Old photograph of the University Union in Edinburgh, Scotland. Following its formation in 1884, Edinburgh University's Students' Representative Council set as its first priority the opening of a University Union, to provide recreational and social facilities for students and staff. The union building was officially opened on 19 October 1889. It was very much designed on the lines of a Victorian gentleman's club. It included a restaurant, library, with books donated by academics and former students, gymnasium, later converted into a billiards room, and a debating hall, which would become both a meeting place for many university societies and a venue for dances and other social events. The newly opened Union was run by an elected Committee of Management headed by the Union President, Membership was by subscription, however, and only a small minority of students joined. Unsurprisingly, given the proximity of the Union to their classrooms, medical students were initially in a great majority, and would indeed dominate the Union until its merger with the SRC to form the Edinburgh University Students' Association in 1973.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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