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

“I am an historian of medieval philosophy who was awarded a Lord Crewe Fellowship to work on the topic of theology as a science in Durand of St. Pourçain’s commentary on the Sentences. The subject seems obscure, but it is of great historical importance because it was out of debates over whether theology counts as an Aristotelian demonstrative science that developments in epistemology and cognitive psychology took place in the fourteenth century that would lay the foundations for the modern scientific method. The volume on which I was working is housed in the Bamburgh Rare Books Library at Durham, which...
Peter Eardley
Lord Crewe Visiting Fellowship (University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada)
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)
It is difficult to overstate just how transformative my experience as a Fellow was: the unfettered, in situ access to Durham's rare book and archive collections, particularly those relatively untapped at Ushaw College, offered a research opportunity that I may never have again. The incredible productivity that ensued, in which I both collaborated and wrote far more than I had promised, is testament to the inspiring and encouraging environment that these Fellowships foster.
Leah Tether
Holland Visiting Fellowship (University of Bristol, England)
My DRRL Visiting Fellowship allowed me the time and scope – and, crucially, the financial support – I required in order to initiate a new research project on English northern cathedral communities in the eighteenth century. At every stage of my Fellowship, I had prompt organisational support and tie-ins with other resident Fellows and permanent members of the History and Theology Departments. No less supportive were the staff at Ushaw College and the opportunity for membership of St Chad ‘s College SCR added a much-valued additional dimension of academic collegiality. Above all, it was the helpfulness of library staff in...
Nigel Aston
DRRL Visiting Fellowship (University of Leicester, England)
I express my gratitude to Durham University for offering me the Residential Research Library fellowship. My experience at Durham was very enriching. Along with the great academic exposure, I got the chance to explore the rich cultural heritage of a beautiful Romanesque city. It is substantially important to mention that the visiting fellows are given access to all the resources. From navigating through the rich archives and rare collections to exploring the latest research in the Bill Bryson library, everything was hassle-free. The functionaries at all the places are very welcoming. Overall, my stay at Durham has been very fruitful...
Veenat Arora
Barker Visiting Fellowship (Panjab University, India)
My Durham Research Library Fellowship was a fantastic experience. I collaborated with Durham faculty and other visiting researchers, and made great headway on my research projects in early modern British and Catholic history. In the Ushaw College library, I was able to trace how English Catholics were interpreting and responding to the political and religious conflicts that rent the European continent in the late eighteenth century. I now have invaluable epistolary and other evidence of the English Catholic communities divisions during this exciting time in history.
Dr Shaun Blanchard
DRRL Visiting Fellowship (Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, USA)
My time as a Lord Crewe PhD Fellow was invaluable to the development of my dissertation and my growth as a scholar. The archival holdings at Durham University, specifically Thomas Combers papers and material from the Routh Collection, allowed me to further develop the arguments of several chapters of my dissertation. The ability to partake in the IMEMS' weekly coffees allowed me to feel like I had an academic home away from home, as did the opportunity to be associated with St. Chad's College (the formal dinner at the high table was truly a joy!). I had an incredibly productive...
Amelia Rosch
Lord Crewe Visiting Fellowship (Queens University, Canada)
During my time at Durham University, I have surveyed and studied various South Asian bows and arrows preserved at Oriental Museum. Besides, the study of bows and arrows I have also explored many photographs/images of archers and archery preserved at Palace Green Library that helped me to shape my understanding towards the high skills used to manufacture oriental bows and arrows and also the use of specialized training in archery. Further, the holdings of rare manuscripts and books pertaining to bow-making and archery at Durham Cathedral and Bill Bryson Library enhanced my knowledge in the field of bow-making and the...
Dr Syed Ashraf
Barker Visiting Fellowship (Department of Delhi Archives, New Dehli)
This Research Fellowship gave me the opportunity to immerse myself into the The Cremation Society Archives held at Palace Green Library. It was a special opportunity not only because I was able to study original material from the collection, but also because it was my first time I was back into a libary since the COVID pandemic. Only then I realised I much I missed seeing and feeling original documents but also connect with other scholars on the Fellowship programme.
Gian Luca Amadei
Barker Visiting Fellowship (Royal College of Art, Italy)
The Barker Fellowship was invaluable because it enabled me to continue my research during a period when I was without other institutional funding. The material that consulted in Durham’s collections — about early modern market toll disputes, and grain toll disputes in particular — illuminated neglected aspects of the socio-economic history of the northeast and added new dimensions to my thinking about the dynamics that operated in similar disputes elsewhere in England.
Hillary Taylor
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of Cambridge, England)