University College, Durham

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The college is very sad to learn of the death of a former Master, David Macdowall.

David was Master from 1973 to 1980. He was also an eminent numismatist, with particular expertise in Greek, Roman, and South Asian history, archaeology and numismatics.

We give thanks for his contribution to the life of Castle, and extend our condolences to his family.

Durham University

This month we have said a fond farewell to Katie Bertram, our Alumni Engagement Co-Ordinator for this year.

Katie has been a fabulous colleague and during her role has organised the Castle Society Reunion, Castle to Careers events and made many connections with our alumni community.

We wish her every success as she joins the team at St John’s College.

We are delighted to welcome back Julia Bonner from her parental leave!

Castle Chapel Choir at the Vatican - Durham University This summer, the Chapel Choir of University College (known as Castle Chapel Choir) will be embarking on a tour spanning the UK and Italy to share their vocal talents. Including well-known UK venues, the tour also includes St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in Italy.

Congratulations to students receiving their A-level results today! We can't wait to welcome you to University College in September!

Floreat Castellum

As part of , we have found documents on The First Ladies’ Society. It was 1987 when women were first allowed to apply and be admitted to Castle.

A truly pioneering group of women arrived at Castle, who fully engaged in college life. They particularly excelled in rugby and rowing. Most famously, they defeated Hatfield 13-12 in rugby. These women set the way for a future of strong female influence at University College.

Included in the archives is the letter asking the Master of Castle for permission to create the society and the Master’s reply, as well as an application to their first formal.
Check out , curated by for more information about The First Ladies’ Society and women’s contribution to Castle college more widely!

An exciting find in the archives for Cataloguing Castle was an aerial photograph of Palace Green and the surrounding area. In the picture, you can see the construction work for Moatside accommodation, which at the time was called the Sutton Site Project. This was completed in 1977 and provided Castle with more accommodation that is still used today. Livers out like Moatside due to its close proximity to the college, town and university.

We have shared ‘then and now’ photos, comparing what it looked like during construction with the current view.

The next part in our Cataloguing Castle series is on the Hunter Davies Prize.

This award is given to the best piece of journalism in the Palatinate and was set up by alumnus and journalist Hunter Davies. We have some physical newspapers here with winning titles from the 2000s, as well as more recent winners with their articles online.

The archival project Cataloguing Castle presents Castle Theatre Company in the archives!

Castle Theatre Company was founded in 1977 and performs annual summer Shakespeare tours. Included in the archives is a 1985 programme for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with tour dates and locations and a cast/production list. There are also reviews for the 1987 production of As You Like It, which toured around the UK like the 2024 version!

Castle Theatre Company performs their Durham plays in Fellows’ Garden, which is undertaking development in October 2024. The plan is to create an all-weather permanent raised stage and additional features to improve the accessibility of the venue. The Castle Alumni website has more information, including updates for the project and a link to the fundraiser which is accepting alumni donations.

Cataloguing Castle is an archival project to sort and catalogue documents from the college office, dating from the 1950s to present.

We (Ella and Dan) are the summer interns for the project. Over the next week, we will be sharing our findings from the archives!

It was great to welcome year 10 students from Southmoor Academy to celebrate the end of their Scholars programme in June.
2024 Scholars have shown exceptional curiosity, perseverance and dedication producing high level work as well as demonstrating skills used by undergraduates. The topics in their essays were so broad, a brilliant demonstration of the independent learning. Some topics included the four pillars of the UN, Greek pottery, comparison of male and female psychopaths, euthanasia, the downfall of Sunderland AFC, Adamic Language, Greek heroes, colour and design of flags and how art improves mental health to name just a few.
At Castle, scholars had a tour, made College Collages to imagine what undergraduate life is like at University College and then lunch and their graduation ceremony. Congrats, Scholars!

Members of all Common Rooms in Durham over the summer are warmly welcomed to gather at the following Summer Socials.

No need to book in advance, just turn up between 1900 and 2100 at the following venues for pleasant conversation, hopefully in the open air.

First drink courtesy of the SCR. Hosted by SCR Exec member Alex Nelson.

Wednesday 31 July
TURTLE BAY where the Riverwalk meets the Milburngate Bridge. DH1 4SL.

