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St Mary's College is a
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
of
Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...
in England. Following the grant of a supplemental charter in 1895 allowing women to receive degrees of the university, St Mary's was founded as the Women's Hostel in 1899, adopting its present name in May 1920. In 1952, the college moved from
the Bailey The Bailey, or The Peninsula, is a historic area in the centre of Durham, England. It is a peninsula within a sharp meander in the River Wear, formed by isostatic adjustment of the land. The name 'The Bailey' derives from it being the 'outer ...
, adjacent to
Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...
, to new buildings on Elvet Hill to the South of the city, becoming the first of Durham's " hill colleges". In 2005, the college changed from a women's college to a mixed one, the last of Durham's colleges to do so.


History


Founding

St Mary's first home was at 33 Claypath with six students, before moving into Abbey House on Palace Green, then to 9 The College behind
Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...
, which is now occupied by the
Chorister School The Chorister School was a co-educational independent school for the 3 to 13 age range. It consisted of a Pre-School (opened in September 2008), a pre-preparatory and preparatory day and boarding school in Durham, England. It was set in an envia ...
. In 1952, it moved to a new site on Elvet Hill, becoming the first of the "hill colleges". The foundation stone for the new building, now known as the Fergusson Building, was laid in 1947 by Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II). St Mary's is the only one of the hill colleges to have been founded in the 19th century.


Change to a mixed college

For several decades there had been debates about St Mary’s continuing as a single-sex college within the University, and it had been originally mooted in the 1970s that it should go mixed. The
Middle Common Room A common room is a group into which students and the academic body are organised in some universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland—particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, as well as the University of Bristo ...
, which consisted of postgraduate students, went mixed in the early 1990s, and by the early twenty-first century had elected its first male MCR President (John Newton held the post from 2000-2001). St Mary's was the last of Durham's colleges to become entirely mixed when it took in both males and females at undergraduate level in 2005, ending over a hundred years of tradition. During the decision-making process the student body was split. Some members of the College felt so strongly against the proposed plans in 2000 that they protested, marching on the University Offices at Old Shire Hall. There had been several polls of the student body over the issue of the College going mixed, and from 1999 onwards these were held almost annually. The results tended to be close, but marginally in favour of retaining the status quo. The transition to a mixed college took place in 2005, and the first male JCR President, James Liddell, was elected in 2009. The college still provides single-sex accommodation for both sexes as and when required. The recently refurbished Shepherd wing of the Fergusson building is a segregated women's-only area for students who, for personal, religious or other reasons, would prefer single sex accommodation. A refurbishment of the Williamson building took place between July and December 2007.


Facilities and traditions

The College is centred on two main buildings: the Fergusson and Williamson Buildings. The Fergusson building, designed by
Vincent Harris Emanuel Vincent Harris (26 June 1876 – 1 August 1971), often known as E. Vincent Harris, was an English architect who designed several important public buildings in traditional styles. Early life He was born in Devonport, Devon, Devonp ...
, was built in the early 1950s and houses most of the College facilities, including the college's dining hall, two computer rooms, the College library, the Chapel, a laundry, two student common rooms and three music rooms. The Chapel is located on the top floor of the North East wing and was designed by the ecclesiastical architect George Pace. In addition to interiors and furniture produced by Thompson of Kilburn (the Mouseman), it now houses a sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary by acclaimed sculptor
Fenwick Lawson Fenwick Justin John Lawson, ARCA (born 19 May 1932 in South Moor, County Durham) is an English sculptor based in the north-east of England. Life Fenwick Lawson was born in 1932 in South Moor, County Durham, and spent his childhood in the neig ...
, which was commissioned in 2005 by the College.The basement location of the Chapel prior to the 1960s now houses the JCR Bar which is managed by a Student Sabbatical Bars Steward. Opposite the Bar entrance is the Toastie Bar. At the other end of the basement is the JCR Shop which stocks sweets and snacks as well as toiletries, college clothing and some memorabilia. The Williamson building was built in the early 1960s and is mainly an accommodation block with 110 study bedrooms. On the ground floor there is a student common room and one half of the lower ground floor contains the JCR fitness room and a laundry. In the 1990s three ensuite blocks were built on to the front of the Williamson building and are the only ensuite rooms in the college, with the exception of a few located in the Shepherd Wing. These are mainly filled by 2nd, 3rd or 4th year students who move back into college accommodation, but some are made available to students from any year group who require an ensuite room for medical or personal reasons. In 2015, principal Simon Hackett opened the new Boughton Wing in Williamson building which was established to maintain this provision and provide women-only accommodation to those who require it.


