Fonds GB 0222 BALAB - Bala-Bangor Manuscripts,

The history of the Bala-Bangor College is a complex one, which begins in 1842 with the establishment of the Independent College in Bala, Merionethshire. By the 1850's the nature and quality of education being received at the College was under fire and a new constitution was drafted which led to a rift between members. For a while, the Independents had two colleges in Bala - one for the old constitution and one for the new. Then in 1885 the new constitution college received a gift of £1500 from Samuel Morley on the condition that it moved to Bangor, co. Caernarfon. By 1886 the college had moved to a house on College Road in Bangor known as The Poplars and from then on the 2 colleges operated separately. In 1889 John Rylands from Lancashire left £5000 in his will to the Bala College, but it was not too clear which college was to benefit. Luckily, the gift became a means of uniting both colleges. Eventually, in 1892, the department in Bala was moved to Bangor. The new united college was named Bala-Bangor and in time moved from The Poplars to a building at the bottom of Ffriddoedd Road, Bangor, which was once three private houses.