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

2019/20

Nigel Aston

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Leicester, England

2019/20

Claire Schiano-Locurcio

PhD Bursary

Aix-Marseille Université, France

2019/20

Matt Raven

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Institute of Historical Research, London, England

2018/19

Elizabeth Biggs

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of York, England

2023/24

Susan Cogan

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Utah State University, USA

2022/23

Professor Gordon Pentland

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

2022/23

Dr Despina Iosif

Barker Visiting Fellowship

College Year Athens, Greece

2018/19

Leah Tether

Holland Visiting Fellowship

University of Bristol, England

2023/24

Agnes Desmazieres

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Centre Sèvres-Facultés jésuites de Paris, French

2023/24

Ana Saez Hidalgo

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Universidad de Valladolid, Spain

2023/24

DrKinga Lis

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland

2021/22

Carmen Mangion

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of London, England

2021/22

Jonathan Parry

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Cambridge, England

2024/25

Ivana Bicak

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Bilkent University, Turkey

2018/19

Sophie Battell

Holland Visiting Fellowship

University of Exeter, England

26/27

Kris “Fire” Kovarovic

Smithsonian Fellowship

Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Durham University,

2021/22

Robert Poole

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom

2018/19

Dr Jack Cunningham

Holland Visiting Fellowship

2021/22

Liza Blake

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Toronto, Canada

2024/25

Tahia Saeed

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Department of Archaeology and Museums, Islamabad, Pakistan

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.