{"id":3494,"date":"2025-03-28T10:37:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T10:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/?p=3494"},"modified":"2025-05-01T16:53:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T15:53:18","slug":"queens-belfast-1845-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/queens-belfast-1845-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen’s, Belfast 1845-2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Queen’s, Belfast is celebrating its 180th anniversary in 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s College Belfast was founded alongside its sister Colleges in Cork and Galway by the passing of the Colleges (Ireland) Act in 1845. The establishment of the Queen\u2019s Colleges was part of the government\u2019s plan to extend university education in Ireland because until then the only university in Ireland was the University of Dublin, Trinity College.  The Queen\u2019s Colleges in Ireland were non-denominational and Queen\u2019s, Belfast has remained this way.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Royal Charter of Queen’s College Belfast, 1845<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Queen’s College Belfast Site and Building<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Queen\u2019s College Belfast was formally established it was necessary to locate a site and to construct a College building.  In January 1846 Charles Lanyon, who was the Surveyor of county Antrim, was appointed as the architect of the Belfast College and a site near the Botanical Gardens was approved for the building.  The construction of what is today the front of the Lanyon building and part of the south side of the building was completed by 1849.<\/p>\n\n\n

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An architectural print of Queen’s College Belfast, 1847, signed by Charles Lanyon the College Architect<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first College President and Vice-President<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first College President was Reverend Dr Pooley Shuldham Henry and the first Vice-President was Professor Thomas Andrews, they both were in post from 1845-1879. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reverend Dr Pooley Shuldham Henry, QCB President, 1845-1879<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Professor Thomas Andrews, QCB VIce-President, 1845-1879<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first Queen’s students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lectures began in Queen\u2019s College Belfast in November 1849 and there were three Faculties in the College; Arts, Medicine and Law. The first student register records details of the students who entered the College between 1849-1877.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Queen’s College Belfast Student Register, 1849-1877<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Women Students <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Women students first entered Queen\u2019s College Belfast in 1882, initially in the Faculty of Arts and from 1889 onwards in all Faculties and crucially this included the Faculty of Medicine. This photograph dating from approximately 1886 is the earliest known photograph of graduation and it includes women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graduation photograph, 1886, showing women graduates<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The end of Queen\u2019s College Belfast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Irish Universities Act, 1908, dissolved the Queen\u2019s Colleges in Ireland and instituted two new universities, the Queen\u2019s University of Belfast and the National University of Ireland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mosaic tile floor in the Entrance Hall of the Lanyon Building showing the crest of Queen’s College Belfast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The beginning of Queen\u2019s University Belfast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Royal Charter which founded the Queen\u2019s University of Belfast was signed by King Edward VII on December 2nd 1908.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Royal Charter founding the Queen’s University of Belfast, signed by King Edward VII, December 2nd 1908<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The University Chancellor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Royal Charter of 1908 allowed for the appointment of a Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors. The first Chancellor was the 9th<\/sup> Earl of Shaftesbury and he was in the role from 1908-1923 and the current Chancellor is Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton who was appointed in 2020.  Senator George Mitchell was Chancellor of the University from 1999-2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Senator George Mitchell, University Chancellor, 1999-2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Presidents and Vice-Chancellors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The President and Vice-Chancellor is the university\u2019s principal academic officer and is responsible to Senate for its performance. Reverend Thomas Hamilton was the first President and Vice-Chancellor of the Queen\u2019s University of Belfast from 1889-1923.  Professor Sir Ian Greer, is the current President and Vice-Chancellor, and he was appointed in August 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reverend Thomas Hamilton, President and Vice-Chancellor, 1889-1923<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Professor Sir Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor, 2018 – present<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s University Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The concerns of Queen\u2019s students retained familiar themes over the years such as ensuring they can manage their studies so they will graduate, the need for good student accommodation, joining clubs and societies and generally enjoying their student days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students Representative Council, 1914-1915<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Queen’s University Ladies Boat Club, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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A concert in the Mandela Hall in the late 1980s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Summer graduation, 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s Alumni<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s Alumni have contributed significantly in their fields of expertise.  Examples include Peter Rice (1935-1992) who graduated with a BSc degree in Civil Engineering in 1956 and is widely regarded as one of the foremost structural engineers of the late 20th<\/sup> century. He was involved in the construction of the Sydney Opera House, The Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Lloyd\u2019s Building in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Mollie McGeown (1923-2004) graduated with a degree in medicine (MB, BCh, BAO) in 1946.  She was a Consultant Nephrologist and a pioneer in the field of kidney dialysis and transplantation in Belfast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peter Rice, BSc 1956<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Professor Mollie McGeown, MB., BCh., BAO, 1946<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s, Belfast has always had a particular strength in the fields of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences.  Queen\u2019s medical graduates have played a deep and widespread role in healthcare provision in Northern Ireland. Frank Pantridge was a Queen\u2019s medical graduate in 1939 who went onto become a cardiologist and he invented the portable defibrillator. The School of Pharmacy in Queen\u2019s is a leading centre for Pharmacy teaching and research in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Frank Pantridge<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pharmacy Laboratory, 2023<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Civil Engineering was one of the Foundation Chairs when Queen\u2019s College Belfast opened in 1849. With the developments in the different fields of engineering including Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic, Aeronautical and Computer Science subsequent Chairs in Engineering have been established.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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James Thomson, Professor of Civil Engineering, 1857-1873<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Robotics Research<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Education and Research in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences covers a wide range of subjects such as Languages, Music, Drama Studies, Law, Economics and History. Graduates from this Faculty have gone on to varied careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seamus Heaney, Arts Graduate and Lecturer in English<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lecture theatre in Riddel Hall, 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s Buildings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Students, staff, alumni, visitors and all who pass by the university are impacted by the many different buildings that have been constructed over the years on the Queen\u2019s Estate.  These images show the front of the Lanyon building in the 1920s where lawn tennis could be played and the Great Hall in 2021 and it holds many portraits of Queen\u2019s people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lanyon building c. 1920<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Great Hall, 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s Library Buildings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Amongst the most heavily used buildings in Queen\u2019s are the university libraries. The first Library was designed by the Belfast architect William Lynn and it opened in 1868, it is now The Thomas J Moran Graduate School. The McClay Library which was named in honour of Sir Allen McClay who was a very generous donor to Queen\u2019s opened in 2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Old Library, c.1950’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The McClay Library, 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s Student Accommodation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Queen\u2019s Elms Halls of Residence were built at Holyrood on the Malone Road in the 1960s and 1970s. In the early 2000s these towers were demolished and replaced with a village style accommodation complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Queen’s Elms c. 1970<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Queen’s Elms Student Village, 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Students Union Buildings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first Queen\u2019s Students Union building opened in 1897 and it is now the School of Music. The Students Union moved to its current site on University Road in 1967 however as the needs and expectations of the student population changed over the years it was recognised that a new centre for students was needed. The Students Union building from the 1960s was demolished and a new students centre, One Elmwood, opened in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students Union, c. 1970<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One Elmwood, 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s moving forward into the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Queen\u2019s University Belfast will continue to provide a world class higher education to its students, to carry out ground-breaking research in the different fields of expertise of its researchers and play its part in the political, social and economic life and development of Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lanyon Building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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