University of Bristol

The University of Bristol is a public research university in the city of Bristol. It began as University College, Bristol in 1876 and received its royal charter in 1909. The university’s roots reach back to 1833 with the founding of Bristol Medical School. In 1893 the medical school merged with the college, which had already admitted women on equal terms from its start. The Wills Memorial Building, begun in 1913 and completed in 1925, stands as a landmark in the Clifton area. The university’s precinct in Tyndall’s Park is where most teaching and research take place today. The university has produced thirteen Nobel laureates among its alumni and faculty. Its early benefactors included the Wills and Fry families, whose tobacco and chocolate fortunes helped establish the institution. Paul Dirac, who studied engineering and mathematics here, won the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics for work on quantum mechanics. The H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory opened in the late 1920s with Ernest Rutherford present. Winston Churchill served as chancellor from 1929 until 1965, one of several prominent figures to hold the role. Visitors can walk through the precinct in Tyndall’s Park to see modern research buildings alongside historic structures. The Wills Memorial Building’s tower dominates the skyline and houses a great hall restored after wartime bombing. The Richmond Building, home to the students’ union since 1965, reflects the bold architecture of its era. Nearby, the Faculty of Engineering’s BLADE laboratory and the Queen’s Building show the university’s strength in advanced dynamics. The Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information opened in 2009, adding to the range of facilities open to view.