John Snow College was founded in 2001 and originally based at Queen’s Campus, Stockton. For seventeen years, our community thrived on the banks of the River Tees.
In 2018, following the University’s decision to relocate its colleges to Durham City, John Snow entered a period of transition. We first moved to Howlands Farm (now the location of Stephenson College), then to Rushford Court in the city centre. In 2020, we finally settled into our purpose-built home at Mount Oswald, arriving just as the Covid-19 pandemic did.
Now firmly established at Mount Oswald, we are proud to be one of Durham’s newest colleges in one of its most modern settings.
With Principal Nathan Sempala-Ntege and Vice Principal Ruth Wilson joining us in 2023, we are embarking on a new and exciting chapter, one that builds upon our history of adaptability, ambition, and a strong collegiate community.
No, not the guy from Game of Thrones.
Dr John Snow was a pioneering 19th-century physician and one of the founding figures of modern public health. Born in York in 1813, he rose from a working-class background to become a leading anaesthetist, eventually serving as Queen Victoria’s obstetrician. But it was his work during the 1854 cholera outbreak in Soho, London, that earned him lasting fame.
While many believed cholera spread through “bad air” (or miasma), Snow thought otherwise. Armed with a map, a sharp mind, and a lot of determination, he interviewed residents, plotted infections, and traced the source of the outbreak to a contaminated water pump on Broad Street. When the pump handle was removed, the death toll dropped — and Snow’s data-driven approach changed public health forever.
He later wrote: ‘In consequence of what I said, the handle of the pump was removed on the following day’. The subsequent identification of cholera as a water-borne disease led to the development of modern sanitation and sewage systems in our towns and cities.
At John Snow College, we honour the spirit of our namesake, curiosity, compassion, and the courage to challenge convention. A replica of the famous Broad Street pump stands proudly at our entrance, a daily reminder of the power of evidence and action. Our college buildings are named after the Soho streets where Snow carried out his lifesaving research: Broadwick, Carnaby, Lexington, Hopkins, and more.
And our motto (per scientiam et prudentiam quaere summum) means "to seek the highest through knowledge and wisdom". That’s exactly what Snow did. And it’s what we aim to do every day: question boldly, think deeply, and build a community where knowledge is more than power, it’s purpose.
