Newcastle University evolved from two colleges founded in the Nineteenth Century as part of the University of Durham, the School of Medicine and Surgery (established in 1834) and Durham College of Science (established in 1871, became Armstrong College in 1904). In 1937, the Newcastle Colleges became King's College and achieved independence from the University of Durham in 1963 when it became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.The University Archive contains significant material relating to the development of Newcastle University and its predecessors. It includes Annual Reports, Senate and Council minutes and departmental publications covering many subjects.

19th Century printed ephemera, much of which originates from North East England.