Wednesday 14 August
SLUG AND LETTUCE in the Walkergate Development, downstairs beer garden. DH1 1SQ

Friday 13 September
CO HO at Freeman's Reach, directly opposite the Passport Office. DH1 1SW

If you’re in Durham over the summer, why not join Castle staff for a catch up over snacks/ice cream !

For information dedicated to students staying in Durham over the summer, check out our 'Out of Term Time' Sharepoint page:
https://durhamuniversity.sharepoint.com/teams/UniversityCollege/SitePages/Out-of-term-time.aspx

Professor Wendy Powers warmly invites you to an evening of drinks, canapés and connection with University College Durham Alumni.

Join us in the opulent Leighton House and explore the eclectic home of one of Britain’s finest artists.

Connect with Castle friends and discover the latest developments at University College all while taking in the priceless collection of tiles and stately Victorian grandeur spilling out into the historic gardens.

https://pay.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-common-rooms/UNIC/castle-london-gathering-11-september-2024

Congratulations to the two Castle students who have been awarded the Hunter Davies prize for student journalism 2024. The award recognises the best piece of student journalism in Palatinate in the past 12 months by a University College student. The prize is given by our alumnus and former editor of Palatinate Hunter Davies, in consultation with the editors of the Palatinate and College Office.

Award winners 2024

Richard Griffiths for his impressive PalTV documentary The Durham Student Housing Crisis in 2023/24: you can watch this here: PalTV.

Ayasha Nordiawan for her piece Planting my roots – Palatinate, and also to recognise her wider role as editor of Indigo, editing 5 editions; starting international editions and for the quality of her prose. 

Congratulations!

Throwback to our colours formal, showcasing our incredible student leaders receiving college awards!

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This week we delved into medieval cuisine, with an evening hosted by our Slater Fellow, Prof. Sheila Cavanagh, and colleagues from Eat Medieval. This joint event between Castle and .durham offered guests snippets of research exploring medieval food from academics and along with medieval-inspired bowl food designed by our head chef, Dan Nowell.

Congratulations to the two Castle projects shortlisted at the Awards last night!
We are so proud of and .environment for the incredible difference they have made to the local communities this year.
At the awards, we were invited to take a painted stone to pass on - which you can now find in the courtyard by the MCR.

We warmly invite MCR members, Castle postgraduates and SCR members to join us for our MCR-SCR Formal Dinner on Thursday 13 June 2024. Tickets include a pre-dinner drinks reception from 6pm and a three course meal in the Great Hall at 7pm. Drinks will be available to purchase from the Undie before the Formal. The evening offers the opportunity for interdisciplinary conversation between MCR and SCR members. Please select a topic from the list as part of your booking which we will use to facilitate the table plan. Tickets are generously subsidised by the SCR and College Office. The dress code is smart attire with gowns. Each SCR / Castle postgrad can book up to one guest.

Join us at Castle on 11 June for medieval-inspired bowl food with snippets of medieval culinary research, chaired by Professor Sheila Cavanagh, this year’s Slater Fellow. This event is in partnership with the Institute of Medieval & Early Modern Studies and University College. Hear from: Durham doctoral students Florence Swan and Toby Doneghan-Cross, and creator Jennie Hood. We will also be joined by Eat Medieval co-founders, Durham’s Professor Giles Gasper and Blackfriars’ Andy Hook. The Eat Medieval project explores Durham Libraries’ collection of cookery materials in partnership with Durham University and Blackfriars Cookery School in Newcastle.

Join us for Treat Friday in Castle courtyard for a well-earned break from studying and exams.

There will be a coffee van from 11-2PM!

With exam season around the corner, we are on hand to support you through this stressful period

For more information on the support available to you, visit the Sharepoint page in our bio!

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Operations Directorate Awards - Congratulations to our porter Paul Whiston who won Outstanding Colleague at the Operations Directorate Awards on Friday at St Mary’s College. Great to recognise our wonderful operations staff members at University College, from housekeeping to portering and catering.

Celebrating the Licensing of Rev’d Dr Sam Hole as our new Chaplain and Solway Fellow today. Welcome to the Castle team, Sam! Thanks to the Very Rev’d Dr Philip Plyming, Dean of for leading the licensing and for the superb music and support from and .

Wishing you a warm welcome back to Castle for Easter term! ☀️

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Do join us😄
📍Tunstall Chapel, University College
Date: 25 April
Time: 5:30 pm

Congratulations to our new Castle graduates, celebrating their achievements today in the Spring sunshine ☀️