What are the fellowships?

The Durham Collections Fellowships scheme is delighted to invite applications from researchers for Visiting Fellowships of one month in duration.

The aim of the Durham Collections Fellowships is to enable and foster research across the historic collections of Durham, notably Palace Green Library, the Museum of Archaeology, the Oriental Museum, the Library of Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens (formerly Ushaw College, the former Roman Catholic seminary just outside the City), and the medieval Priory Library and the archives and object collections of Durham Cathedral.

The resources available to scholars include not only libraries and archives, but also collections of visual and material culture, and architectural assets. The purpose of the Visiting Fellowships is to support research into these globally significant collections.

Durham University would like to express our sincere thanks to Graham and Joanna Barker, Chris and Margaret Lendrum, and Peter and Tina Holland, for their generous support of fellowship schemes at Durham Collections Fellowships.

 

We also extend our  gratitude to Lord Crewe's Charity, the Great British Sasakawa Foundation and the Sino-British Fellowship Trust for their generous contributions.

Named fellowships

The Barker Visiting Fellowships are intended to support research into any of the collections held in Durham, while the Lendrum Priory Library Fellowships support work on the surviving contents of Durham Cathedral’s medieval priory library.  This collection is currently the focus of a large-scale digitisation project, Durham Priory Library Recreated www.durhampriory.ac.uk.

The Lendrum Fellowships are intended to support research into any of the collections but there is a preference for applicants wishing to use the historic book collections of Durham. This is interpreted broadly to include consultation of individual books, study of specific collections, research into the material forms of books, histories of book circulation and collecting, plus consideration of the readers of books. We welcome applications from both academic and practitioner researchers at all stages in their career.

The Lord Crewe’s Charity Fellowships are open to any applicant wishing to work on the Bamburgh Library Collection. The remit is wide, from those wishing to research it as a collection, to those planning to consult an individual item, and also includes the material culture of the books.

We are pleased to include in this programme, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Fellowship, which is to support applicants based in Japan to come to Durham to work on any of the collections.

This year, we are also delighted to announce the Sino-British Fellowship Trust Visiting Fellowships which are intended to support research into any of the collections, and are reserved specifically for those based at Chinese institutions. We welcome applications from both academic and practitioner researchers at all stages in their career

Fellows will be encouraged to work collaboratively with academic subject specialists, librarians, archivists and curators to realise the collections’ research potential, and to develop innovative research agendas. They will also be encouraged to participate in the life of the University, particularly its broad range of seminar series.

All Fellowships

Holland Visiting Fellowship

26 Fellows

Lendrum Priory Visiting Fellowship

17 Fellows

Barker Visiting Fellowship

57 Fellows

DRRL Visiting Fellowship

23 Fellows

PhD Bursary

4 Fellows

Thoits Visiting Fellowship

1 Fellow

Lendrum Visiting Fellowship

3 Fellows

Sasakawa Visiting Fellowship

1 Fellow

Lord Crewe Visiting Fellowship

2 Fellows

Sino British Fellowship

1 Fellow

Lord Crewe PhD Fellowship

0 Fellows

Other research fellowships

The Spanish Gallery Collection research fellowships

Two fellowships are available to undertake research into the collection of the Spanish Gallery in Bishop Auckland.

The fellowships are affiliated with the Zurbarán Centre and Durham Collections Fellowships. Generously funded by the Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica (CEEH), each fellowship includes a monthly stipend of £2,100. An allowance for research-related travel will be available on request. The fellows will be part of the University‘s research community and have privileged access to the Spanish Gallery.

