St John's College, Durham
St John's College | ||||||||||||||||
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Durham University | ||||||||||||||||
St John the Evangelist | ||||||||||||||||
Principal | Jolyon Mitchell | |||||||||||||||
Warden | Nicholas Moore | |||||||||||||||
Undergraduates | 392 | |||||||||||||||
Postgraduates | 160 | |||||||||||||||
Senior tutor | Rebecca Bouveng | |||||||||||||||
Mascot | Olav III (an alligator) | |||||||||||||||
Website | ||||||||||||||||
Map | ||||||||||||||||
Part of | Durham Castle and Cathedral | |||||||||||||||
Criteria | Cultural: ii, iv, vi | |||||||||||||||
Reference | 370 | |||||||||||||||
Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
St John's College is one of the two
St John's is Durham's second smallest college only to
The college has a reputation for being religious due to it being the only college in Durham authorised to train people to priesthood. The college is also strictly traditional and Johnians held their own
History
Founded as a Church of England theological college in 1909, it became a full constituent college of the university in 1919. In 1958 it was divided into Cranmer Hall theological college and the non-theological John's Hall. The halls have always held to a broadly evangelical tradition.
In 1973 St John's became the first Durham undergraduate male college to admit female students, though Cranmer Hall had been admitting women ordinands since 1966.[5] St John's was the first Church of England theological college to have both a lay person and a woman as principal (Ruth Etchells).[6]
The college has an advowson (a right to appoint clergy to a parish) over four benefices: Chester-le-Street and Stranton in the Diocese of Durham and jointly with other avowees the benefices of Doddington with Benwick and Wimblington, and St Mark with St Paul, Darlington. Previously, the patron had complete power to appoint the new priest, however that power is now exercised jointly with the local bishop and parish.
Buildings
The college is formed from a number of Georgian houses on
No 2 South Bailey has distinctive circular "blind" windows which were revealed during a re-rendering in the 1980s. This enabled Martin Roberts, then Durham City's conservation officer, to date the building precisely to the late 17th century.
The illogically interconnected nature of many of the college buildings regularly results in visitors becoming lost. The similarly unusual nature of college stairways, one of which disappears into a solid wall, adds an element of Escher to the architecture.
The college chapel, dedicated to St Mary and known as St Mary the Less, is of Norman origin and was rebuilt in the 1840s and re-ordered at the turn of the 21st century. It became the college chapel in 1919,[10] before which it had been the parish church of the South Bailey. It is still a chapel of ease in the Parish of St Oswald.[11] The chapel is also used by the local Greek Orthodox congregation.
Student life
Owing to its small population, Johnians tend to know one another regardless of year, course or accommodation (all of the first years and the majority of finalists live in college; the second years are required to find their own accommodation). Elected Freshers Reps are generally well known throughout college thereby giving new Johnians more opportunities for one-on-one interaction, providing a more solid foundation in their first few weeks than in the larger colleges.
St John's participates in a number of sports such as cross country running, mixed lacrosse, rowing, men's football, badminton, hockey and rugby among others.
Other performances include Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis in the Epiphany term of 2009 and Arthur Miller's The Crucible in the Michaelmas term of 2008. The company also puts on an annual Shakespeare performance after university examinations in the summer. This traditionally involves an outdoor performance on Library Lawn, though the college's newly refurbished amphitheatre was used in 2019. In 2008, the society's performance of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus won the Durham Student Theatre Award for Best Play.[citation needed]
John's Music Society, founded in 2012, is the governing body for music within college. It regularly puts on large-scale concerts and helps students set up new musical ensembles as well as organising socials and concert trips for its members. The society is also responsible for organising popular open mic nights and the annual JMS barbecue.
List of principals
- 1909–1911 Sidney Nowell Rostron
- 1911–1919 Dawson Dawson-Walker
- 1919–1945 Charles Steel Wallis
- 1945–1953 Ronald Williams
- 1954–1955 G.J. Cumming (acting)
- 1954–1969 Jim P. Hickinbotham[12]
- 1970–1978 John C. P. Cockerton
- 1978–1988 Ruth Etchells
- 1988–1992 Anthony Thiselton[13]
- 1992–1999 David V. Day[14][13]
- 1999–2006 Stephen Sykes[15]
- 2006–2023 David Wilkinson[16]
- 2023–present Jolyon Mitchell[17]
Notable alumni
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Douglas Davies, academic
-
Nick Ramsay, conservative politician
-
Justin Welby, the incumbent Archbishop of Canterbury
-
Steven Croft, bishop of Oxford
John's Hall
- Richard Adams, pioneer of fair trade and founder of Traidcraft
- High Commissioner to Malta
- Bishop of Knaresborough, area Bishop for Ripon
- Richard Blackburn, Bishop of Warrington
- Mark Bryant, Bishop of Jarrow
- Douglas Davies, theologian[18]
- Gavin Hewitt - special correspondent for BBC News[19]
- Ben Howlett - Conservative MP for Bath (UK Parliament constituency) 2015 - 2017
- Andrew Macrae (judge) - Vice President of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong
- Alice Oseman - author (Heartstopper, Solitaire)
- Jack Plumley, Sir Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology, Cambridge; trained for ordination at St John's college before the theological college was split off into Cranmer Hall
- Nick Ramsay MS, Conservative former Senedd Member for Monmouth and Shadow Finance Minister
- Rachel Schofield – journalist and BBC News presenter
Cranmer Hall
Both
- Michael Beasley, Bishop of Hertford
- Chris Edmondson, former Bishop of Bolton
- Robert Paterson, former Bishop of Sodor and Man
- Geoff Pearson, Bishop of Lancaster
- John Saxbee, former Bishop of Lincoln
- Richard Turnbull, Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford
- Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury[20]
Gallery
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Haughton House
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St. Mary the Less college chapel
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St. John's viewed from the South Bailey
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St. John's College Boat Club racing
References
- ^ "The Allocation Process - Postgraduates". Durham University. 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/university.calendar/volumei/statute.colleges_and_societies.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "St John's College - Formals". Durham University. 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "St John's College - History". Durham University. 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "The Rev Canon John Cockerton – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ^ Tallentire, Mark (15 August 2012). "Tributes to college principal Dr Ruth Etchells". Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ "Guardian from London, on February 20, 1895 · Page 7". The Guardian. 20 February 1895. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "St John's College Record" (PDF). 2010 Edition, page 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "English Heritage list". Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Mackay and Taylor. "The Parish of St Mary-the-less". Durham University. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ "Parish Finder". A Church Near You. Church of England. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
- ^ "Church News". The Times. 9 October 1969.
- ^ a b "University News". The Times. 1 October 1992.
- ^ "SPCK " David Day". spckpublishing.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "The Right Reverend Stephen Sykes – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "Church News". The Times. 18 February 2006.
- ^ "Professor Jolyon Mitchell appointed new Principal of St John's College". Durham University. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Professor DJ Davies – Durham University".
- ^ "Centenary for college where ideas were born". Durham Advertiser. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ Bingham, John (7 November 2012). "Justin Welby to be new Archbishop of Canterbury – Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
Further reading
- Craig, Amabel. (2009) Fides Nostra Victoria: A Portrait of St John's College, Durham, Third Millennium Publishing
- Yates, T.E. (2001) A College Remembered (second edition). Spennymoor, County Durham: MacDonald Press Ltd.
External links
- St John's College official website
- Cranmer Hall official website
- St John's Common Room undergraduate student organisation
- Theology and Ministry on-line journal hosted by St John's College, Durham