John Anderson Campus

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The John Anderson Campus, the main campus of The University of Strathclyde, is located in Glasgow, Scotland. The campus is self-contained in its own area which straddles the Townhead and Merchant City districts on the north eastern side of the city centre, while being only minutes from the M8 Motorway, George Square and is located midway between Queen Street Railway Station and High Street station on the North Clyde Line.

Aerial view of the John Anderson Campus with the James Weir Building and Rottenrow Gardens in the foreground.

History[edit]

Early History (pre-1960)[edit]

The John Anderson Campus was originally the only site of Strathclyde University, as the Jordanhill Campus did not become a part of the University until it incorporated Jordanhill College of Education in 1993. The campus is named after John H. D. Anderson (1726–1796), a former Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, who left instructions in his will describing "a place of useful learning for the good of mankind and the improvement of science"- a second University for Glasgow that would teach practical subjects and which was also to be appealing to people normally left out of the university system (at the time, particularly women and craftsmen from the city) and a university which wouldn't discriminate against someone because of their religion, race or gender. Originally named Anderson's Institution (which was established in 1796), the University was renamed to Anderson's University in 1828, partially to fulfil Anderson's vision of two universities in the city of Glasgow. In 1877, it was forced to remove the title of 'University' as it lacked a Royal Warrant to do so - becoming Anderson's College.

Ten years later in 1887 it merged with the Allan Glen's School to become the Glasgow & West of Scotland Technical College. In 1912, the technical college was renamed the Royal Technical College and became the Royal College of Science and Technology in 1956. It joined with the Scottish College of Commerce in 1964 - later the same year, the merged institution became the University of Strathclyde^[1][2] as it is still known today.

Safety pin memorial.

The first major post-war development of the campus took place in 1955, when construction of the new Montrose Street block to the rear of the Royal College building began. The James Weir Building, as it would later be named, would house new accommodation for the Mechanical, Chemical and Production Engineering departments. Phase I of the James Weir was completed in 1958. A new students union building on John Street followed in 1959. A new Chemistry block (the Thomas Graham Building) was completed in 1962 in conjunction with Phase II of the James Weir which adjoined onto its eastern end. This completed the "Island Site" of the John Anderson Campus as it is now called.

1960s-1970s: Rapid Development[edit]

Following the granting of university status to the Royal College in 1964, the campus grew in size rapidly, with most of the current academic buildings constructed during this period. Plans to redevelop the adjacent Richmond Street site had begun in the late 1950s in collaboration with Glasgow Corporation. This would provide a new library and central admin building (the McCance Building) which opened in 1963. The 13-storey office block (Alec House) built as part of the same development was eventually leased to the University in 1965 and renamed the Livingstone Tower, and would house various social sciences departments.

Prior to the 1960s, the area bounded by North Portland Street, High Street, Cathedral Street and George Street had consisted mainly of slum tenements. Following the 1940s Bruce Report, Townhead was designated a Comprehensive Development Area (CDA), and all of the slums were demolished. The Colville and Architecture buildings were constructed on this space in 1966, followed by the John Anderson Building and Wolfson Centre in 1971 and 1972, respectively. The mid 1970s saw the business school buildings constructed - namely the Stenhouse (1973) and William Duncan (1977) buildings were completed at this time. The first of the student residences - Birkbeck Court - were constructed between 1972 and 1974.

In the late 1970s the University acquired the vacated Glasgow premises of the book publisher William Collins, Sons at the eastern end of Cathedral Street. Only two of the former Collins' structures were retained - the Curran Building (1980) was a former printing factory and warehouse that was converted into a home for the Andersonian Library, whilst the Lord Hope Building (1983) was an office block that was converted for academic use.

1980s-2000s: The Student Village[edit]

No new academic buildings were constructed in the 1980s as newly installed principal Graham Hills concentrated on getting the University's finances back in order. The major developments during this time was the purchase and restoration of the Barony Church in 1984 and the acquisition of Marland House from British Telecom in 1987. Construction resumed on the student residences at the of the decade, with Forbes, Murray and Garnett Halls all being constructed around the turn of the 1990s, with James Blyth, Thomas Campbell Courts and Chancellors' Hall being completed shortly after.

1992 saw the opening of the first new academic building in over a decade with the construction of the Graduate Business School, with the Robertson Trust Wing (later named after the then current principal Sir John Arbuthnott) being completed in 1998. Throughout the 1990s, the University would slowly redevelop areas of the former Marland House, by now named the Graham Hills Building.

2000- present: Major Redevelopment[edit]

Follwing the closure of the Royal Maternity Hospital on Rottenrow, the University acted quickly to acquire and demolish the old hospital site that lay in the centre of the campus. Demolition began in 2002 and the land was landscaped into a new public park called "Rottenrow Gardens", which opened the year after.

