Aberystwyth University

Established in 1872, the University College of Aberystwyth was the first university institution founded in Wales. Its establishment was prompted by the inadequacies of the further education system in Wales during the nineteenth century. The main concern was the absence of a university, apart from the country's various theological colleges. The campaign for a university began in the early 1850s, but was sidetracked by the foundation of a teaching college in Bangor. In 1863, it was revived by one of the university's most prominent supporters, Sir Hugh Owen. As leader of the campaign, he felt that it's failure to capture the public imagination had caused great damage, and that by this point the establishment of an university was a matter of great urgency.

In 1867, Owen and his collaborators made a decisive move, and bought, with the little money they had raised, an unfinished, recently bankrupted hotel on the Aberystwyth sea front. It was hoped that the physical existence of a home for the university would encourage people to join the campaign. Appeals were made to the public for personal contributions, and the people of Wales, especially the inhabitants of Aberystwyth, quickly responded. As a result of this popular effort in collecting 'the pennies of the poor', the university finally did become a reality. It opened at what is now the Old College, in 1872, with a mere 25 students, and was formally incorporated by Royal Charter in 1889.

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