University College, Durham

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**University College, Durham**

Motto	Non nobis solum (Not for ourselves alone)
Established	1832
Type	College of the University of Durham
Master	Professor Maurice Tucker
Undergraduates	~600
Postgraduates	~25
Location	Palace Green, Durham, England
Website	University College

Durham Castle gatehouse

University College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Centered around Durham Castle on Palace Green, it is the oldest of Durham's seventeen colleges, founded in 1832. As with all of Durham's colleges, it is a separately registered educational institute, which means that it organises its own admissions and has an identity separate from that of the university. All tutoring, however, takes place at a university level.

It moved into its current location in 1837. Most of its external halls of residence - all within five minutes of the Castle - opened during the 1950s and 1970s. It is currently the most over-subscribed college of the university and with 600 undergraduates is slightly smaller than average. Since 1988 it has been a mixed college; prior to this it was male only. Its current Master is geologist Professor Maurice Tucker, who has held the post since 1998.

1 College History
- 1.1 Masters of University College
2 Buildings
3 Role in the University
4 Lowe Library
5 Student Body
6 Castle Society
7 Notable alumni
8 References
9 External links

[edit] College History

The college was formed upon the creation of the university in 1832. Although there was just one college, the university was always intended to be collegiate, in the manner of Oxford and Cambridge. ^[1] Temporary accommodation for students was provided at the Archdeacon's Inn on Palace Green. ^[1] In 1837 the college and its students moved into their current location at Durham Castle, after the building was granted to the university by Bishop Edward Maltby (following the wishes of his predecessor Bishop van Mildert). ^[2] The castle's keep was redeveloped for student accommodation, and since then the building has required constant maintenance. Over time, the college's chapels and Great Hall have been restored. In the 1920's, its foundations were reinforced with concrete to stop the castle slipping into the River Wear. ^[2]

In 1846 the university's second college, Hatfield Hall, formed. This split from Castle due to the high costs involved in attending the college at the time - students were expected to provide servants and room furnishings. ^[3] During the rest of the nineteenth century, the university struggled, with a lack of prestige and a distance from the centers of power in the UK holding it back. ^[4] By 1882, the college contained some 79 undergraduates, out of a total of 205 at the university as a whole. A number of other colleges, along with the Durham Students' Recreational Council (later Durham Students' Union), were opened by the end of the Nineteenth Century. Of these, Cosin's Hall college was taken over by University College, as it failed to become financially viable. ^[4] However, the college's numbers continued to fluctuate, so that in the 1930s the college was the smallest in the university, with just 34 undergraduates in 1928. ^[5]

During these inter-war years the college struggled to match maintenance costs. The Castle, situated on the banks of "The Peninsula" was in danger of collapsing into the Rive Wear. Furthermore, many of its internal structures were weak. This, along with the low undergraduate numbers, meant that the college was often threatened with closure or merger with Hatfield ^[6] However, the college was saved largely thanks to charitable donations. It was only following the extensive building refurbishments of the 1920s and 1930s that the college could really expand. Indeed, one of its most successful periods followed during the Second World War. This saw squaddies of the Durham University Air Squadron posted in the castle, doing short courses before joining the Royal Air Force ^[2] Those from the college who died during World War II were commemorated by the redevelopment of the Norman Gallery area of the Castle in the 1950s. The period also saw the launch of Castellum, an annual journal of the Castle Society, created to keep former students in touch with college life ^[7] In 1946, in order to continue this expansion, the college purchased Lumley Castle, near Chester-le-Street, in order to house students. ^[5] By 1948, seventy five students were housed there. This section of the college developed a spirit of its own, and is still remembered today through activities such as the 'Lumley Run'. During the 1950s and 1960s, developments at Owengate and Bailey Court - both around Palace Green - also saw the college expand. ^[5] In the 1970s the college sold Lumley Castle. ^[8] This paid for the development of Moatside Court and meant that all the college's undergraduates were housed within five minutes of the main castle. This period also saw rapid change in the size and structure of the college, with over 300 undergraduates by 1979. ^[5] Since this time, the college has become fully mixed, with undergraduate numbers expanding to around six hundred.

[edit] Masters of University College

The first master of University College was also the university warden. Following Thorp's death in 1862, the mastership was created as a separate position and has been held by twelve people: ^[5]

Archdeacon Charles Thorp 1832 - 1862
Dr Joseph Waite 1865 - 1873
Rev Herbert Booth 1873 - 1875
Dr Alfred Plummer 1875 - 1902
Dr Henry Gee 1902 - 1919
Dr Henry Ellershaw 1919 - 1930
Rev J.H. How 1930 - 1939
Colonel Angus Alexander Macfarlane-Grieve 1939 - 1954
Colonel Len Slater 1954 - 1973
Dr D.W. McDowall 1973 - 1978
Dr Edward Salthouse 1979 - 1998
Professor Maurice Tucker 1998 -

[edit] Buildings

The Castle courtyard. The keep, shown to the right of the image, is one of the main areas of student accommodation within the castle

Since 1837 the college has been housed in Durham Castle, which dates from 1097 and is the oldest University building in the world. ^[9] ^[10] It also forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral.

Much of the castle retains its original designs and structures. To the west of the courtyard, is the medieval Great Hall, still used as a dining room by the students. ^[10] It was built during the time of Bishop Bek in the thirteenth century. For two hundred years this was the largest Great Hall in Great Britain; however, it was shortened by Bishop Fox. ^[11] It still stands some 14 metres high and 30 metres long. The black staircase, which leads from the Great Hall to the Senior Common Room, dates from 1662 and is another one of the older sections of the college still in use. ^[11] Underneath the Hall is the college bar, located in an 11th century undercroft. ^[12] Around these are student accommodation, the Lowe Library and kitchens; these are all, internally, of much more modern origin.

