The Rise of the University
With over a hundred universities around Britain, it’s hard to imagine that there used to be only two. In early medieval times, only Oxford and Cambridge existed. These were followed in the 15th century by the Scottish universities of St Andrew’s, Glasgow and Aberdeen, while Edinburgh was established in 1582.
From the very beginning of its history, Ede and Ravenscroft supplied academic dress to the students and scholars of the day. But it wasn’t until the 19th century that demand really took off. Many new universities were established and by the 1870s the firm was supplying robes and gowns to ten universities throughout Britain.
Over the 20th century, demand continued to surge. The early years saw the foundation of the great civic universities, such as Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, while the 1960s heralded a new wave of institutions, including Aston, Bath, Brunel, Essex and Kent. In the 1980s, a large number of polytechnic colleges received charters and also became universities
With each new university comes the need for new robes, something in which Ede and Ravenscroft has centuries of experience. As the leading UK supplier of academic dress, it has designed entire academic dress codes, from the impressive robes of the university Chancellor, to degree holders. Each year it supplies gowns, hoods and hats to thousands of new graduates for their annual degree ceremonies, helping to continue a tradition that has survived for nearly a thousand years.
