A porters' lodge or porter's lodge (colloquially, plodge) is a place near the entrance of a building where one or more

porters Porters may refer to: * Porters, Virginia, an unincorporated community in Virginia, United States * Porters, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin, United States * Porters Ski Area, a ski resort in New Zealand * Porters (TV series), '' ...

can be found to respond to student enquiries as well as enquires from the public and direct them around the building. It is particularly associated with

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

accommodation in the United Kingdom and Canada (such as the majority of colleges of the Universities of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, Durham,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

porters' lodges typically also house the pigeon-holes for students' and

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

s' mail. Historically, some hospitals included a porter’s lodge, as with Newholme Hospital in Derbyshire, built for the Hospital porter for purposes of reception, messaging, mail, and myriad other duties.Newhome Hospital at Historic England, Accessed 2 December 2022 at https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1148014

References

Academic terminology Rooms Terminology of the University of Cambridge Terminology of the University of Oxford Terminology of Durham University Culture of the University of York Oxbridge {{UK-university-stub