Rear of Lanyon Building, Queen's University. Designed by Sir Charles Lanyon (1813-1889). 1849. According to a history of Queens on the University website, it was "founded by Queen Victoria in 1845 as a "non-denominational alternative to Trinity College Dublin, which was controlled by the Anglican Church.
Left: Central Tower, Lanyon Building. Right: Queen's University. [Click on images to enlarge them.]
The University was made up of three Queen's Colleges — in Cork, Galway and Belfast. Although it was the first University in the north of Ireland, Queen's drew on a tradition of learning which goes back to 1810 and the foundation of the Belfast Academical Institution," which closed when the new university opened its doors. Four years after it was founded,
the first students entered the magnificent new college building designed and built by Charles Lanyon. Since then, the University estate has grown to more than 300 buildings — many of them listed for their architectural importance. The first batch of students numbered 90. Today there are some 24,000. The most significant date in the early years of the University's life was 1908 when the three Queen's Colleges, and the Royal University (which replaced the Queen's University in Ireland in 1879), were dissolved and replaced by the Queen's University of Belfast and the National University of Ireland. — "History of Queens" (Accessed 4 September 2006)
Related Material
Photograph and text by Philip V. Allingham 2006. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Last modified 6 September 2006