Find out more information and apply

Barbara Jones Denison is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Shippensburg University, where she was the director of the interdisciplinary Organizational Development and Leadership graduate program, department chair of Sociology and Anthropology, and director of the undergraduate online degree completion program. With a 1985 PhD in sociology from Northwestern University, Denison has worked professionally within sociology as well as a number of interdisciplinary contexts. She recently published “Giving Up the Good for the Better: Dorothy Day’s Ethic of Direct Action” in A Research Agenda for Organizational Ethics (2023). Having been active in a number of international, national, and regional sociology and...
Barbara Denison
Barker Visiting Fellowship (Shippensburg University, USA)
The Holland Visiting Fellowship was a transformative experience for me, as a researcher, and in terms of my own career development. It came at a crucial time, just as I had finished my PhD and my first postdoctoral teaching position. As a fellow at Durham I could pursue various threads of my second research project, using dedicated time in the Palace Green Library to understand how papers from their Sudan archives could be harnessed for my work on colonial South Asia. This time in the archive provided me with new theoretical perspectives that have shaped the funding applications I am...
Ellen Smith
Holland Visiting Fellowship (University of Leicester, United Kingdom)
My Durham Research Library Fellowship in 2019 was immensely enjoyable and productive. It was a pleasure to spend my time engaging with primary sources and writing after a long period spent in administration. All the team at Durham were very supportive and made the logistics of the fellowship easy, and Durham was a wonderful place to spend four a half with my wife. This was a very productive time and I am greatly indebted to Durham for the fellowship.
David Trim
DRRL Visiting Fellowship (Seventh Day Adventists, USA)
I think this is a wonderful scheme and I was very glad to be a part of it. I was able to immerse myself in very interesting and underused research resources for a month. I very much valued the chance to concentrate entirely on research, and appreciated access to the Bill Bryson Library when the archives were closed. The stipend was helpful because it made it easier to rent an attractive small house in central Durham, a great boon for someone without a car.
Jonathan Parry
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of Cambridge, England)
I am incredibly grateful for the Barkers Fellowship and the generous support they have provided through their funding of the Visiting Fellowship. Their generosity has had a profound impact on my professional development and research endeavors. The Fellowship has not only provided me with financial assistance but also invaluable opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange. Through the Barkers Fellowship, I have been able to engage with leading experts in my field and broaden my intellectual horizons. Moreover, the Barkers Fellowship has fostered a sense of community and connection among scholars. It has facilitated networking opportunities and created a platform for...
Raad Khair Allah
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of Warwick, England)
My Durham Fellowship visit was very fruitful for me, and I am very grateful to the Durham Collections and all the colleagues and friends who helped me and whom I met in Durham. It was one of the most memorable moments in my life. I am deeply thankful for that.
Lu Jiang
Sino British Fellowship (Sun Yat-sen University , China)
'I had a fantastic month as part of the Durham Research Fellowships scheme at the start of 2020. Participating in the scheme allowed me to conduct detailed research into medieval archival material held by at Durham, including original financial accounts, charters, and court rolls. I subsequently integrated this into my research on the governance of the medieval wool trade. I enjoyed the chance to meet some of the historians based at Durham and also greatly enjoyed staying at Ushaw College, which offered a stunning location. Another highlight included attendance at a formal dinner at St Chad's College with other Research...
Matt Raven
DRRL Visiting Fellowship (Institute of Historical Research, London, England)
The Baker Fellowship allowed me to spend a month researching at Ushaw and Palace Green Special Collections. During my visit, I met scholars from diverse backgrounds and discovered primary sources that expand my previous research on Anglo-Iberian relations, Brazilian history, and Atlantic history. The fellowship exceeded my expectations, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent time in Durham. As a result of my fellowship, I anticipate new career and research opportunities.
Luciane Scarato
DRRL Visiting Fellowship (Independent Scholar, Brazil)
During my Fellowship (4-28 July 2022) I carried out a research on the VIth century Gallic bishop Sidonius Apollinaris – a key figure in Late Antiquity, also in the light of the new great interest in his works and within the International project SAxii – Sidonius Apollinaris for the XXIst century (www.sidonapol.org) –, having the chance to consult, right through the original documents, some of the first modern commentaries on him, available at Durham historic collections, at Palace Green Library and at Ushaw College: the XVI-XVIIth century editions by Jean Savaron (magistrate and humanist) and by Jacques Sirmond (Jesuit scholar)....
Filomena Giannotti
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of Sienna, Italy)
I am grateful for the opportunity to spend an inspiring research month in Durham and make a great use of an astonishing collections of Durham libraries, especially Palace Green and Ushaw College. Early modern old prints as well as an impressive range of current scholarship’s books on the shelves enabled me to explore a great number of sources crucial for my research in just one month. I was really impressed by the library holdings, professional services as well as its facilities. I am grateful also for the chance to consult the matter of my project with Durham University staff and...
Martina Kastnerova
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic and Slovakia)