Queen Margaret University

Established in 1998, Queen Margaret's University is the newest and, with around 4000 students, smallest of Edinburgh's four Universities. Originally founded in 1875 as the Edinburgh School of Cookery, under the patronage of HRH Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848 - 1939), to promote the education and career development of women at a time when they were denied access to such education. The School of Cookery later changed its name to the Edinburgh College of Domestic Science, colloquially and affectionately known simply as 'Atholl Crescent' after its address in W. Central Edinburgh. The college was responsible for the 'Edinburgh Cookery Book', a classic of its day which provided wholesome recipes for all strata of society.

The College was granted permission to adopt the name Queen Margaret College in 1971, and gained another royal patron in HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901 - 2004). Since then, the Edinburgh Schools of Drama, Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry and Radiography have been incorporated into the College. Adopting the name Queen Margaret University in 2007, it now hosts several world-class research centres including the Speech Science Research Centre, the RBS Centre for the Older Person's Agenda, and the Centre for Integrated Healthcare Research.

Most of the Colleges activities are now housed in a purpose-built campus which opened in 2007 on a green-field site at Craighall in East Lothian, a mile (1.5 km) southwest of Musselburgh. Previously, the College occupied modern buildings at Corstorphine, with a second campus at Leith housing most of its health care courses. The Gateway Theatre in Leith Walk, once a television studio, was home to the Drama Department from 1996 to 2007.


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