Red Brick Universities

Red brick (or “ redbrick”) is a term used to refer to the six civic British universities founded in the major industrial cities of England in the Victorian era which achieved university status before World War II.

The term “ red brick ” was first coined by a professor of Spanish (Edgar Allison Peers) at the University of Liverpool to describe these civic universities. His reference was inspired by the fact that The Victoria Building at the University of Liverpool is built from a distinctive red pressed brick, with terracotta decorative dressings.

The six civic* universities were:

· University of Birmingham; Royal Charter granted in 1900.

· University of Bristol; Royal Charter granted in 1909.

· University of Leeds; Royal Charter granted in 1904.

· University of Liverpool; Royal Charter granted in 1903.

· University of Manchester; formed in 2004 by the dissolution of Victoria University and UMIST.

· University of Sheffield; Royal charter granted in 1905.

These universities were distinguished by being non-collegiate institutions that admitted men without reference to religion or background and concentrated on imparting to their students “real-world” skills, often linked to engineering. This focus on the practical also distinguished the red brick universities from the ancient English universities of Oxford and Cambridge, collegiate institutions which concentrated on divinity, the liberal arts and imposed religious tests.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20