The castle's northern wing originally contained another dining hall, but was later divided up to make more luxurious living quarters for the Prince Bishop. ^[11] This area is also home to the two chapels of the college. The Norman Chapel dates from the eleventh century and is the oldest accessible part of the castle. It retains its original Saxon architectural style. The Tunstal Chapel dates from the fifteenth century and is the larger of the two. It is named after Bishop Tunstal. Both are used for worship within the college. ^[13]

To the east of the courtyard lies the Keep, which was re-built in the 1840s, having previously lain in ruins. This area has the largest concentration of students living in the castle. To the south of the courtyard is the Gatehouse, built originally by Bishop Pudsey in the twelfth century and later re-developed in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. ^[11] Around this are the college's more modern offices.

The Castle is open to tourists only via guided tours. These occur daily outside of term time, but are more restricted during the term, due to potential conflicts with the running of the college. Furthermore, events in the university timetable may result in their cancellation. Tourists are not otherwise permitted entry to the college or any common areas. ^[14]

The college's other buildings are at Moatside, Owengate and Bailey Court. The developments at Moatside and Bailey Court date from the 1960s and 1970s, whilst Owengate was formed from a series of old houses. Of these, Moatside's rooms were of a notoriously poor quality, ^[15] but have recently been renovated at the cost of over £ 1 million. ^[16]

[edit] Role in the University

As with all colleges at Durham, students study for degrees with the university, not their college, and teaching takes place in academic departments. University College is a "listed body" under the Education Reform Act (1988) ^[17] and so handles its own admissions. Castle is the most over-subscribed college at the university; for entry in 2006, there were 2 858 applications for just 170 places. ^[18] Despite this, academic performance at the college tends to be poorer than average at Durham. In 2005, 74.39% of students graduated with a first or upper second class degree; this was the second lowest percentage of all colleges. ^[19]

Within Durham's colleges, there is a strong competitive rivalry. Castle's main rival is Hatfield, Durham's second oldest college which separated from Castle in the 1850s. The rivalry is maintained by student pranks and tricks; in 2005, for example, Hatfield students briefly stole a fibreglass statue of Marylin Monroe from Castle's bar. ^[20]

There are a number of arts societies within the college. Most notably, the "Castle Theatre Company" produces a play each term. These are usually put on in the college's grounds, but sometimes tour nationally. ^[21] They have also appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. ^[22]

[edit] Lowe Library

The Lowe Library is the college's library. It was formed from a bequethement from W.D.Lowe, an officer of the Durham University Officers' Training Corps. He later became a Classics tutor at the university, staying till his death in 1921. ^[5] The library was opened in 1925, and extended into the college's wine cellar in 1997. ^[23] and now contains over 10 000 books. Its role is to act as a support to the central university library, providing access to core textbooks.

[edit] Student Body

The Castle's Great Hall prior to the celebrations of "Castle Day" in 2005

A total of approximately 600 undergraduates attend the college, making it slightly smaller than the average Durham college. Of these students, around 100 live in the castle itself. Another 250 are housed in the college's surrounding buildings. ^[24]

It remains the most popular college in Durham for applications, with around twenty three students applying for every available place. ^[25]

The student body ("JCR") is governed by an elected Executive Committee. The head of the 'Exec' is the Senior Man (even when a female student holds the role), supported by several other officers. Regular JCR meetings are held to discuss and vote on important issues. There are several other elected non-executive officers such as Returning Officer, Fresher Rep and Sports Captain who organise other important college functions. The Senior Man meets regularly with college and university authorities to represent the JCR. University College JCR also supports many societies run exclusively for Castle Students. The most popular societies include University College Boat Club (UCBC), and Castle Football.

The graduate community at Castle forms the MCR, or Middle Common Room, which is based in the 'St Calais Room'. As of 2006, no members of the MCR are able to live in the college, due to size restrictions. ^[26] The MCR, like the JCR, organises a number of social events and activities, such as the college's entry into the inter-collegiate University Challenge competition, which acts as trials for the university's team. The SCR, or Senior Common Room, is the organisation of those academics and tutors who are connected to the college. This organises formal meals with guest speakers.

The JCR runs three balls every year for its students. One of these occurs each term. The largest of these is the end of year "June Ball". It is the social highlight of the academic year and claims to be the most exclusive and prestigious event in Durham University. ^[27] Tradition dictates that its theme remains closely hidden till the doors to the Castle open. ^[27]

The student bar of University College is called the Undercroft, or The Undie. This is due to its location in an eleventh century Undercroft. It developed from the original Junior Common Room which opened in the early 1950's. ^[5]

[edit] Castle Society

The Castle Society was formed as the Durham Castleman's Society in 1947 by Castle Alumni. Membership is open to anyone with academic ties to the college, and its aim is create a wider 'Castle' community beyond its immediate students. The society makes regular donations to the college library, chapel, to student bursaries and to the college boat club. It has also helped fund a number of projects in the college, including the accommodation at Moatside Court and Fellows Garden, and the West Courtyard Common Room. It produces the annual journal 'Castellum', which chronicles life at the Castle, and contains information about the activities of Castle alumni. ^[28] Since 1990, it has contributed towards the University College Durham Trust, the college's charitable fund.