St John's College, Durham
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Template:Durham college St John's College is a college of the University of Durham in England. Founded as an Anglican theological college in 1909, and becoming a full constituent college of the University in 1919, St John's is still administratively and financially independent of the University.
Formed from a number of Georgian houses between Durham Cathedral and the River Wear, its setting is spectacular. The main house of the college is Haughton House — believed to be the finest domestic house in Durham. The houses which make up Cranmer Hall were once owned by the Bowes-Lyon family (the late Queen Mother's family). The college has approximately 340 undergraduates, making it Durham's second smallest college.
St John's is one of only two 'Recognised Colleges', the other being St Chad's. This means that it is financially independent of the University and has a greater degree of administrative independence than the other, 'Maintained', colleges. However, Council must approve the appointment of its principal and be notified of changes to its constitution.
History
Whilst the college was originally founded to train Church of England ordinands in 1909, today the Anglican theological college Cranmer Hall, and the non-theologicial John's Hall, co-exist successfully. Cranmer Hall, named after Thomas Cranmer, was set up in 1958 with its own master or Warden. St John's also includes the Methodist Wesley Study Centre, named after John Wesley.
The college chapel, dedicated to St Mary the Less, is of Norman origin and was rebuilt in the 1840s. It became the college chapel in 1919, before which it had been the parish church of the South Bailey.
Notable alumni
- Richard Adams, pioneer of fair trade and founder of Traidcraft
- Rt Revd Michael Turnbull, Bishop of Durham (1994–2003)
- Sir Kingsley Dunham FRS (Fellow St John's Durham)
External links
- St John's College (http://www.dur.ac.uk/st-johns.college/) official website
- St John's College JCR (http://www.dur.ac.uk/st-johns.jcr/) undergraduate student organisation