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University of Wales, LampeterUniversity of Wales, Lampeter
University of Wales, Lampeter is a university in Lampeter, Wales, and the third oldest university institution in England and Wales (after Oxford and Cambridge). It was formerly known as St David's College and then St David's University College, and is now part of the federal University of Wales. With under 2,000 full-time undergraduates, it is one of the smallest public universities in Europe.
HistoryWhen Thomas Burgess was appointed Bishop of St David's in 1803 he almost immediately identified the need to establish a College in which young men could train for the Ministry of the Church. Burgess had no Welsh connections; he was born in England in 1756 and after Winchester and Oxford he had short stays in Salisbury and Durham before being appointed to his first bishopric in Wales in 1803. Originally Burgess intended to build his new college to train priests in Llanddewi Brefi, which at the time was similar in size to Lampeter, but ten kilometres from it, and with an honoured place in the Christian history of Wales. When Burgess was staying with his friend the Bishop of Gloucester in 1820, however, he met John Scandrett Harford, a wealthy landowner from Gloucestershire, who donated the three acre site called Castle Field in Lampeter. so called for the Norman castle once contained in the field. This is the site on which the present University stands. St David's College was thus founded just outside Lampeter in 1822. Burgess left St. David's in 1825 to become Bishop of Salisbury, but work on the college continued, largely supervised by Harford. The £16,000 required to erect the college had been raised from public donations, a government grant, and highly publicised gifts, including one from King George IV. The main college building was completed in 1827, and the college officially opened on St. David's Day of that year, welcoming its first 26 students. As such, after the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and those in Scotland, it is the oldest university institution in Britain, receiving its first charter in 1828. In 1852, the college gained the right to award the degree of Bachelor of Divinity, (BD), and in 1865 the degree of Bachelor of Arts (BA), long before the other colleges in Wales gained their own degree awarding powers. Although it continued as a centre of clergy training until 1978, there was always a considerable proportion of students who did not intend to be ordained - The 1896 charter specifically stated that the college could accept anyone, regardless of whether they intended to take Holy Orders. In 1971, after years of discussion, Principal J.R. Lloyd Thomas led the college into the federal University of Wales, and suspended its own degree-awarding powers. It became St David's University College (SDUC). By the this time, the college had begun shifting its specialisms, and whilst Religious Studies continued to be a strong point, students could choose from a much wider range of liberal arts subjects. In 1996 the Privy Council - in response to a petition from the University - agreed to change its title again to the University of Wales, Lampeter in line with moves elsewhere in the University and the recognition of its growth and changing status. Today, the university specialises in Theology, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Classics Anthropology, Archaeology, English and History. In the early 1990s there also existed a hugely influencial Human Geography department at the college. This was closed in 2001, but the diaspora of the Lampeter Geography School continue to have an influence on their field. University BuildingsThe Old CollegeC.R. Cockerell designed the original college, now called the Saint David's Building in the centre of the Campus. It contains lecture rooms, common rooms, student residential accommodation and the following three main areas: The Old Hall was the refectory until the present one came into use - in 1969 - and fell into disuse until 1991 when it opened after much restoration; it is now used as one of the main public rooms for meetings, conferences and use by outside organisations. It is also used for examinations. St David's Chapel was originally consecrated in 1827. In 1879 it was closed and rebuilt according to the specifications of the architect Thomas Graham Jackson of Cambridge. It re-opened on the June 24 1880. It was then refurbished again during the 1930s mainly by the provision of a new reredos in 1933 and a major overhaul of the organ in 1934. The Founders' Library was the library until the new library opened in 1966 and now houses the University's oldest printed books (1470-1850) and manuscripts (the earliest from the thirteenth century), given to Lampeter from 1822 onwards, as well as the archives of the university. It is a priceless collection unique to Lampeter. Named after its founders - Thomas Burgess (1756-1837), Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825) and Thomas Phillips (1760-1851) - it is a fundamental resource for teaching, research and scholarship within the University. Recent AdditionsThere have been a number of notable additions to the university in recent times The Canterbury Building was originally built to house a growing number of students at the end of the 19th Century. The foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1885, and the building was officially opened on June 24, 1887. It contained a physical science laboratory, two lecture rooms, and new accommodation. Structural problems forced the university to demolish the original building in the Summer of 1971, however. The current Canterbury Building was opened on October 20 1973 by the Vice-Chancellor or the University of Kent at Canterbury and now houses the History and English departments. The New Library was opened on July 7, 1966 by the then Chancellor of the University of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh. It was extended, and then reopened by the Prince of Wales on June 21 1984. The Arts Building was opened by The Rt. Hon Peter Thomas, Secretary of State for Wales on October 4, 1971, in time for it to house the new Geography department. The Archaeology and Anthropology department has since moved into the building. The Cliff Tucker Theatre, on the banks of the River Dulas, was officially opened by Sir Anthony Hopkins in 1996 and incorporates teaching rooms and lecture theatres, and a large computer room. The Sheikh Khalifa Building completed in 1997, and named after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, a benefactor of the university, is the new purpose-built home of the Department of Theology, Religious Studies and Islamic Studies, one the biggest departments of its kind in the United Kingdom. Academic RobesLampeter currently awards University of Wales degrees, and as such, the academic dress matches that of the University of Wales - graduates wear a black stuff gown, with bell sleeves and a mazarin blue shot green. The traditional Lampeter academic dress differs from this slightly. Undergraduates wore a black stuff gown, with bell-sleeves, with the whole sleeve split open in front. Bachelor of Divinity. A black gown, of MA pattern (long closed sleeves), with a double crescent cut at the end of each sleeve. A black silk hood, lined with dark violet silk, and bound with 1" white silk. Originally, it could be made in either the Oxford or the Cambridge shape, but Cambridge became the norm. Bachelor of Arts. A black stuff gown of Cambridge BA pattern. A black silk hood, part-lind and bound with 'miniver' - white fur with black spots. (Rabbit was usually used, with 'stick-on' spots, on account of the cost of real miniver!). As with the BD, it could be made in either the Oxford or the Cambridge shape, but Cambridge became the norm. There was also a two-year course for those who could not afford the full three-year one. From 1884, this was called the License in Divinity (LD). Holders wore the undergraduate gown, with a black stuff hood, lined with black stuff, and bound for 1" with white silk. This was always Cambridge shape. The LD was not awarded after about 1940, and in 1969 the hood was used for the DipTh, which was awarded until the College ceased clergy training in 1978. The College currently awards a number of Licences (Theology, Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, Latin, Classical Greek): holders may wear the University of Wales BA gown, with the old Lampeter BD hood. The College YellTaken from the Student Handbook 1938-39 Hip Hip Hooray Notable AcademicsImportant Academics Past and Present:
AlumniFamous alumni include:
Academic Departments
ReferencesD T W Price, A History of Saint David's University College, Lampeter, University of Wales Press, Cardiff. Volume One, to 1898 (ISBN 0-7083-0606-3) Volume Two 1898-1971 (ISBN 0-7083-1062-1). See alsoExternal link
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