Bristol University buildings under the spotlight

Across Bristol, more than 350 buildings are owned by Bristol University. There are famous ones, such as the Wills Memorial Building, and some less well-known gems spread across the city.

For architectural historian Sarah Whittingham, the centenary celebrations of the University – which this weekend will see more than 1,500 former students returning for a series of events – could not be marked without looking at the University's architectural heritage and its contribution to the fabric of the city.

Mrs Whittingham, 44, from Sneyd Park, who wrote her PHD on Sir George Oatley, the architect of the Wills Memorial Building, has curated a free exhibition at the Architecture Centre which runs until the end of August.

She said: "All the centenary celebrations are about involving the people of Bristol, and it's great that we could hold this exhibition down here in the city centre.

"It's a very important exhibition. To most people, the University is the Wills Memorial Building. Of course, that's a major building, but it's just one of 350 University buildings in the city. The University is a major landowner and its buildings are dotted all over the place.

"Bristol University is a custodian of some of Bristol's most historic and significant buildings.

"It takes that ownership very seriously indeed and wants to share that ownership with the people of Bristol."

The exhibition at the Architecture Centre covers all the 100 years of the University.

It runs from the University's very first site on Park Row, when it was still University College, Bristol; to plans for future buildings, such as the new mathematics building near the Royal Fort, and the biological science building on the former children's hospital on St Michael's Hill.

There is a video showing footage from the last century, such as the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1922 when they opened the Wills Memorial Building, and the construction of Senate House on Tyndall Avenue, that was built on top of the University's old botanic garden, now in Stoke Bishop.

There is a scale model of the University's masterplan for new buildings, that was adopted by Bristol City Council in July 2006, and an 18th-century architect's model for Royal Fort House, completed in 1761 and said to be Bristol's finest Georgian villa, which Henry Wills bought for the University in 1917.

Some fascinating facts can be learned in the exhibition. For example, Burwalls, the large red brick house near the Suspension Bridge, was bought for the University in 1848 for £10,750 by Joseph Leech, the owner-editor of the Bristol News and Mirror newspaper. It is one of 80 listed buildings that the University owns, some of which were purchased, others donated or bought, and others built by the University, the newest of which is the Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information on Tyndall Avenue, which opened in March.

● The University of Bristol's Buildings: Past, Present and Future is at the Architecture Centre, Narrow Quay, until August 31.