Old Photograph Stairs To The Old University Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of stairs to the old University College in Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow University is the second oldest University in Scotland, second to St. Andrews in Fife, and was inaugurated in 1451 at the request of William Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow. On his instigation, King James II applied to Pope Nicholas V who issued a Papal Bull, and in doing so gave Glasgow the opportunity to create a Studium Generale which would possess all of the powers of a University. Initially lectures were held in the Chapter House of Glasgow Cathedral, until 1457 when building started on the High Street. It was in 1460 that James Lord Hamilton donated to the Faculty of Arts an area of land on the east side on the High Street, and in 1560 a further endowment of money and land was given by Mary Queen of Scots. The University remained at this site until the 17th century, when new building works began in the area directly behind the High Street, and eventually grew to replace the original building on the High Street.



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