Edge Hill College opened on 24 January 1885 on Durning Road, Edge Hill, Liverpool, by a group of seven Liverpool businessmen and philanthropists. It was named after the district in which it was sited. By 1892, Edge Hill was one of only two colleges in England combining teacher training and degree course study. As student numbers increased, Edge Hill quickly outgrew its surroundings. On 18 May 2006 the institution became Edge Hill University and in August 2008 the university was granted the power to award research degrees. The University used to operate from the Woodlands campus based in Chorley, central Lancashire where it offered continuing professional development programmes and part-time study. However in recent years operations have been centralised back to the main University campus.