Bishop Grosseteste University

We’ve been here in the historic heart of Lincoln for over 150 years, a beautifully green and pleasant campus just a few minutes walk from Lincoln Cathedral, Castle and the old Roman city. We’ve seen a lot of things come and go in that time, but we’ve never stopped providing first-class education, turning out graduates of the highest calibre who go out into the world and change people’s lives for the better.

We began life in 1862 as an Anglican teacher training college for women. To mark our centenary in 1962, our name was changed to Bishop Grosseteste College in honour of Robert Grosseteste, the thirteenth century scientist, philosopher, educator, and Bishop of Lincoln.

Subsequent name changes in 2006 and 2012 saw our name changed to Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln, before we finally became Bishop Grosseteste University.

In recent years we’ve undergone an explosion of growth, expanding and developing our portfolio of courses into more exciting new areas than ever before. We still consider ourselves experts in education – we have been doing it for over 150 years after all – but our teaching courses now sit alongside an exciting range of other subjects. We currently educate over 2,000 students in subjects ranging from drama to psychology; foundation degree to PhD, and much more in between.

We keep adding to our campus to ensure that our students have a fulfilling learning experience and a rewarding university life. During the course of 2013 we refurbished our student accommodation and built a brand new hall of residence, enhancing the BGU student experience and creating a real home away from home. We also totally refurbished our library building (doubling its size) and built Refectory, our new dining facility.

Widely regarded as a great teacher, scholar, reformer, scientist and theologian, Robert Grosseteste is believed to have been born in Suffolk in around 1170. After holding a variety of academic and ecclesiastical offices Grosseteste was consecrated Bishop of Lincoln (at the time the largest diocese in England) in 1235 and remained in office for eighteen years until his death in October 1253. Over the course of his lifetime Grosseteste wrote many texts including philosophical commentaries, prayers, religious poems, and pastoral and cientific treatises. He also performed experiments with light and optics and is said to have inspired his younger contemporary Roger Bacon, later known as Dr Mirabilis. The remains of Robert Grosseteste lie in the south-east transept of Lincoln Cathedral. Each year on his feast day, October 9th, he is remembered at a service held in the University Chapel.