St Matthias, Bristol

St Matthias (known colloquially as St Matts) used to belong to the University of the West of England. The campus is located in the suburb of Fishponds in Bristol.

St Matthias
Location within Bristol
General information
Architectural styleGothic Revival
Town or cityBristol
CountryEngland
Coordinates51.4845°N 2.5299°W / 51.4845; -2.5299
Construction started1851
Completed1852
Design and construction
ArchitectJohn Bevan
The Lodge at St Mattias

History

The campus was previously a teacher training college, originally called the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Training Institution for School Mistresses, which opened in 1853 and was later the humanities campus for UWE Bristol. As part of a project dedicated to the history of the campus, staff and students both past and present, share their memories of their time on campus.

The original buildings were constructed in 1851-2 by John Bevan with Jonathan Clarke, in a Gothic Revival style. The building was extended in 1903. Today it is a grade II* listed building[1] and the lodge is listed grade II.[2]

Archives

Records of the Bristol Diocesan Training College, later St Matthias' College, are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. 37168) (online catalogue) and (Ref. BROFA/0078) (online catalogue).

Departments and courses

St Matthias was home to departments within the faculty of Creative Arts, Humanities and Education, including:

  • Department of Culture, Media and Drama
  • Department of History, Philosophy and Politics
  • Department of English, Linguistics and Communication

Buildings and facilities

The campus has some Victorian Gothic buildings, and is set around a quad.

Closure

The University of the West of England closed the campus in September 2014 (with operations on the site ceasing on 4 July 2014) as a part of a relocation project.[3] The various departments of the faculty of Creative Arts, Humanities and Education from St Matthias and Bower Ashton have moved to new facilities at Frenchay campus.[4] As part of the planned closure UWE and the UWE Students' Union held a 3 day farewell party to celebrate the campus, its history, staff, ex- staff, students and alumni.[5]

In March 2014 it was announced that, subject to planning permission, the site would be sold and redeveloped by Barratt Developments for housing and the listed buildings would become a Steiner School.[6]

References
  1. Historic England. "St Matthias' College (1202400)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. Historic England. "Lodge to St Matthais' College, attached wall, piers and gates to east, south and west, Oldbury Court Road (1207698)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. "St Matthias Campus". University of the West of England. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  4. "St Matthias Campus - a brief history". University of the West of England. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  5. http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/comingtouwe/campusmapsandinformation/stmatthiascampus/historyofstmatthiascampus/abriefhistory.aspx
  6. "The St Matthias Campus in Fishponds – the site for our new school?". Steiner Academy Bristol. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
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