] Before work on the building was completed, Seddon was dismissed, as the university became concerned at the scale and cost of his plans. [3] Further work on the college was undertaken by Charles Ferguson after Seddon's dismissal. [1]
The Old College remained the main campus in Aberystwyth until the 1960s when the majority of teaching was moved to the Penglais campus near the National Library of Wales. Despite this, administration of Aberystwyth University remained at the Old College along with the teaching of Education and Welsh. [3] In 2012, plans were made for the Old College to become a new postgraduate centre as a part of a new cultural quarter in Aberystwyth. [6] In 2014 the transfer of the last teaching departments to the Penglais site allowed the university to consider redevelopment and in 2015 it applied for £19 million of Heritage Lottery Funding to allow for the renovation of the Old College. [7] Plans for the site will see the Old College repurposed as a heritage/cultural learning and knowledge centre, with the intended completion date being 2027.[ citation needed ]
In 1961 the Old College was given Grade I listed status. Cadw's listing record notes it as a "...particularly important example of that style so loved by wealthy Victorian patrons and so imaginatively created by architects of the period". [1]
Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, to make them available for the public to visit, enjoy, and understand their significance. Cadw manages 127 state-owned properties and sites. It arranges events at its managed properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks, and hosts an online shop. Members of the public can become members of Cadw to gain membership privileges.
Aberystwyth University is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 students studying across three academic faculties and 17 departments.
St Padarn's Institute came into being in 2016. Until then the site belonged to St Michael's College, an Anglican theological college in Llandaff, Wales. St Michael's college was founded in Aberdare in 1892, and was situated in Llandaff from 1907 until 2016. Among its many alumni was the poet R. S. Thomas. The original building on the site was a house constructed for himself by John Prichard. After his death, that building was incorporated into the newly founded St Michael's College, which was built mainly to the designs of F. R. Kempson between 1905 and 1907. In the late 1950s, a chapel was built by George Pace. The college had significant financial problems in the early 21st century and was eventually closed.
Thomas Savin was a British railway engineer who was the contractor who built many railways in Wales and the Welsh borders from 1857 to 1866. He also in some cases was an investor in such schemes.
Gwrych Castle is a Grade I listed country house near Abergele in Conwy County Borough, Wales. On an ancient site, the current building was created by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh and his descendants over much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The castle and its 236-acre estate are now owned by a charity, the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust.
The United Theological College located in Aberystwyth, in the county of Ceredigion in mid Wales, is a Grade II listed building which was the ministerial training college of the Presbyterian Church of Wales from 1906 to 2003 and an associate college of the University of Wales.
The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is a department of Aberystwyth University within its Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, and is located in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. It has a remit for teaching, research and business innovation in the area of bio-sciences, land use and the rural economy.
Aberystwyth Arts Centre is an arts centre in Wales, located on Aberystwyth University's Penglais campus. One of the largest in Wales, it comprises a theatre, concert hall, studio and cinema, as well as four gallery spaces and cafés, bars, and shops.
Aberystwyth is a university and seaside town and a community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and 16 miles (26 km) from Aberaeron, the county's administrative centre. In 2021, the population of the town was 14,640.
Ifor Leslie Evans was a Welsh academic and Principal of the University College of Wales Aberystwyth from 1934 until 1952.
John Pollard Seddon FRIBA was a British architect, working largely on churches.
The Church of St Nicholas in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a parish church dating from the 13th century. Its exceptional size reflects the importance and standing of the borough of Grosmont at the time of the church's construction and has led it to be called a "miniature cathedral". Largely unaltered from the time of its building, by the 19th century the church had seriously decayed and its tower was close to collapse. It was rescued from dereliction in a restoration undertaken by John Pollard Seddon and financed by John Etherington Welch Rolls.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.
The Church of St Jerome stands in the settlement of Llangwm Uchaf, (upper) Llangwm, in a remote part of Monmouthshire, Wales. Originally constructed in the twelfth century, in an Early English style, it was heavily restored in the nineteenth century. The church has a "large and unusual" tower, an "outstanding" late medieval rood screen and Victorian interior fittings of "exceptional quality". After being declared redundant by the Church in Wales, the church is now administered by the Friends of Friendless Churches. It was designated a Grade I listed building on 19 August 1955.
The Church of St Oudoceus, Llandogo, Monmouthshire is a parish church built in 1859–1861. The church is dedicated to St Oudoceus (Euddogwy), an early Bishop of Llandaff who retired to Llandogo and was reputed to have died there in about AD 700. Designed by the ecclesiastical architect John Pollard Seddon, the church has a notable painted interior. It is an active parish church and a Grade II* listed building.
The Church of St Illtyd, Mamhilad, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a parish church with its origins in the 11th century. Renovations took place in the 19th century and again in 1999–2000. It is a Grade II* listed building and an active parish church.
The College of Librarianship Wales was a monotechnic college specializing in library and information science in Aberystwyth, Wales, between its foundation in 1964 and August 1989, when it was merged with University College of Wales to become the Department of Information & Library Studies of that institution. During its twenty-five years of independent existence the college grew to be the largest library school in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. It also gained an international reputation for library education,
St Michael's Church is a parish church in the town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. St Michael's is the fourth church to stand on the site. The first dated from the 15th century but was in ruins by the mid-18th century. Its replacement only stood for some forty years before itself being replaced in 1829-1833 with a church designed by Edward Haycock Sr. of Shrewsbury. Nothing of the two earlier buildings remains. The Haycock church was itself superseded by the present church, built by Nicholson & Son of Hereford in 1886-1890. A fragment of the Haycock church remains to the west of the current building.
Ceredigion is a county in the west of Wales. It covers an area of 1,785 km2 (689 sq mi) and in 2021 the population was approximately 70,700.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)