Most universities have their own archives and they are the best starting-point for finding student registers Before 1800 the only higher-education institutions in the UK were the ancient universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Aberdeen, St Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh which only wealthy students could afford. Three new universities were founded in the 19th century: Durham (1832), London (1836) and Wales with the constituent colleges of Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff (1893).
From the 1870s higher education gradually became more accessible, and six ‘red brick’ universities achieved independent status: Birmingham (1900), Liverpool (1903), Manchester (1903, as Victoria University), Leeds (1904), Sheffield (1905) and Bristol (1909). All originated in civic science or engineering colleges. Queen’s University Belfast also gained university status at this time (1908). Six more universities were founded in the period up…