The Chadsian
Michaelmas Term 2012
St Chad’s College Magazine
6th - 8th September 2013 For
graduating years ending 2, 3 & 4
Remembering then‌ ‌and now
Chadsian
Contents The Chadsian
The Magazine of St Chad’s College, Durham University
Michaelmas Term 2012
4 College View 6 Quickstep at the stumps 9 Looking forward 11 William Widdrington 13 The Horsfall Society 15 Seeing Ourselves 18 College Foundation Cover image: Jonathan Batty (St Chad’s ’92-’95) in action for Surrey. By kind permission of Surrey County Cricket Club.
20 Alumni Diary
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College View
Photograph with permission of Walter Awlson
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his academic year got off to a great start with the College's inaugural lecture delivered in Durham Cathedral. Professor Kate Picket, author of The Spirit Level, challenged us to consider what a more equal society would look like. This was immediately followed by a community meal where undergraduates, postgraduates and tutors shared their reactions to her lecture. In true Chad’s style, I suspect that a new ancient tradition was born. This is an example of the kind of real engagement and debate that make our college particularly successful. In the last student experience
Next alumni event:
survey conducted by the University, our scores for scholarly support, college support, effective college officer support, JCR representation, academic enhancement, study facilities and tutor/mentor programme - these were head and shoulders above any other college in Durham. The University published another flattering statistic: over a ten-year period, our College is tied for top spot in terms of the percentage of our graduates ending up in paid employment or in higher education. It is a very significant finding and it addresses a very real concern of this generation of young people as they face a future with less optimism than their parents had. Our major refurbishment of residential accommodation is almost complete, with Lightfoot, Langford, and Grads’ completed, and with most of Main College and Number One done too. It is lovely to hear applicants at Open Days say ‘Wow’ when they see our en suite rooms (yes most of the College is en suite now). On the staffing front, James Randle is moving to a new position across the street as Director of Music at the Cathedral’s Chorister School. It is a very good move for him, and his many years of service to the College is evident in almost everything we have done and are doing. He will be missed. This issue of The Chadsian focuses more on alumni than on current students. It concentrates especially on sports, as we put the finishing touches on plans to build a new boat house and sports complex on the Paddock. We will be launching a major appeal to fund this development in the Spring, and we hope to secure strong support from alumni. Most of you would know that this project is long overdue. Thank you for your continued support. I pray that you have a wonderfully blessed Christmas and a very happy New Year.
St Chad’s Alumni Choir
⬥Chad’s in London, Friday 8th March 2013
⬥Chadstide Southern Festival, Sat 9th March
From: 6pm ‘til late. At: Adam Street Club, Strand, London. WC2N 6AA. “Kick off your Chad’s weekend in great style. Free entry and snacks. Just pay for your drinks. See you there!” Ali Gordon, Senior Man 2007-2008.
Choir practice at 10am for 12noon service At: King’s College London, Strand. WC2R 2LS. “I’m in! A great opportunity to sing some choral favourites with Chad’s Choir friends old and new.” Richard Reece, Organ Scholar (1995-1996)
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Image courtesy of Durham University
s I sit down to write this after a wonderful (but breathless) Freshers’ week, it gives me a chance not just to pause for energy but also to reflect on my time so far as Senior Man. It’s been an incredible few months. As usual, Easter term was a contrast of revision and celebration. Post-exam social events included the Garden Party, Jubilee Formal and the Beach Trip to Tynemouth. The final week brought Sportsman's formal, Chad's Oscars, the Summer Ball and then a megaformal - the Rector's Feast. Whilst a perfect way to end the academic year, it is also a week tinged with sadness as we watch good friends say goodbye. I’d like to wish those who graduated in June the very best of luck in the future. They are a year group who mentored and inspired many younger students, and contributed to college life in so many ways. It certainly seems strange for me to have returned to Durham this October, as a finalist, having previously looked up to the older year groups. I was honoured to be invited to attend the two College reunions in September, which turned out to be the highlight of my summer. I must admit, as I travelled up to Durham on the train for the first reunion of 2005 to 2010 graduates, that there were a few nerves. Of all the over 100 graduates returning, I’d only met three before. I pictured myself standing awkwardly in the bar alone. However, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Everybody welcomed me as if I was one of them. The next
