Facilities and Environment

The Department

The Department of History is located in the heart of Durham, next to Durham Cathedral and Castle, which together form the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Department is within easy reach of all university colleges, libraries, lecture rooms, and other facilities.

The Department of History occupies a group of historic town houses on North Bailey and Palace Green. Originally built as coffee houses and lawyers’ offices in the 17th and 18th Centuries, these buildings now accommodate academic staff, administrative staff and seminar rooms. All postgraduate classes and supervision meetings take place within the History Department.

Our Staff

Our staff consists of both professional services and academic colleagues. All the academic staff members are extremely active in their fields of research.

At Durham, we think that excellent teaching and innovative research go hand-in-hand. We believe that students gain enormously from being taught by those who are at the forefront of their subject and who are actively engaged in historical research.

Academic members of staff have expertise in medieval, early modern and modern history, in the history of Britain and continental Europe, North America, Africa, and East and South Asia, and in many different types of history: visual and material culture, gender history, political culture, science and medicine, economic and social history, transnational history.

Department of History Virtual Tour

Have a look at our self-guided virtual tour below, where you can digitally explore the Department buildings.

Learning Experience

When you study history at Durham, we aim to embrace, engage and challenge you. Teaching involves formal lectures, small group seminars, field trips, and guided independent projects.

We provide you with a wide choice of topics and assessments within a carefully constructed degree programme, which offers considerable flexibility and choice.

The student-run History Society is one of the most active clubs in the University. It hosts visiting speakers, an annual Conference, as well as social events and trips.