Grey College, Durham
Encyclopedia
Grey College is a college of the University of Durham in England
. Although it was originally planned that the college was to be named Oliver Cromwell
College, this proved too controversial and it was instead named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
, who was Prime Minister
at the time of the University's foundation.
in 1963. The college initially only admitted men, but has been mixed since 1984.
In March 1959, just a few months before the opening of the college, the Elvet block (then the main block of the college) was devastated by fire. However, the college recovered to open as scheduled in October and adopted the phoenix
as its unofficial badge. The college coat of arms features a scaling ladder (or gré—the badge of the Grey family) between two St Cuthbert's crosses (the symbol of Durham
). A new grant of arms in 2004 confirmed these and added the phoenix as a crest
.
The head of the college is known as the Master. The first Master was Dr Sydney Holgate, who was head of the college from its foundation until 1980. He was followed by Eric Halladay who was Master until 1988 when Victor Watts took over. Prof. J. Martyn Chamberlain was appointed in 2002 after the sudden death of Victor Watts. The current master is Tom Allen, who became the master in 2011. The college has a fellowship in Mathematics (the Alan David Richards Fellowship) and a general fellowship scheme (the Sydney Holgate Fellowships), which includes funding for Research Fellows and an Artist in Residence.
During the 1966 World Cup, Grey was home to the Soviet Union's football team
who were playing their group matches in Sunderland and Middlesbrough
. They won all their matches while based in Durham, but eventually lost to West Germany
in the semi-finals.
Grey College was exclusively for male students until the start of the 1984-1985 academic year, when a contingent of nineteen women joined the college in their first year as a pilot program. These first female members of the college had been assigned to Grey, rather than having chosen it, since they had not specified a college of residence at the time they had applied to the University of Durham. Few changes were made to accommodate the new mixed-sex living arrangements—toilet and bathroom facilities were shared, for instance. Female students could, however, request lace curtains in addition to the regular fabric curtains for their rooms.
In the following year, 1985-1986, Grey College opened its doors to all women, who could now actively apply to join the college. By the time these women had graduated three years later, Grey had become indistinguishable in population from the other mixed-sex colleges of the university.
Notable social events include the fireworks display (the largest in Durham); the Cheese Society's Winter Wonderland of Cheese, infamous for its "secret recipe" punch; The Informal Ball with its fancy dress themes; and Grey Day, a mix of fun events on the lawn and college bands, traditionally accompanied by the consumption of alcohol. The year comes to an end with The Phoenix Ball - the largest and most lavish social event of the year.
Grey has a large number of sports clubs, ranging from Grey College Boat Club through Grey College Ultimate Frisbee Club to Team Croquet. Many of Grey's sporting clubs have enjoyed success in recent years, notably the Women's Hockey team, Boat Club, Darts team, Rugby team, Football Team, Cheerleading squad and Ultimate Frisbee Club.
Members of the college sometimes refer to themselves as the "Grey Army" and can be found at many college sporting events (usually rugby games) supporting the team, with a "Commander-in-Chief" appointed by the JCR each academic year to lead the troops. Another mascot of the college is the "College Trout
"—a Big Mouth Billy Hamill
toy that is currently stationed behind the bar. A bi-annual magazine, Grey Matter, also exists to satirize college events.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Although it was originally planned that the college was to be named Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
College, this proved too controversial and it was instead named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
, who was Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
at the time of the University's foundation.
History
Founded in 1959, Grey was the first college of the University's post-war expansion, and the second college to open on Elvet Hill after St Mary's. It was also the last college founded before the separation of Durham and NewcastleUniversity of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle University is a major research-intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 and became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne by an Act of Parliament in August 1963. Newcastle University is...
in 1963. The college initially only admitted men, but has been mixed since 1984.
In March 1959, just a few months before the opening of the college, the Elvet block (then the main block of the college) was devastated by fire. However, the college recovered to open as scheduled in October and adopted the phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
as its unofficial badge. The college coat of arms features a scaling ladder (or gré—the badge of the Grey family) between two St Cuthbert's crosses (the symbol of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
). A new grant of arms in 2004 confirmed these and added the phoenix as a crest
Crest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
.
The head of the college is known as the Master. The first Master was Dr Sydney Holgate, who was head of the college from its foundation until 1980. He was followed by Eric Halladay who was Master until 1988 when Victor Watts took over. Prof. J. Martyn Chamberlain was appointed in 2002 after the sudden death of Victor Watts. The current master is Tom Allen, who became the master in 2011. The college has a fellowship in Mathematics (the Alan David Richards Fellowship) and a general fellowship scheme (the Sydney Holgate Fellowships), which includes funding for Research Fellows and an Artist in Residence.
During the 1966 World Cup, Grey was home to the Soviet Union's football team
USSR national football team
The Soviet Union National Football Team was the national football team of the Soviet Union. It ceased to exist after the break up of the Union...
who were playing their group matches in Sunderland and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
. They won all their matches while based in Durham, but eventually lost to West Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
in the semi-finals.
Grey College was exclusively for male students until the start of the 1984-1985 academic year, when a contingent of nineteen women joined the college in their first year as a pilot program. These first female members of the college had been assigned to Grey, rather than having chosen it, since they had not specified a college of residence at the time they had applied to the University of Durham. Few changes were made to accommodate the new mixed-sex living arrangements—toilet and bathroom facilities were shared, for instance. Female students could, however, request lace curtains in addition to the regular fabric curtains for their rooms.