weekend was the ‘Decades’ weekend for graduating years ending in 1, 2 and 3, and I was again back in Durham talking to alumni from the ‘60s, ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s. The two weekends taught me that the faces may have changed in Chad's, the buildings may have changed a little, but the atmosphere in college remains the same. People always ask me what my aim is as Senior Man, and I always reply with ‘keeping what we have’. Indeed, it was a privilege to be involved in Freshers week and to watch our 115 Freshers fall in love with this college as they were welcomed into our community. Lucy Heaney (JCR Vice-President) and Megan Brownrigg (JCR Social Secretary) organised an unforgettable week, which culminated with a ‘In a past life, I would have been…’ themed bop, and a performance by the comedy club Durham Revue in our Quad as our older students returned. What continues to amaze me is the sheer talent of our current students, often kept hidden due to personal modesty. Will Broad was a member of the Great Britain U19 full-bore rifle team tour of South Africa and Tom Beaumont (now a member of our MCR) represented Wales students at Rugby League. There are many other examples. Almost all university societies seem to have at least one Chadsian on their committee and we continue to be well represented in University Sport sides. There will also be two members of College in the Durham University team in the next series of University Challenge. Charity continues to play a big role amongst our students as well. Our charity committee raised over £4000 last year, while three of our students took part in charity expeditions to Romania, Nepal and Cambodia this summer. I’ve no doubt that this is going to be another fantastic year for all of our students, excelling academically but also having the most enjoyable years of their lives.
In the next issue of the Chadsian… ⬥Special feature on St Chad’s College Boat Club Do you have any pictures, stories, anecdotes or tales of famous victories which you could send to College for a feature on SCCBC in our Easter Term Chadsian magazine? If so, send them to Mark Roberts, Director of Development, at the usual address or to m.r.i.roberts@durham.ac.uk
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t seems surreal to be discussing ballroom dancing with Jonathan Batty. We meet for lunch in his favourite cafe in Clifton, the bohemian, fashionable, upmarket suburb of Bristol. The middle-aged man in front of us in the queue at the counter orders a smoothie straight out of the Paul Whitehouse Aviva car insurance commercial, but Jonathan and I have the fried breakfast. It’s that kind of place, and Jon is still that kind of man. “What is it about cricketers and ballroom dancing?” I ask. Images: (Above) batting for Surrey (by kind permission of Surrey CCC), and (opposite page) batting for Gloucestershire (by king permission of Glos CCC (Martin Bennett).
Jonathan Batty has just driven back to Bristol from London where he has a home with his wife, the professional ballroom dancer Nicole Cutler, and their baby daughter, Olivia. He played his last First Class cricket match for Gloucestershire at the end of September this year before announcing his retirement as a player. “I love playing cricket,” Batty says emphatically, “I would have liked to have gone on playing but my contract was up for renewal and I decided to call it a day.”
