Vienne in 1311, their possessions were annexed by the Knights Hospitallers until their dissolution by Henry VIII. The estate was purchased from the Crown by the Sneyd family and remained their property until acquisition by the Stoke-on-Trent Corporation in 1948.
Apart from academic and residential buildings, other facilities include an astronomical observatory, arts and cultural programme, arboretum, Islamic centre, shops, cafés and places to eat and drink. The campus has science, business enterprise parks and conference centres. It is home to the Earth Science Education Unit (ESEU). The university operates a Science Park under a wholly owned subsidiary company, Keele University Science & Business Park Limited.
The chapel is located in the centre of the campus, close to the university library and student union. From the onset, Christian worship was central to university life. Lindsay, first principal of the University College, was an ardent Christian preaching every Sunday in the Library Reading room of Keele Hall. A permanent chapel was built in 1965 from Staffordshire blue brick, today the chapel accommodates different Christian traditions.
=== Halls of residence ===
There are five halls of residence on the main campus: Horwood, Lindsay, Barnes, Holly Cross and The Oaks. (Hawthorns Hall was located off site in Keele village just outside the main entrance. However, the site has been sold for redevelopment, and the halls demolished.) These halls provide accommodation for 70% of all full-time students. Three of the oldest halls, Horwood (1957), Lindsay (1964) and Barnes (1970) are named after the founding fathers of the university. The Oaks (1992), west of Lindsay Hall, is named after four oak trees that were felled to pave the way for the university residence and Holly Cross (1993). The Hawthorns (1957), remnants of the Sneyd property in Keele Village, was originally a large house, two paddocks and gardens totalling 13 acres.
Following student demand for accommodation on-campus, in 2018, Barnes hall of residence …
