University of Chester | United Kingdom

It is one of the oldest English higher education establishments of any kind, pre-dating all but Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham, and its original buildings in the Roman city of Chester were the first in the country to be purpose-built for the professional training of teachers. The Dean and Chapter of Chester Cathedral donated land on Parkgate Road for this endeavour. In 1842, Gladstone opened the College's original buildings for its first intake of 10 male student teachers on the Parkgate Road site, just outside the City Walls, that the University still occupies today, after the College moved from its initial, temporary base in Bridge Street.