In the mid 2000s a major appraisal of the University's estate took place, with a view to consolidating into a smaller number of buildings. The two major off-campus student residences (Baird Hall and Clyde Hall) were sold to private developers. Following the merger in 1993 between the University and the former Jordanhill College, plans were made to eventually vacate the former Jordanhill Campus, and relocate the Faculty of Education to the John Anderson Campus. This led to the underused Lord Hope Building being reconfigured for use by Arts and Humanities. The first phase was to substantially redevelop the James Weir Building, freeing up redundant space relocate the Civil Engineering and Architecture departments from the Colville and Architecture Buildings, respectively. This was a controversial move, as the Architecture School was by now a celebrated piece of Brutalist architecture now threatened with demolition. In 2018, it was announced that a new teaching and learning hub will be created from these two buildings, scheduled to open in 2021.

Below is a synopsis of each building, its year of completion, and its current occupier in brackets.

• 1912 Completion of Royal College Building
• 1958 James Weir Building Phase I (Mechanical, Design, Chemical, Civil, Manufacturing Engineering) – extended in 1963.
• 1959 Students' Union Building
• 1959 Graham Hills Building (Formerly "Marland House" - originally built by the General Post Office, sold to the University in 1987)
• 1962 Thomas Graham Building (Chemistry)
• 1963 James Weir Building Phase II
• 1963 McCance Building (Houses central administration, History, Politics, Registry)
• 1965 Livingstone Tower (Mathematics, Statistics, Languages and Computer Sciences(CIS) )
• 1966 Architecture Building (empty as of 2019 - undergoing redevelopment)
• 1967 Colville Building (empty as of 2019 - undergoing redevelopment)
• 1971 John Anderson Building (Physics)
• 1972 Wolfson Centre (Bioengineering), Birkbeck Court residences
• 1973 Collins Building (Collins Gallery, Senate/Court suites)
• 1973 Stenhouse Building (Law)
• 1974 Construction of the Callanish sculpture and landscaped area (popularly known as "Steelhenge")
• 1975 University Centre (Refectory, Staff Club, Sports Centre)
• 1975 Alexander Turnbull Building (Printing, AV Services) - was divested in 2016 into a housing development
• 1976 Todd Centre (Pharmacology) - now incorporated within the SIPBS complex after 2010
• 1976 James Weir/Students Union building extension
• 1977 William Duncan Building (Strathclyde Business School)
• 1981 Curran Building created from former Collins warehouse (houses Andersonian Library)
• 1983 Lord Hope Building (originally built as the Montgomery Building for Collins Printers in 1953)
• 1984 Lord Todd restaurant, acquisition of the Barony Hall
• 1987 Acquisition of Marland House from British Telecom (see Graham Hills Building above)
• 1990 Opening of James Blyth and Thomas Campbell student residences
• 1991 Opening of Chancellors' Hall student residences
• 1992 Graduate Business School building opens
• 1997 Opening of James Goold Hall of Residence
• 1998 John Arbuthnott Building (Strathclyde Institute for Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences)
• 2001 Acquisition of the Rottenrow maternity hospital site – demolition of the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital
• 2002 Thomas Graham Building extension completed
• 2004 Rottenrow Gardens Opened
• 2010 Hamnett Wing of the new Strathclyde Institute for Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences building on Cathedral Street
• 2015 University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre completed

When the maternity hospital was finally demolished in 2002, a statue in the shape of a safety pin was erected in the John Anderson campus' Rottenrow Gardens in memory of the building.

Accommodation[edit]

Strathclyde University provides accommodation for most of the first year undergraduates. Historically, the University also operated two fully serviced halls of residence off-campus elsewhere in the city centre - Baird Hall on Sauchiehall Street and Clyde Hall on Jamaica Street. Both were former hotels (The Beresford and the Royal Stuart, respectively), but the University sold both to private developers in the early 2000s, the Beresford (a celebrated Art Deco structure) being turned into luxury housing, whilst the old Royal Stuart Hotel building is now a youth hostel.

The student village is located on the easterly half of the John Anderson Campus. Each accommodation block is named after a famous scientist or contributor to the University of Strathclyde.

Listed below are all of the accommodations on the campus, who they are named after and some basic information about the occupancy:

James Young Hall[edit]

The James Young Hall can be found next to Chancellors Hall at the south easterly corner of the accommodation block. The James Young Hall is one of the more expensive class of accommodation residencies which provide the luxuries of an en-suite bathroom (including showers/hand wash basin/toilet facilities) with each individual single study bedroom. These flats are available as 3- to 6-person flats. The students in each flat share a spacious kitchen, as well as a living and a dining room with a TV provided. Although the rent is steep, this includes heating and lighting as well as cleaning in the shared areas which you do not get in other accommodation such as the Thomas Campbell building.^[3]James Young, who is most well known for distilling paraffin wax from coal. His affiliation with the university started when he attended night classes at Anderson College (Strathclyde University), after being appointed assistant to Thomas Graham he worked up the academic ranks to become president of the college between 1868 and 1877 .

