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In the early 1880's a 3,000-strong procession of Gwynedd farmers, quarrymen and their families marched for education down Bangor High Street.  They raised £1,200 to transform an old coaching inn, Penrhyn Arms into what was then known as University College of North Wales.

The University opened its doors on the 18th October 1884 to 58 students and had ten members of staff. Students were initially conferred degrees by the University of London, until 1893 when Bangor became one of the three original constituent colleges of the University of Wales.  

The very first student to enrol at 91¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï was female.  Mary Ellen Williams was a lady of ordinary background, not one of wealth and stature as you might expect.  She was a local girl, the daughter of a grocer.  Female students actually made up a third of the student population in those formative years – which was unusual for its time.  

One of the first females to graduate from the University was Margaret Verney from Plas Rhianfa on Anglesey. 

Women were to contribute greatly to the growth of university education in Wales. 

In 1903, Bangor's city council donated a 10-acre plot of land overlooking the city for construction of a new, bigger university building.   Lewis D Jones (Llew Tegid), a local headteacher, led fundraising efforts across Gwynedd and Anglesey to help fund the new building.  Thousands of farmers, quarrymen, local people contributed towards the goal of raising a huge £120,000. 

The foundation stone was laid in 1907, and four years later in 1911 the main building was opened by Royal visit.