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.

Our past fellows

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

2022/23

Jonathan Zecher

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Australian Catholic University, Australia

2023/24

Dr Dominic Bridge

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Newcastle University, United Kingdom

2018/19

Diana Denissen

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

Laussane University, Switzerland

2021/22

Dr Helen Kilburn

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Manchester, England

2021/22

Nader El-Bizri

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

American University of Beirut, Lebanon

2019/20

Tahir Saeed

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

Department of Archaeology and Museums, Islamabad

2018/19

Dr Benjamin Pohl

University of Bristol, England

2023/24

Dr Kinga Lis

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland

2022/23

Svorad Zavarsky

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia

2023/24

Ana Saez Hidalgo

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Universidad de Valladolid, Spain

2018/19

Meghan Clark

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

St John’s University, USA

2023/24

Dr Dominic Bridge

Barker Visiting Fellowship

Newcastle University, United Kingdom

Elizabeth Gemmill

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

University of Oxford,

2022/23

Maria Louisa Jacquinet

Holland Visiting Fellowship

Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa, Portugal

2019/20

Nigel Aston

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

University of Leicester, England

2022/23

Simon Smets

Holland Visiting Fellowship

PhD University College London/Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Austira, Austria

2021/22

Liza Blake

Barker Visiting Fellowship

University of Toronto, Canada

2019/20

Hannah Rodger

PhD Bursary

University of York, England

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

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.