Queen Margaret College (Glasgow)

Queen Margaret College

North Park House was the original campus of Queen Margaret College, before its sale to the BBC in 1935.
Type	Women's college
Active	1868–1892
Location	Glasgow, Scotland
Colours	Blue and Gold
Affiliations	University of Glasgow

Queen Margaret College was a women-only higher education institution based in North Park House in Glasgow, Scotland. It was established in 1868 by the Glasgow Association for the Higher Education of Women, as women were not at the time permitted to study at Scottish universities. The first secretary of the College was Janet Anne Galloway.

The College was named for Queen Margaret of Scotland, and at the time was the only such college in the country. North Park House, built between 1869 and 1871 for John and Matthew Bell, owners of the Glasgow Pottery, was purchased by Isabella Elder, a local philanthropist and wife of the shipbuilder John Elder, to house the College, which moved into the premises adjacent to the University's Botanic Gardens in 1883.

A proposal to provide medical courses for women was made in 1889 with the financial backing of Mrs Isabella Elder. A formal motion was adopted at the Annual General Meeting of the college on 28 April 1890 Classes in the study of medicine commenced for 13 students in the winter session of 1890/1891.

A new Medical Hall was built in 1895, designed by John Keppie with input by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The funding for the erection of this purpose-built facility came from the Bellahouston Trust which had been established for charitable, religious and educational purposes in the city. Keppie and Mackintosh's building was formally opened on 18 November 1895 by Rev. John Caird, Principal of the University of Glasgow.

The College merged with the University of Glasgow in 1892, although the premises continued to be used solely for the education of women until being sold to BBC Scotland in 1935, who moved from premises in West George Street. Queen Margaret College leaves a strong legacy within the University, in the form of the Queen Margaret Union, Queen Margaret Settlement, and Queen Margaret Halls of Residence in Kelvinside.