The founding of Lancaster University

In 1947 a public meeting in Lancaster endorsed a proposal that a university might be established in the city.

The idea lay dormant until Lancashire County Council revived it in early 1961. The Council created a Promotion Committee for a University in North-West Lancashire. Lord Derby was the chair of the committee. The Promotion Committee presented a proposal to the University Grants Committee for Lancaster.

From the day it opened its doors, the new institution had full authority to manage its affairs within the terms of its Royal Charter and Statutes.

We dedicate these pages to the history of Lancaster University. We have charted its evolution from an idea to the construction of the campus. The campus life section provides a picture of what it was like to study at Lancaster during the ‘swinging sixties’ and the early 1970s.

We hope that alumni, present students, staff, local people and others all find something to interest them.

We would like to thank Mike Winstanley and Marion McClintock for the original ‘Our history’ content. Marion's books, Quest for Innovation: History of the First Ten Years of Lancaster University and Shaping the Future: a history of the University of Lancaster, 1961-2011 cover the subject in far greater depth and are available in the Lancaster University Library.