Student life

The majority of students located on site are first years, who are required to 'live in'. These students change rooms each term using a 'room ballot' system to ensure that no-one has to share a room for more than one term of their first year. 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students often choose to 'live out' in houses around Durham, although accommodation is available on-site for those who want it. The room ballot ceased to operate at the start of the 2015-2016 academic year and those who lived in kept their rooms for the whole academic year. All those who live on site are fully catered, except in exceptional circumstances. The College requires the wearing of gowns at formal dinners, which are held between two and three times a term and on the first and last Sunday of each term. Further to this the College requires gowns to be worn at JCR meetings and
Matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
. Large student led events are held throughout the year, notable highlights include Masquerade Ball, Midsummer Ball and Mary's Day. The College also has its own boat club, St Mary's College Boat Club, which welcomes any members of the college to join in and participate.


College shield and arms

The college arms are blazoned as "
Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
a Cross Formy Quadrate
Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
a Chief
Azure Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...
thereon a Durham
Mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
Or between two Lilies proper." The college's motto is "Ancilla Domini" and can be translated to "Handmaiden of the Lord."


Gallery

File:SMCBCMen.jpg, St. Mary's College Boat Club's Men's team racing on the Wear. File:St. Mary's College grounds.jpg, Entrance to the College. File:St Marys entrance.jpg, Sign for the entrance of the College on Quarryheads lane.


List of Principals

* 1899 Laura Roberts * 1900 Elizabeth Robinson * 1913 Phyllis Wragge * 1915 Rachel E D Donaldson * 1940 Margaret B Fergusson * 1955 Dame Elsie Marjorie Williamson * 1962 Mary Holdsworth * 1974 Florence I Prowse (née Calvert) * 1977 Joan M Kenworthy * 1999 Jenifer L Hobbs * 2007 Phil Gilmartin * 2011
Simon Hackett Simon Walter Hackett is an Australian technology entrepreneur. He is the co-founder (with Robyn Taylor) of Internode Pty Ltd, an Australian national broadband services company. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of Adelaide, holding a b ...
* 2019
Maggi Dawn Maggi Eleanor Dawn (born 1959) is a British musician, author, theologian and Anglican priest. She was Principal of St Mary's College, Durham, St Mary's College at the University of Durham, and remains a professor in the Department of Theology and ...
* 2022 Adrian Simpson


Notable alumni

*
Jamie Atkinson James John Atkinson (born August 1990) is an international cricketer who plays cricket for Hong Kong. He also captained the Hong Kong cricket team before stepping down in May 2015. A wicket-keeper, he has also represented Hong Kong at Under-19s ...
- Hong Kong Cricket Captain *
Biddy Baxter Joan Maureen "Biddy" Baxter, MBE (born 25 May 1933) is a British television producer, best known for editing the long-running BBC TV children's magazine show '' Blue Peter'' from 1965 to 1988. As editor of the programme, Baxter devised much of t ...
- Children's TV presenter/radio host *
Holly Colvin Holly Louise Colvin (born 7 September 1989) is an English former cricketer who played as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and right-handed batter. She appeared in five Test matches, 72 One Day Internationals and 50 Twenty20 Internationals for En ...
- England International Cricketer *
Julia Copus Julia Copus FRSL (born 1969) is a British poet, biographer and children's writer. Biography Copus was born in London and grew up with three brothers, two of whom went on to become musicians. She attended The Mountbatten School, a comprehensiv ...
- Poet and biographer * Jane Griffiths - politician *
Katharine Gun Katharine Teresa Gun (''née'' Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to ''The Observer'', concerning a request by ...
- GCHQ translator and whistleblower *
Tracy Langlands Tracy Langlands (born 26 April 1970 in Lincoln, England) is a British rower. Langlands won the bronze medal in the Lightweight Women's Double Sculls at the 2002 World Championships. She competed in the same event with Helen Casey at the ...
-
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
list (World Championships) rower *
Jenny Willott Jennifer Nancy Willott OBE (born 29 May 1974) is a British politician. She was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central from 2005 to 2015. Willott became a junior minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Ski ...
- politician


References

* Boyd, Elizabeth B. (1999) ''St. Mary's College, University of Durham, 1899–1999: A Centenary Review.'' Durham: St. Mary's College. * Hird, Marilyn, ed. (1974) ''St. Mary's College, 1899–1974: An Account of the Women's Hostel 1899–1920 and Some Impressions of Later College Life.'' Durham: St. Mary's College Society. * Hird, Marilyn, ed. (1982) ''Doves & Dons: A History of St. Mary's College, Durham. An Account of the Women's Hostel 1899–1920 and Some Impressions of Later College Life.'' Durham: St. Mary's College.


External links


St Mary's College

St Mary's College JCR
student organisation
St Mary's College Middle Common Room



St Mary's College Society
Alumni Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's College, Durham Colleges of Durham University Educational institutions established in 1899 Former women's universities and colleges in the United Kingdom 1899 establishments in England