Books

100: A collection of words and images to mark the centenary of the University of Bristol

As part of its centenary celebrations, the University published 100: A collection of words and images to mark the centenary of the University of Bristol.

The 300-page book includes contributions from nearly 60 people, most of whom have a past or present connection with the University, and is further enlivened by numerous high-quality photographs and a smattering of cartoons and other illustrations.

Contributors include Alice Roberts, doctor and presenter of Coast and Don’t Die Young; the late Harry Patch, former World War I veteran; actor Tim Pigott-Smith; architect George Ferguson; author Julia Donaldson; journalist and writer Misha Glenny; science communicator Kathy Sykes; rugby player Josh Lewsey; Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England; Will Hutton, Chief Executive of The Work Foundation and former editor of The Observer; novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls; historian and landscape architect Roy Strong; and Brenda Hale, the University’s former Chancellor and the first female Law Lord.

The contributions range from essays, poems and stories to a centenary recipe (by Heston Blumenthal) and a specially commissioned crossword by a very distinguished crossword setter.

The many subjects covered in this eclectic miscellany include the value of scholarship, the challenges facing higher education, the reality of student life in Bristol in former decades, the architecture of the University, the future of computing, the international fashion world of the 1960s, and University research into cot death that has saved the lives of an estimated 100,000 babies worldwide.

The book will appeal to all past, present and future staff, students and friends of the University, as well as other readers wishing to gain an insight into the world of higher education in general and the unique and enduring appeal of the University of Bristol at the start of its second century.

The University of Bristol: A History

About the book

University College, Bristol, opened on 10 October 1876 with two professors and seven lecturers. During its first year, 99 day students registered and the number of evening students was 238. It was the first institute of higher education in the country to admit women on an equal basis with men.

Thirty-two years later, after much hard work by various people, and generous financial support from the Wills and Fry families, the College petitioned King Edward VII for a charter that would give it full university status. The King signed the charter in May 1909, and flags flew and church bells rang across the city. The new University of Bristol opened in October 1909 with nearly 700 students.

The story of how the organisation progressed from its humble origins to today’s thriving, international enterprise of around 12,000 undergraduates, nearly 5,000 postgraduates and over 5,500 employees, is briefly told in this book, published in 2009 to celebrate the University’s first hundred years.

About the author

Dr Sarah Whittingham was born in Bristol and began working for the University in 1993. At one time Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing Services, she has also worked in the Department of History of Art and the Centre for Public Engagement in the field of lifelong learning. She obtained her PhD in architectural history from the University in 2005. Her publications include Wills Memorial Building (2003), and Sir George Oatley: Architect of Bristol (forthcoming in 2009).

The Development of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol, 1909–2009: a history to mark its centenary

About the book

Engineering has been taught in Bristol since the early eighteenth century.

Originally housed in the Society of Merchant Venturers’ Technical College (MVTC), the Department of Engineering became part of University College Bristol (UCB) when it was founded in 1876. In 1909, it became a faculty of the new University of Bristol, while retaining its home in the MVTC.

Andrew Robertson, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was a key figure in the development of the Faculty in those early years, remembered for recruiting six professors of international standing and establishing the Faculty’s profile.

In 1946 the Department of Aeronautical Engineering was created and in 1958 the Faculty moved to a new premises. Opened by the Queen, the building was thereafter known as Queen’s Building. In 2005, the Queen returned to the University to open BLADE (Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering), a new £18.5 million research facility that is the most advanced laboratory of its kind in Europe.

Since its establishment, the Faculty has grown from strength to strength to its current position as an international leader in cutting-edge engineering that has attracted over £75m in industrial and governmental research awards over the past five years alone.

Today it consists of seven departments – Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Engineering Management, Engineering Mathematics, and Mechanical Engineering – and boasts five Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Britain’s national academy for engineering.

This book, which charts the rich history of the Faculty over the last 100 years, is available to order on our Alumni page.

About the author

Professor Roy Severn (1929-2012) joined the University as Lecturer in Civil Engineering in 1956. He was promoted to Reader in 1965 and appointed Chair in 1968. He was Dean of the Faculty on two occasions, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor 1981-84. He retired in 1996. In 1981 he was elected to the Fellowship of Engineering (later the Royal Academy of Engineering), and in 1990 to the Presidency of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was awarded the CBE for services to the construction industry in 1992.

A Palladian Villa in Bristol Clifton Hill House and the People who Lived There

About the book

A History of Clifton Hill House from 1746 tells the story of this important Palladian villa, which was built for wealthy Bristol merchant Paul Fisher, from its early years until 2008.

It describes the lives of the owners and residents of the house until 1909, at which time it was acquired by the University. The key chapter deals with the Symonds family who lived in the house over two generations. The Symonds helped to found the University of Bristol and were a fascinating Victorian family. Edward Lear's ‘The Owl and the Pussy Cat’ was written for the Symondses's eldest daughter, Janet.

The book also mentions the restoration programme started in 1988. The last chapter is devoted to Clifton Hill House as a Hall of Residence with a vibrant community of some 230 students.

About the author

Annie Burnside was brought up in Paris and read English at the Sorbonne. She obtained her MA in Classical French Literature from the University of Bristol in 1972, became language assistant in the French Department in 1980 and Warden of Clifton Hill House in 1988. She has been French Honorary Consul for Bristol and the South-West of England since 2003. She is Officier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques and in the French Ordre du Mérite. In 2004 she was appointed one of the two Deputy Marshals of the University.

How to order

The book, priced at £10 plus £3 postage and packing (no p&p if collected in person from Clifton Hill House), is available to order from Annie Burnside, Clifton Hill House, Lower Clifton Hill, Bristol BS8 1BX. Tel. 0117 903 5174/6 or email a.burnside@bristol.ac.uk. Please make cheques payable to 'Annie Burnside'.