A society of students of Queen Margaret College , a women's college of higher education incorporated in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1883 and amalgamated with the University of Glasgow in 1892 , was founded in 1890 and had the use of a basement room within the College in Hamilton, Glasgow. It provided various amenities for organised recreation and meetings but soon outgrew its accommodation. Premises were rented in a flat at 31 Buckingham Terrace, Glasgow, in 1908, offering a meeting place and light refreshments, and in a house at 67 Ann Street (later Southpark Avenue) in 1912. In 1922 a larger house in University Gardens was purchased with help from the Carnegie Trust.
In 1930, the male-only Glasgow University Union moved from its premises (now the John MacIntyre Building) on University Avenue into new premises at the bottom of University Avenue and the women were given their old building. When Queen Margaret Union moved into the refurbished premises in 1932, they were regarded as 'the finest women students' club in the kingdom'. The continuing growth in the number of women students put great pressures on the building and in the mid 1960s new premises were built in University Gardens with University Grants Committee funds following a request by the University Court. Queen Margaret Union was given the tenancy of the building, which opened in 1968.
From 1935, Queen Margaret Union was the only organisation in the University run solely by women. It provided a focus for much of the female activities in the University, including societies' debates and entertainment. In 1977 a campus-wide referendum was held on the proposal that the two single sex Unions, the Glasgow University Union (Male) and the Queen Margaret Union (Female) should amalgamate, but the students voted against it by a reasonable margin. Two years later in 1979, the members of the QMU voted to accept men as members and the very next year, 1980 , the members of the Glasgow University Union voted to accept women as members.
In 2002 , the Queen Margaret Union was run by a Board of Management consisting of the executive, convenors, ordinary members and ex-officio members, all of whom were students of the university except for those ex-officio. The executive members consist of a president, secretary and assistant secretary. There are convenors responsible for entertainments, fresher's week, campaigns, publications and social events as well as a number of ordinary student members. These posts are held on a yearly term and individuals are elected from the student population. Many clubs and student societies are affiliated to the Queen Margaret Union and as such receive some funding from it.
From the guide to the Records of Queen Margaret Union, student union, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1890-1993, (Glasgow University Archives Service)