Chadsian Jonathan Batty is a wicketkeeper. Originally a batsman, Jonathan found at school, coached by Deryck Murray, the former West Indies wicketkeeper, that he had a natural talent behind the stumps. “You have to be a lunatic to be a keeper”, he quips, “you’re the first and last line of defence. The keeper can’t have an off day; you’ve got to be there, watching every single ball, taking every throw from the field, preventing overthrows and leg byes, the list just goes on.” It’s obvious, listening to Jon talk, that it takes a certain type of cricketing character to be a good wicketkeeper. For me, the three great wicketkeepers that stand out in recent decades are Alan Knott, Jack Russell and Alec Stewart. “At Surrey Alec was my mentor and is now a great friend,” Jonathan recalls, “he’d be away a lot on England duty so that meant I would usually be behind the stumps for county games. But even when Alec was playing for Surrey he’d give me the gloves and field beside me at first slip.” Hearing Batty talk about Alec Stewart it’s obvious that there is a great deal of respect there, and that Jon learnt a huge amount from Stewart, not least that it is good to give your understudy a chance to shine; and Jon’s retirement from First Class Cricket is perhaps something to do with this. His retirement promotes his understudy Richard Coughtrie, giving him the same chance that Stewart gave to Jon. “But it also takes some financial pressure off the county,” Jon continues with altruism lacking any kind of irony, “not having to retain an expensive older keeper like me is good for Gloucestershire.” After school, even though Jonathan already had a contract with Hampshire, he saw the importance of going to university and getting a degree. “I knew that I would need another skill besides cricket when my playing days came to an end. I had a great time in Durham,” he continues, “it was fantastic to be in Chad’s, I really enjoyed the camaraderie with mates, and evenings in the bar.” At Durham, Jon kept wicket for the University and toured in Australia, South Africa and the West Indies, but still managed to get involved in college sport as well. “Chad’s is a small college. Looking back, that’s what’s so great about it.” Although Batty never had the opportunity to play for England, he’s gone on playing cricket at the top level until his late thirties, a success attested in an interview with Simon Briggs in the Daily Telegraph to mark his retirement: Briggs called Batty “the finest uncapped player of the last twenty years”. It was, however, not always plain sailing for Jon Batty; perhaps because, unlike for batsmen or bowlers, there is only one place in a cricket team for a wicketkeeper. After Durham, a year at Oxford, and released by Hampshire, Batty became a cover keeper for a number of sides. For Jon, the arch team player, this must have been hard, but it did mean that he was
able to learn his craft, not only as a safe pair of hands behind the stumps, but also as a batsman as well. Perhaps it was this dedication and reliability that caught the eye of Surrey who needed a wicketkeeper-batsman to cover for Alec Stewart’s absence with England. Jon’s figures during his 13 years at Surrey, perhaps apart from a difficult year as captain, speak for themselves: 179 matches, 8446 runs, highest score 168 not out, 20 centuries, 36 fifties, 34 run batting average, 489 catches, 62 stumpings. His batting pushed him further up the order until he was the regular opener, as well as keeping wicket. This is perhaps no accident; Alec Stewart was his Surrey friend and mentor. “A good team helps each other, Alec taught me that, especially when he was playing and gave me the gloves.” Is he frustrated that he was never picked to play for England? I ask. “I have to say no.” Jon says, honestly. “All I ever wanted to do was play for England, but it didn’t happen.” Perhaps Batty was never in the right place at the right time. “Selection is always about other people’s perceptions,” Jon says pragmatically, “I’ve had a great career, I’ve made many really good friends, like Alec, and Mark Ramprakash, and John Major!” With mention of Ramprakash I return to the topic of Strictly Come Dancing. Did Jon ever think about taking to the dance floor as a career move like so many other cricketers seem to have done? He laughs, “In a way I have. The Surrey team went along to the BBC for Strictly to support Ramps who was dancing in the 2006 series. I was introduced to Nicole Cutler. I thought she was one of the choreographers, but I later discovered she was one of the pro-dancers who had already been knocked out.” The rest, as they say, is history. Jon and Nicole married in 2010 and now have a baby daughter. “Nicole’s teaching me to dance – other than shuffling about at weddings I’d never danced before. I’m not sure I’ll take it up seriously though!” So what next for Jonathan Batty? “I’ve thrown a whole load of ideas at a wall and I’ll see what sticks,” Batty replies. For someone with the tenacity of Jonathan Batty, ‘The stalwart of the Shires’ according to Simon Briggs, something definitely will.