James Goold Hall[edit]

James Goold hall is one of the newest halls in the accommodation block. It supports 66 students, divided into 5/6/8 person flats.^[4] The hall was named after James Goold due to his involvement as Chairman of the Court of Strathclyde University in the years between 1993 and 1997^[5]

Murray Hall[edit]

Murray Hall is located at 75 Collins Street, Glasgow G4 0NG. This is the only residence in the Campus Village which is not divided into flats. Instead, 70 students have their own study bedrooms with wash-hand basins and share a large kitchen/living/dining room plus showers and WC facilities located on each floor. There are TVs on the 2nd and 4th floors. The rent for this residence includes heating/lighting plus a cleaning service for the shared areas. The contract period last for 39 weeks from September to June. Murray Hall was named after Lord Murray of Newhaven who was given an honorary degree in 1973. His full name is Keith Anderson Hope Murray, Baron Murray of Newhaven KCB. Murray was a British academic and Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford. He became a Research Officer for the AERI, a post he held until 1944. In 1937, however, he was appointed a Fellow and Bursar of Lincoln College, Oxford, as well as being appointed by the University to Oxford City Council.

Forbes Hall[edit]

Named after George Forbes who is affiliated with the university through his appointment to professor of natural philosophy in 1873. The residence provides accommodation for 104 students. The hall is divided into 4 and 6 person's flats. Each flat has single study bedrooms with wash-hand basin. The residents share a kitchen, living/dining room with a TV provided. Other shared facilities include shower and toilet. The Forbes accommodation lines the north side of rotten row east which cuts the accommodation site in half.

Garnett Hall[edit]

Garnett Hall lies in the north easternmost section of the accommodation area. Its three blocks have a very similar design to that of Forbes hall.^[6]It provides accommodation for 124 students in 4 - 6 person flats. The origin of the name is that of Thomas Garnett, a lecturer of physics and also very committed to the educational emancipation of women^[7]

James Blyth and Thomas Campbell Court[edit]

Built in 1990, James Blyth and Thomas Campbell court provide a combined accommodation for 372 students (216 in the James Blyth court, and 156 in the Thomas Campbell Court). Each flat is either a 4 or an 8-man flat, which then contains either 4 or 8 single study bedrooms. In each flat there is a centralised basic kitchen, living and dining room. There is also a shower room and toilet facilities available to all students.^[8] Both buildings are located on the steep bank south of rotten row east. James Blyth was a Scottish electrical engineer and a lecturer at the Anderson College, now better known as the University of Strathclyde. He was an almost famous figure around the Anderson College, hence the reason one of the accommodation blocks are named after him. Thomas Campbell was a Scottish poet who was known as one of the men behind the idea of London University. He was born in Glasgow in 1777 and died in Boulogne, France in 1844.

Chancellors Hall[edit]

Chancellors Hall is located at the intersection of rotten row east and taylor street. It is the tallest accommodation allowing up to 165 spaces available for students. These are separated into 3 to 6 people per flat. Every one of these bedrooms has an en suite shower/wash-hand basin/WC. The people on each flat share a large kitchen/living/dining room and a TV is also included. Rent includes heating/lighting and also a cleaning service for the shared areas of the flat. Chancellors Hall was named after The Chancellor Rt. Hon the Lord Smith of Kelvin. Lord Smith is one of Scotland's leading business figures and currently chairs the organising committee for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Lord Smith is currently chairman of SSE, Weir Group and the UK Green Investment Bank and is a non-executive director of Standard Bank Group South Africa.

Birkbeck Court[edit]

Birkbeck court is named after George Birkbeck who studied natural philosophy at the Andersonian Institution, now the University of Strathclyde. Birkbeck court is the oldest and biggest student accommodation housing three hundred and four students. The court is divided into flats each housing six students. Each student has their own small study bedroom but shares kitchen, living and dining room. Other facilities shared include shower room and toilet. Birkbeck court being the largest hall of residence there is a great deal of meeting other student from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. The court is also near other leisure facilities being very close Glasgow City which is only 5 minutes’ walk. Birkbeck court is located in the north west corner of the accommodation block.

The Lord Todd[edit]

The Lord Todd Building resides in the centre of the accommodation block. It serves as the village office, one of the many laundry facilities, a café and local pub. The village Office deals with any maintenance or accommodation issues and reroutes all post for the accommodation buildings. The café has recently had a facelift and rebrand to Aroma.^[9] Todd's Bar is a gives a more traditional feel compared to that of the Student Union, it runs pub quizzes and is a favourite for many students

Future & Development plans[edit]

The Jordanhill campus is currently the location of the university's faculty of education, which is to be moved to a new building on the John Anderson Campus. The building is 14,500 sq metres and will be able to support 2,500 students. It is expected to be completed by 2010.^[10]

In April 2017, it was announced that a new learning and teaching hub would be created by redeveloping the Architecture and Colville Buildings ^[11] Both buildings, most notably the listed Architecture Building, had been threatened with demolition. The £41m project will also see the Students Union relocated from its current home on John Street into the Colville Building.

External links[edit]

• Strathclyde University - John Anderson Campus
• Strathclyde University - Accommodation
• Todds Bar

References[edit]