Our historic buildings
The University of Manchester’s rich history is evident in our architecture and built environment. The first buildings for the Manchester Mechanics’ Institution and Owens College were in the city centre. Construction of the buildings on the Oxford Road site commenced in the 1870s and the Old Quad, as it is now known, was completed in 1902.
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The Beyer Building
The Beyer Building opened in 1887 to house geology, zoology and botany.
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Chancellors Hotel
The Chancellors Hotel is a Grade II listed mansion originally built in 1850 for Sir Joseph Whitworth.
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The Christie Building
The Christie Library was built in 1895-8. It was the gift of Richard Copley Christie – historian, bibliophile, lawyer and executor of Joseph Whitworth.
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Coupland Building 1
The Coupland Building 1 is where Alan Turing worked while he was at Manchester.
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The John Owens Building
The John Owens building originally housed all subjects except chemistry and medicine.
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Manchester Museum
The Museum was opened in 1887 to house collections that had belonged to the Manchester Natural History Society.
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The old Medical School
The Medical School was opened in 1874 after Owens College incorporated a private medical school run by doctors.
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The old Students' Union
The original Students' Union was built in 1895 to house the Men's Union and the Women's Union.
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The Rutherford Building
The Rutherford Building – originally called the Physics Laboratory – was opened in 1900.
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The Sackville Street Building
Opened in 1902, The Sackville Street Building has been home to the study of science, technology and engineering at Manchester for over 100 years.
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The Samuel Alexander Building
The building named for Samuel Alexander, Professor of Philosophy (1893–1925), was opened in 1919 to accommodate the Faculty of Arts.
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The Whitworth Hall
The magnificent Whitworth Hall was built between 1898 and 1902 to commemorate the Manchester engineer Joseph Whitworth (1803–1887).
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Dover Street Building
Originally built for the Manchester High School for Girls, the Dover Street Building was bought by the University in 1945.
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