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 Durham Collections Fellowships intend 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.

Our past fellows

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

2022/23

Hillary Taylor

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Cambridge, England

2021/22

Alan Wadsworth

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Independant Scholar,

2022/23

Lucas Amaya

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

Independant Scholar, Royal College of Art, Brazil

2022/23

Dr James McGrath

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Butler University Indianapolis, USA

2021/22

Dr Helen Kilburn

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Manchester, England

2022/23

Irina Podgorney

2021/22

Hannah Yip

PhD Bursary

University of Birmingham, England

2021/22

Mr Test Fellow

Smithsonian Fellowship

2021/22

Veenat Arora

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Panjab University, India

2019/20

Sally Wadsworth

PhD Bursary

University of Birmingham, England

2018/19

Rosemary Mitchell

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies, England

2023/24

ProfessorChristian Hesse

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of Bern, Switzerland

2021/22

Barbara Denison

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Shippensburg University, USA

2018/19

Joanne Myers

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Gettysburg College, USA

2021/22

Anne O’Connor

2018/19

Dr Abdul Azeem

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Department of Archaeology & Museums, Government of Pakistan, Pakistan

2022/23

Dr Despina Iosif

Barker Visiting Fellowship

College Year Athens, Greece

2023/24

Martina Kastnerova

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic and Slovakia

2021/22

Michael Jaycox

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

Seattle University, USA

2023/24

Maria Rybakova

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

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.

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.