Welcome to Durham Collections Fellowships

What are the Durham Collections Fellowships?

The aim of the Durham Collections Fellowships is to enable and foster research across the three historic collections of Durham — those held by Durham University, Durham Cathedral and Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, all of which have internationally significant collections of books and other materials that deserve to be brought to a wider scholarly and public audience.

In addition to libraries this includes archives, collections of visual and material culture, and architectural assets.

Together these collections contain:

  • 450 medieval manuscripts books
  • over 130,000 rare and early printed books
  • around 6,000 meters/shelves of archives
  • 107,000 museum objects and works of art
  • Over 40,000 archaeological artefacts
  • 9,000 bio-science specimens

Visiting Fellowships

The purpose of the Visiting Fellowships is to support research into these globally significant collections.

By bringing together these three collections, the DCF intends to foster research on material held at Durham, to create an international fellowship of scholars whose research interests have brought them to us, and to showcase the collections to a wider audience.

What are the fellowships

Our past fellows

Since 2018 the Durham Collections Fellowships has shared its collections with a global scholarly audience through its fellowships

2019/20

Chihyin Hsiao

Holland Visiting Fellowship

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taiwan, Taiwan

2018/19

Dr Karly Kehoe

Holland Visiting Fellowship

St Mary ‘s University, Canada

2021/22

Nader El-Bizri

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

American University of Beirut, Lebanon

2018/19

Lois Burke

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland

2021/22

Katherine Rush

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of California, USA

2018/19

Margaret Douglas

Holland Visiting Fellowship

2021/22

Lucy Kaufman

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Alabama, USA

2018/19

Shanti Graheli

Holland Visiting Fellowship

University of Glasgow, Scotland

Elizabeth Gemmill

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of Oxford,

2018/19

Elizabeth Biggs

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of York, England

2022/23

Professor Gordon Pentland

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

2021/22

Hannah Jeans

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

York University, England

2021/22

Carmen Mangion

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of London, England

2021/22

Christopher Sevara

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Newcastle University, England

2021/22

Veenat Arora

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Panjab University, India

2022/23

Professor Carla Mazarelli

2021/22

Jennifer Tucker

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Wesleyan University, USA

2019/20

John Paul Leslie

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

Pontifical University, St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Ireland

2022/23

Raad Khair Allah

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Warwick, England

2018/19

Jack Norman

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Australian Catholic University, Australia

Meet our Fellows

Research

Through the Durham Collections Fellowship's prestigious fellowships program, scholars have the opportunity to undertake ambitious research projects.

DCF takes pride in fostering this environment, where expert researchers are given the resources and time to delve deeply into complex topics and share their findings with the world. Whether through conferences, lectures, publications, or informal discussions in historic halls, DCF is a hub of world-class research and engagement.

Projects

Publications

Engagements

Centuries of History

The Durham Collections Fellowships draw on the historic collections of three venerable Durham institutions—Durham Cathedral, Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, and Durham University—each with a rich history spanning many centuries.

Durham Cathedral, with manuscripts dating back to the 6th century; Ushaw House and Chapels holding over 40,000 rare printed works accumulated since the 16th century; Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens holding over 40,000 rare printed works accumulated since the 16th century; Durham University’s Palace Green Library which includes Cosin's Library, founded in the 17th century as the first public lending library in the Northeast and which served as the university’s main library for 150 years before transitioning to special collections in the 1980s. Together these collections offer rich resources for research spanning many centuries.