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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

Dr Syed Ashraf

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Department of Delhi Archives, New Dehli

2019/20

Chihyin Hsiao

Holland Visiting Fellowship

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

2021/22

Dr Shaun Blanchard

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, USA

2018/19

Elizabeth Evenden-Kenyon

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Oxford, England

2021/22

Tonya Moutray

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Russell Sage College, USA

2018/19

Elizabeth Biggs

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of York, England

2022/23

Phillippe Schmid

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of St Andrews, Scotland

2024/25

Alexandros Tsakos

Lendrum Book Visiting Fellowship

University of Bergen, Norway

2021/22

Valfredo Maria Rossi

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Georgian University, Italy

2018/19

Dr Abdul Azeem

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Department of Archaeology & Museums, Government of Pakistan, Pakistan

2018/19

Matt Binasco

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Università per Stranieri di Siena, Italy

2018/19

Professor Jeremy Hutton

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

2021/22

Silvio Bar

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Oslo, Norway

2022/23

Madeline Potter

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Edinburgh, England

2019/20

Nigel Aston

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Leicester, England

2019/20

Peter Phillips

Holland Visiting Fellowship

2024/25

Shunsuke Katsuta

Sasakawa Visiting Fellowship

University of Tokyo, Japan

2021/22

Valfredo Maria Rossi

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Georgian University, Italy

2024/25

Peter Eardley

Lord Crewe Visiting Fellowship

University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

2025/26

Adam Bridgen

Huntington Fellowship

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow, Department of English Studies, Durham University,

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.