A red brick university is a term that is used to refer to six universities in the United Kingdom that were founded in major industrial cities in England. In order of receiving the royal charter, they are: Victoria University, University of Birmingham, University of Liverpool, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, University of Bristol and the University of Manchester (formed as a merger with Victoria University). The term stems from the fact that all of the main buildings of the universities are made from red bricks and terracotta designs. The six universities are all part of the Russell Group, the United Kingdom's main research universities.