A new roof for the Old College Quad

The Quad, the beating heart of Aberystwyth University’s Old College, is set to have a new glass roof as work on the grade 1 listed building redevelopment gathers momentum.

Described as “a place to see and be seen”, the Quad “made every bit as important a contribution to the education of Aberystwyth students as any lecture-room or laboratory” according to historian Dr E L Ellis in his volume to mark the University’s centenary in 1972.

Made from wood and stained glass, the barrel-vaulted ceiling features the coats of arms of Welsh counties and was installed in 1889-1890 over what was an open space known at the time as the “College corridor”.

The Quad in its early days

The work was funded by W T Jones, a successful financier from Melbourne, Australia, who offered £500 towards it during a visit to Aberystwyth, his childhood town.

The ceiling was protected from the weather by a pitched glass roof but breakages over the years meant that polycarbonate sheets were eventually added to stop the rain from getting in.

The old polycarbonate roof which will be removed before the new glass roof is installed

The new glass roof will sit above both what remains of the original roof and ceiling, after the polycarbonate sheets have been removed.

Its elevated position will also make it possible to build new links, in the form of two ‘bridges’, between the King Street side of the building with the promenade side. These will offer dramatic views of the vaulted ceiling from above.

An artists impression of the new glass roof and the view down over the Quad

Measuring 25 meters in length and five metres across, the new roof will feature a series of doubled glazed glass panels set in an anodised aluminium frame and will be lifted into position over the Old College by crane.

An intricate cantilever scaffolding structure is being put in place to facilitate the work and protect the original roof and ceiling during the new roof’s installation, which is expected to start in the new year and take up to 12 weeks to complete.

Once finished, work to refurbish the celling and the Quad itself will get underway.

The Old College Project manager Jim O’Rourke said: “Respecting the heritage of the Old College has been a priority from the beginning of this ambitious project. The Quad celling and the glass roof above it is a most striking feature, which in its early days would have let sunlight into the heart of the building, and featured a series of wooden doors operated by an intricate pulley system to provide ventilation on hot days. The new glass roof will enable us to remove some changes that have prevented sunlight getting in, providing natural light in the Quad space, as intended when it was first installed.”

The story of the Quad and W T Jones’s contribution has been documented by former Aberystwyth University librarian Elgan Davies in his piece: W.T. Jones and the development of the Old College Quad.

The Old College project is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund, UK Government, Coastal Communities Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund, philanthropic trusts, and individuals.