This rivalry occasioned disputes between the promoters and accusations of prejudice and snobbery. Other uses included what was the first public demonstration of electric lighting in Bristol in 1863. It was also the scene for large banquets, such as that to celebrate the opening of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in 1864, and the celebrations, in 1897, of the four hundredth anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of North America. On 11 June 1874 the Victoria Rooms hosted a meeting to promote what was described as a College of Science and Literature for the West of England and South Wales, which became University College, Bristol, an educational institution which existed from 1876 to 1909. It was the predecessor institution to the University of Bristol, which gained a Royal Charter in 1909. The meeting was attended by the then President of the British Association and Sir William Thompson (later Lord Kelvin). This meeting has been described as a partial success, as it gained the support of Albert Fry and Lewis Fry, members of the influential Fry family (the Fry name being known for the chocolate business set up by their grandfather and developed by their father Joseph Storrs Fry). Lewis Fry was a Quaker, lawyer and later a Liberal and Unionist Member of Parliament from 1885–1892 and 1895-1890 for the constituency Bristol North. In 1898 the third congress of the British Association for the Advancement of Science was held at the rooms. In the early twentieth century, Annie Kenney and Clara Codd, local organisers of the Women's Social and Political Union (the suffragettes) used the Victoria Rooms to host "at homes", to which all were invited. In 1920, the rooms were purchased from the original private company by wealthy local industrialist Sir George Wills and given to the University to house the students' union. It appears that the University briefly leased the building for use as the Clifton Cinema which was situated there in March 1924, when local photographer Reece Winstone took a photograph. All seats were priced at 1/3d. The Victoria Rooms remained the base for the student union until 1964 when a purpose-built facility was constructed in nearby Queen's Road. The building then became a conference and exhibition centre, hosting occasional concerts such as those by Pink Floyd in 1967 and 1969. In 1987 the building housed the first incarnation of the Exploratory founded by Richard Gregory – a hands-on science centre and precursor of At-Bristol – until 1989. The University Music Department was moved into the Victoria Rooms in 1996. The venue, in the 21st century, has a regular programme of concerts, theatrical performances, lectures and conferences, serving a similar purpose to that for which the building was constructed in the nineteenth century.