The Old College Aberystwyth

The Old College was the original home of the University of Aberystwyth, opened in 1872 and the first university in Wales (grand total: 26 students; the first female students arrived in 1883).

The Old College is a Grade 1 listed building and sits on the site of Castle House which was built by John Nash around 1795. In 1864 the site was bought by railway entrepreneur Thomas Savin, with the intention of creating a hotel of unprecedented grandeur, the Castle Hotel.

JP Seddon was commissioned as architect and George Jones of Aberystwyth supervised the building work. It opened in June 1865 but was soon beset by financial troubles and put up for sale.

Despite having cost £80,000 it was finally sold to a committee to form the University of Wales in March 1867 for £10,000. Seddon returned and was commissioned to convert the hotel into a college, which opened its doors for the first time in October 1872.

In July 1885 the building was severely damaged by fire; Seddon and Coates Carter undertook the repairs with builders Messrs S Belham and Co of London.

In 1893 the Quadrangle, or Quad as it has been affectionately known by generations of students, was roofed and in 1896 work began on the science wing and reconstruction of Castle House by C A Ferguson of London.

The Old College remained the focus of the University’s activity until the 1960s when work started to develop the Penglais campus.