Old College

Old College is a building that forms part of the University of Aberystwyth in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. The first building on the site, of which nothing remains, was a villa constructed c. 1795 by John Nash for Sir Uvedale Price. This building was converted into the Castle Hotel in the 1860s by John Pollard Seddon. The hotel was a failure and the building was then sold to University College Wales, Aberystwyth, later a constituent member of the University of Wales. Pollard was retained to redevelop the building as an education institute, and to undertake complete reconstruction after a disastrous fire in 1885. During his tenure, Seddon engaged Charles Voysey to design a mosaic triptych to decorate the building's exterior. The Old College continued to accommodate teaching departments of the university throughout the 20th century, but was progressively turned over to administrative uses as the university developed its Penglais Hill campus overlooking the town. In 2014 the last of the teaching departments moved out, at which point the university began planning, and fundraising, for a redevelopment of the whole Old College site and its transformation into a heritage/cultural and learning centre. As of 2024, completion of the project is planned for 2026. The Old College is a Grade I listed building.