University College, Bristol was the institution that predated the University of Bristol. It ran from 1876 to 1909 and was known as University College, Bristol. Its beginnings can be seen in John Percival's efforts to push for the creation of such a facility while serving as the headmaster of Clifton College. Percival noted in a letter to the Oxford colleges in 1872 that there was no university culture in the provinces. He published a paper the next year titled "The Connection of the Universities and the Great Towns," which Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol College, Oxford, praised. Jowett would play a crucial role in the founding of University College, Bristol, both intellectually and financially. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/academic-language/study/pre-sessional/