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

2023/24

Professor Deirdre Raftery

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University College Dublin, Ireland

2023/24

Joanne Myers

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Gettysburg College, USA

2023/24

Dr Dominic Bridge

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Newcastle University, United Kingdom

2024/25

Mary Ann Lund

Lendrum Book Visiting Fellowship

University of Leicester, UK

2021/22

Jayne Gifford

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of East Anglia, United Kingdom

2019/20

Matt Raven

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Institute of Historical Research, London, England

2018/19

Jack Norman

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Australian Catholic University, Australia

2019/20

Alexander Shaw

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Head of History at Leeds Jewish Free School, England

2021/22

Jennifer Binczewski

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Washington State University, USA

2018/19

Professor Jeremy Hutton

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

2023/24

Kate Ashley

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Independent Scholar, United Kingdom

2025/26

Georgina Olivetto

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of Salamanca, Italian

2019/20

John Paul Leslie

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

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

2018/19

Margaret Douglas

Holland Visiting Fellowship

2019/20

Chris Townsend

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Cambridge, England

2021/22

Rev Dr Robert Fennell

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

2018/19

Lois Burke

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland

2018/19

Sophie Battell

Holland Visiting Fellowship

University of Exeter, England

2021/22

Katherine Weikert

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of Winchester, England

2024/25

Joon Yang KIM

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Niigata University, Japan

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.