The Beyer building is part of the Old Quadrangle, of the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

, on Oxford Road, Manchester. The quadrangle comprises the oldest buildings of the University and was completed in 1904, prior to the Owens College becoming the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

. The original college building on Oxford Road (now called the John Owens building) was built in 1873. The Beyer building was the second side to be completed in 1887. It was funded entirely by

Charles Beyer Charles Frederick Beyer (an anglicised form of his original German name Carl Friedrich Beyer) (14 May 1813 – 2 June 1876) was a celebrated German-British locomotive designer and builder, and co-founder of the Institution of Mechanical Engineer ...

through his will of 1876. Beyer was a well known philanthropist and co-founder of Beyer, Peacock & Company, one of the world's most famous locomotive manufacturers. He was a life governor of Owens college, actively involved in the Owens College Extension Movement, and the single biggest donor to the Extension fund, which in total raised over £100,000 (£10 million today) to construct the original building at Oxford Road. The architect was Alfred Waterhouse. The building was designed to accommodate the natural science (Biology, Geology) departments, which it continued to do until the 1970s. It also featured state of the art laboratories and lecture theatres. It connects to the Manchester museum (the third side of the Quadrangle), which was also built in 1887, also by Waterhouse. This allowed students to access the many specimens from the museum.

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{{University of Manchester, state=collapsed Buildings at the University of Manchester