St Aidan’s College, Birkenhead
St Aidan’s was founded in 1846, and at some point adopted a hood of black, lined and bound with silver-grey, and as was usual with theological college hoods at that date could be made in either full [f1] or simple [s1] shape. In 1882 the lining was reduced to a 2” border in keeping with the decree of Convocation. By this time, the full shape had become the specified one. This particular hood is also lined with black stuff, though other examples are not: this was never set down, and the same variety occurs with other college hoods.
1st November 2020
MSc (Tech), Manchester Victoria University
Although the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) had achieved university status in 1955, it continued to award Victoria degrees until 1993, when it became independent. It formed the Faculty of Technology of the VUM, and awarded the degrees in technology, designated BSc(Tech) and MSc(Tech). The colour of the faculty was terra-cotta, the BSc(Tech) being black, bound 1” terra-cotta and bordered 1” fur, and the MSc(Tech) being black lined and bound terra-cotta.
1st October 2020
BD, University of Durham
One of the original degrees awarded by Durham once it gained degree-awarding powers in 1837, the BD has a hood modelled on that of Oxford, being of black silk lined black silk, but cut in the doctors’ pattern [f4] – at Oxford, the BD is cut in the doctors’ shape. The other universities operational at that date which used hoods, Cambridge and Dublin, also have black and black BD hoods. The degree has been in suspension for some years.
1st September 2020
Graduate, Northern School of Music
The NSM was founded in 1920, and merged with the Royal Manchester College in 1972 to form the Royal Northern College, and its striking hoods then became obsolete. It had just two, both of grass green and old gold. Holders of the Graduate diploma (GNSM), the equivalent of a pass degree, wore a green hood with a border of gold (a similar design to the GRSM hood, of scarlet bordered blue), and Fellows (FNSM) wore the same hood, but with a white lining also. It is unclear if there were any other diplomas (ANSM, LNSM), but if, so they had no robes.
1st August 2020
DipMusEd, Tonic Sol-fa College
The Tonic Sol-fa College, founded in 1863 by John Curwen, awarded a number of diplomas, for which the hoods were of light blue and dark pink (‘crushed strawberry’). The Diploma in Music Education, of postgraduate level, was added at some point in the 1960s, and was given the basic blue hood, but lined with red shot blue taffeta (Wales Divinity), bound on all edges with half an inch of pink, and further bordered on the outside with an inch of dark blue velvet. Until this picture emerged, it was not known that the velvet was set light of the pink, nor that it ran down the sides, but not across the base, of the cape: an unusual feature. The TSC morphed into the Curwen College of Music in 1972, and the hoods were redesigned in brown watered silk and gold. Those currently in use have revived the blue and pink scheme.
1st July 2020
Edinburgh Theological College
The hood of this college is noted as being fully lined with silk of thistle green. In 1882, the Church of England’s Convocation laid down that theological college hoods were to be black stuff, with a border of up to two inches of coloured silk, but as the Scottish Episcopal Church did not come under its remit, it retains its full lining – and the shell is of black silk, also. ‘Thistle green’ refers to the green used by the Order of the Thistle for its insignia.
1st June 2020
MBA, University of Aberdeen
Other than the MA, masters’ degrees were a late addition to Aberdeen. The MA wears a black hood lined white, and bachelors, black hoods lined with the faculty colour. It was decided to mark the postgraduate masters by giving them white hoods lined with faculty colour. The MBA is lined with lilac.
1st May 2020
BSc, University of Surrey
All Surrey hoods are all lined with blue damask, the first university to do this, though of course Doctors of Music had been using cream or white damask robes and hoods for many years. The bachelors’ hoods are of a special simple shape, shared by Aston, which has no liripipe [s10]. Originally, there were just two bachelors’ degrees, BSc and BMus. The BSc had the black and blue hood, and the BMus was differentiated by adding a border of white damask. When other degrees were added (BA, BEd, LL.B, etc), they were given coloured borders also, though of plain taffeta, leaving the BSc with the basic hood. This carries right through the masters’ and doctors’ hoods.
1st April 2020
Associate, College of Preceptors/Teachers
The College of Preceptors, renamed the College of Teachers in 1998, has had several sets of robes since its foundation in 1849; they were last changed in 1989. All have used the same colours: black and violet. The current one gives the Associates (ACP/ACoT) a hood of CNAA shape [a1] in dark violet lined with mid-violet.
1st March 2020
PhD, University of Lancaster
Lancaster was founded in 1964, one of several new foundations in that decade. Its robes incorporate red (for Lancashire) and grey (apparently to mark a Quaker connexion). The PhD has a grey robe with sleeve linings and facings of red, and a red hood lined with red.
1st February 2020
Doctor honoris causa, Bishop Grossteste University, Lincoln
Founded in 1862 as Lincoln Training College, it was renamed to commemorate Robert Grosseteste, a thirteenth-century Bishop of Lincoln. Initially, it awarded degrees validated by Leicester, for which the Leicester hoods were used, with a triple twisted cord of blue, gold, and green to mark the difference. It gained degree-awarding powers in 2006. Its hoods are blue lined red, and all edged with the tri-colour cord. The honorary doctors’ hood reverses the colours, and adds a border of buttercup yellow to the cape and three inches of blue shot green (Wales Arts) to the cowl.
1st January 2020
Pre-1996 PhD, Brunel University
Brunel’s academic dress features distinctive ‘Brunel blue’ velvet. Here it is found in the pre-1996 PhD hood: mushroom cloth in the Cambridge full shape [f1], lined and bound 1″ on the cape with scarlet silk, the cowl bordered inside 3 1/2″ with Brunel blue velvet. Brunel changed the academic dress of its PhD in 1996 in response to the ‘mushroom’ robes being unpopular with graduates. Unfortunately, the new PhD hood does not use the Brunel blue velvet; the only hood in the system not to use it.
1st December 2019