The Old College, Aberystwyth
This landmark seafront building was the original home of Aberystwyth University. It was designed as the Castle Hotel for engineer Thomas Savin, who was involved in construction of the railway Shropshire to Aberystwyth which opened in 1864.
The hotel was planned on a grand scale for the crowds of visitors Savin expected the railway to bring to Aberystwyth. His business partner, David Davies of Llandinam, disagreed. The part-finished hotel opened in 1865, boasting a restaurant with sea view. Its assembly, reading and billiard rooms provided “all the privileges and conveniences of a London club”.
The hotel was a commercial failure. The building was bought by the embryonic University of Wales in 1867, despite the relatively high purchase price of £15,000. It was adapted and enlarged, and the university college opened in October 1872 with 25 students. David Davies used his fortune to keep the university afloat more than once. The interior photo, courtesy of Ceredigion Archives, shows the library c.1900.
In 1885 the college was badly damaged by a fire which started in the chemistry laboratory. Falling debris killed three men who had rushed inside to help: Samuel Jones, who left a widow and two children; John Davies, who left a widow and six children; and James Edwin Brett, aged 21. Architect John Pollard Seddon, who had designed the hotel and its conversion to a college, was called in to advise on the rebuilding.
A statue of Edward, Prince of Wales, was placed outside the building on the seaward side c.1922. He became King Edward VIII but abdicated in 1937. He and his new wife met Adolf Hitler and were believed to sympathise with the Nazis. After the Second World War the statue was illegally decapitated but later restored. A less controversial statue depicts Thomas Charles Edwards, the university’s first principal.
The growing university opened a campus on Penglais Hill in the 1930s. In 2023 work began on converting the Grade 1-listed Old College for new uses, including a 60-bedroom hotel and spaces for education, training and community activities.
Postcode: SY23 2AY View Location Map
Website of Ceredigion Archives
Aberystwyth University website
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