In the following year, 1985-1986, Grey College opened its doors to all women, who could now actively apply to join the college. By the time these women had graduated three years later, Grey had become indistinguishable in population from the other mixed-sex colleges of the university.
About the college
There are four accommodation blocks on site: Hollingside (the main building), Elvet, Oswald, and Holgate House. Grey was the first college in Durham to have all of its bedrooms connected to the university computer network. The college offers a number of other facilities: Hollingside contains the 350-seat dining room (the college is fully catered), the college bar and the JCR, which has the largest TV of any Durham college, while Holgate House has a conference centre and a library with over 7,000 books. A fifth building, Fountains Hall, is the home of Fountains Theatre Company (FTC), and also contains the college chapel, a multi-purpose hall (for everything from badminton and Grey College Boat Club training, to band practice), and a pizza bar. The University Botanic Garden and the High Wood are located next door to the college, and a path leads directly to the Science Site.Notable social events include the fireworks display (the largest in Durham); the Cheese Society's Winter Wonderland of Cheese, infamous for its "secret recipe" punch; The Informal Ball with its fancy dress themes; and Grey Day, a mix of fun events on the lawn and college bands, traditionally accompanied by the consumption of alcohol. The year comes to an end with The Phoenix Ball - the largest and most lavish social event of the year.
Grey has a large number of sports clubs, ranging from Grey College Boat Club through Grey College Ultimate Frisbee Club to Team Croquet. Many of Grey's sporting clubs have enjoyed success in recent years, notably the Women's Hockey team, Boat Club, Darts team, Rugby team, Football Team, Cheerleading squad and Ultimate Frisbee Club.
Members of the college sometimes refer to themselves as the "Grey Army" and can be found at many college sporting events (usually rugby games) supporting the team, with a "Commander-in-Chief" appointed by the JCR each academic year to lead the troops. Another mascot of the college is the "College Trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
"—a Big Mouth Billy Hamill
Big Mouth Billy Bass
Big Mouth Billy Bass is an animatronic singing prop, representing a largemouth bass, popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The fish is made of rubber stretched over a mechanical frame; at first glance it appears to be a mounted game fish...
toy that is currently stationed behind the bar. A bi-annual magazine, Grey Matter, also exists to satirize college events.
Notable alumni/members
- Daniel CaseyDaniel Casey-Early life:The son of journalist and television presenter Luke Casey, he grew up in Stockton-on-Tees and attended Grey College, Durham, graduating with a BA in English Literature before pursuing a career in acting.-Career:...
— Co-star of Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was... - Professor Chris HigginsChris Higgins (academic)Chris Higgins is, since April 2007, the Vice-Chancellor of Durham University. He was previously the director of the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre and Head of Division in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London....
— Academic, Vice Chancellor of the UniversityDurham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
as of 2007. - Dominic MontserratDominic MontserratDominic Alexander Sebastian Montserrat was a British egyptologist and papyrologist.- Life :Montserrat studied Egyptology at Durham University and received his PhD in Classics at University College London, specializing in Greek, Coptic and Egyptian Papyrology. From 1992 to 1999 he taught Classics...
- TV Egyptologist - Tim StimpsonTim StimpsonTimothy Richard George Stimpson is a former rugby union international full back . During his career he played for Wakefield, West Hartlepool, Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers, Perpignan, Leeds Tykes and Nottingham, England and the British Lions...
— Rugby UnionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player and EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
international. - James WilbyJames WilbyJames Jonathon Wilby is an English film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:He was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father...
— Actor - Peter DixonPeter DixonPeter John Dixon is a former England international rugby union player. He toured New Zealand in 1971 with the British and Irish Lions and at the time played club rugby for Harlequins. He played for Oxford University RFC in four consecutive Varsity Matches from 1967 to 1970...
— England Rugby Union Captain. - Sir David George Maddison — Appointed High Court Judge in 2008.
- Alan GreavesAlan GreavesAlan Greaves is a British archaeologist, based at the University of Liverpool and working in Turkey. His research has largely focussed on the region of western Turkey known as Ionia in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Other research themes include Greek colonisation and teaching in Higher Education...
- Archaeologist - Dr Paul Hawkins - Inventor of the Hawk-EyeHawk-EyeHawk-Eye is a complex computer system used in cricket, tennis and other sports to visually track the trajectory of the ball and display a record of its most statistically likely path as a moving image. In cricket and tennis, it is now part of the adjudication process. It was developed by engineers...
system. - Frank Rigg ( 1964 -67 ) Curator JFK Museum , Boston, Mass.
- Paul Gavin WilliamsPaul Gavin WilliamsPaul Gavin Williams is the Bishop of Kensington.He was educated at Grey College, Durham. After a period of study at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, he was ordained in 1993...
- Bishop of Kensington. - Stephanie SolomonidesStephanie SolomonidesStephanie Solomonides, born in 1982 in Nicosia, is the first Cypriot to have skied to the South Pole. She reached it on December 29, 2009 as part of the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition. She and seven other women from seven other Commonwealth countries were selected among over 800...
- First Cypriot (male or female) to trek 900km from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole - Rabbi Lionel Blue - Rabbi, journalist and broadcaster and Honorary Doctor of Divinity & Fellow at Grey College
External links
- Grey College - official website
- Grey College JCR - undergraduate student organisation website
- Grey College MCR - postgraduate student organisation website
- Grey College SCR - staff organisation website
- Grey College Association - alumni organisation website