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'Former colleges of Durham University' are those colleges that have been part of Durham University, but have since folded or cancelled their association with Durham.

Contents

Background

Cosin's Hall

Neville's Cross College

Colleges in Newcastle

Colleges abroad

Renamed and merged colleges

Fictional colleges

References

Background

Durham University is a collegiate university in Durham, England.This means that it is organised around a number of constituent colleges. There are currently seventeen colleges. Since its foundation in 1832, a number of other colleges have been part of the university. Only one of these has become completely defunct; others have ended their association with the university, or left to become independent institutions of their own.

Cosin's Hall

Cosin's Hall on Palace Green was opened as the university's third college in 1851. However, the university was unable to sustain three colleges at the time, and it was merged into University College in 1864.^[1] University College maintained offices and rooms in the Hall until 2006. It is still owned by the university and has been used by the Institute of Advanced Study since January 2007.^[2]

Neville's Cross College

Neville's Cross College was opened in 1921. It was primarily a teacher-training college; but from 1924 it was also a recognised college of the University and admitted students to read for both undergraduate courses and postgraduate degrees. The College merged with Durham Technical College in 1977 to form New College Durham, whereupon it ceased to be associated with the University.

Colleges in Newcastle

In 1852, the School of Medicine and Surgery (founded in 1834) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne was absorbed into the University of Durham as the College of Medicine.^[3] In 1871, this was joined by the College of Physical Science, later renamed Armstrong College.^[4]
Relations between the two campuses were often strained. They became two autonomous parts of the same university, with the Newcastle colleges merging to become "King's College" in 1937.^[5] In 1947 a proposal to rename the university as the "University of Durham and Newcastle" was approved by all the governing bodies, but was defeated at convocation by 135 votes to 129 in the spring of 1952.^[6][7] This defeat led to the eventual creation of the new Newcastle University in 1963.

Colleges abroad

Durham University has had two affiliated colleges outside of England. Of these, Fourah Bay College ended its affiliation in 1967 and Codrington College in the 1970s. Fourah Bay became a constituent college of the University of Sierra Leone in February 1967.^[8] Codrington was briefly affiliated to both Durham and the University of the West Indies, but left Durham in the 1970s.^[9]

Renamed and merged colleges

The College of St Hild and St Bede was formed from the merger of two separate colleges in 1975. The College of the Venerable Bede had been an all male college formed in 1838, with St Hild's College formed as an all female college in 1858. Prior to this merger and their full integration into the university, the two colleges had previously specialised in the teaching of education.^[10]
A few other groupings have undergone renaming during their time at Durham. The Graduate Society became a full college in 2003 and was subsequently renamed Ustinov College. George Stephenson and John Snow College became separate colleges in 2001. They are located at Stockton-on-Tees and originally founded as the "Joint University College on Teesside of the Universities of Durham and Teesside (JUCOT)". When the University of Teesside pulled out of the campus in 1996 they became a full college of Durham University known as "University College, Stockton" before they later split and gained their new names.

Fictional colleges

Jesus College and Coverdale Hall are the settings for the events in ''Angels and Men'', Catherine Fox's first novel (published by Hamish Hamilton in 1996). The location is nowhere stated explicitly, but it is obvious to anyone familiar with the City and the University that it takes place in Durham; Jesus and Coverdale are modelled (very loosely) on St John's College and Cranmer Hall.
The action of ''The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green'' by Cuthbert M. Bede, a pseudonym of Edward Bradley (1827–1889) is set in Brazenface College, Oxford - but since Bradley was an undergraduate at University College, Durham, it is at least arguable that Brazenface is based as much upon student life at Durham as at Oxford.

References

1. Whiting, C.E. (1932). ''The University of Durham.'' London: Sheldon Press.
2. The Institute of Advanced Study Durham University, Accessed December 2006
3. Foundation of the University Durham University, Accessed December 2006
4. History Newcastle University, Accessed December 2006
5.
6. Durham University Society History; see ''University's name not changed''; Accessed December 2006
7. Bettenson, E.M. (1971). ''The University of Newcastle upon Tyne 1834-1971''. Newcastle: Hindson & Andrew Reid Ltd.
8. Durham University, Accessed December 2006
9. Caribbean MBA Durham Business School, Accessed December 2006
10. History of College College of St Hild and St Bede, Accessed December 2006