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Looking forward D
avid Barnes looks like a rugby player. To be fair, he’s probably always looked like a rugby player, but the punishment his ears have taken as a prop has certainly helped to complete the image. But Barnes hasn’t played rugby for a while for fear of doing permanent damage to his neck. His doctors at Bath RUFC advised him that it was too risky to play professional rugby, or indeed, any rugby at all. From 2000 until his retirement in 2009 David Barnes was a prop for Bath. In a rugby career that included stints with Kendal, Durham University, West Hartlepool, Newcastle, England Saxons and Harlequins, Barnes, who graduated from St Chad’s, Durham with a BA in Economics in 1997, is still very much in the game, but now, because of the injury, off the pitch. It is obvious talking to David that he finds his enforced retirement, his complete withdrawal from playing in fact, very difficult. “I think I'm going to start playing again,” Barnes confesses, “I’ll probably be told not to. I think I'll start playing for a local amateur side.” In retirement David Barnes is now the Rugby Manager for the Rugby Players’ Association. “I’ve been involved in the RPA for many years,” David tells me, “I was Chairman for six years while I was playing for Bath.” The RPA is a bit like a trades union for professional Rugby Union players; it gives its members independent advice on employment, such as contracts and in legal disputes, ensuring that players who retire because of injury have the support they need; obviously, something close to Barnes’ heart. But the RPA is also improving player safety through medical research and ensuring clubs take player welfare seriously. For David his three years at Durham University and St Chad's were very important. “Yes, university gave me space to play rugby, but also gained a qualification. I got injured at the end of my playing career, but if I'd had to retire in my twenties I would have my degree to fall back on.” David remembers, “but, of course while at Chad’s I also played a lot of rugby and the associated social life that goes with that.” David’s rugby schedule while at Chad's sounds punishing: “I’d play for the University on a Wednesday and then on a Saturday for Kendal and, later, West Hartlepool. I also played for the Chad's XV on a Saturday - I had to
support my college.” But these are just the games, there was also training as well, and the degree. Players of all sports for the university certainly need this kind of dedication or they simply don’t make it. Durham’s reputation for attracting and nurturing great rugby players like Will Carling and Phil de Glanville is what attracted Barnes to Durham, and the quality of the Rugby played at Durham University. In vacations the punishing pace didn’t slacken off, nor, I suspect would David have wanted it to. “I particularly remember my time in New Zealand, playing for Linwood, and I had a contract with West Hartlepool when I was a student, which was a professional club.” Rugby is Barnes’ life, which is why, even though he now can’t play, he works for the RPA. “Rugby players need somewhere to turn, particularly when they get injured”. David speaks from bitter experience. He played for England Saxons from 1997 and was captain in 2006. It was in 2009 that he got the call to play for England in the Autumn Internationals, something all players dream of. Barnes’ first England match should have been against Australia on 7th November 2009 at Twickenham. But then, disaster happened. “My Bath team mate Duncan Bell and I were training before the Australia game,” David remembers, “we were in a ruck and Duncan came in and landed on my legs.” Barnes had to watch the England game on crutches. “It’s ironic really,” says Barnes, “I was taken out by one of my own team mates, and Duncan and I were only called up in the first place because of injuries to other forwards.” Duncan Bell was just as upset by the incident as Barnes. Bell said in an interview with the London Evening Standard: “I am gutted for David, having got so close to the England team, and it was me who did it.” Barnes went back to playing for Bath and retired on doctors’ advice in April 2011. Barnes appeared 266 times for Bath over 11 seasons. At the time of his retirement David said in a BBC interview that what he would miss the most was the camaraderie with his team mates at Bath, but that he was very fortunate to have had such a long career. “Being realistic,” David concluded, “Rugby isn't a game you can go on playing forever.” David Barnes’ experience of being a professional rugby player, and his degree level education at Durham, meant that, when he retired, he was able to take up a management position with the RPA. “I love rugby and I love the job I do. I’m very fortunate to have had a long and successful career on the field and now still involved in the development of the game from the players’ perspective.”
Image by kind permission of Bath RUFC
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William Widdrington: Northumbrian nobleman and the Jacobite Rising of 1715
Image by kind permission of the National Trust
Peter Hills St Chad’s, History 1955-58)
The Jacobite Rising by supporters of the exiled Stuarts in 1715 (the ’15) has been overshadowed by that of 1745-6 (the ’45). The ‘15 notably lacks the drama and romantic appeal of the ‘45, led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’. Nevertheless, the ’15 is of particular interest for the north-east, gaining significant support in Northumberland.
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he proposed role of the Jacobites of north-east England, where they expected to obtain strong Roman Catholic and Anglican support, was to receive a French landing force on the Northumbrian coast and capture Tyneside to deprive London of its fuel supplies. On 6th September 1715 the Earl of Mar raised the Stuart standard at Braemar. By 6th October the Northumbrian Jacobites had taken up arms, led by James Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (a grandson of Charles II by Lady Mary Tudor, his 14th and youngest illegitimate child) and Thomas Forster, MP for Northumberland; they were joined two days later by William, 4th Baron Widdrington, and his two younger brothers, at Warkworth. There, James Francis Edward Stuart (son of James II) was proclaimed as James III, and Forster, an Anglican, was appointed ‘General’, being thought the more appropriate candidate than either Lord Derwentwater or Lord Widdrington, who were both ‘recusant’ Roman Catholics. Why was Widdrington, a member of a prestigious and historic north-eastern family, motivated to join this uprising? What part did he play in it and what was the outcome for him as a leading participant? Widdrington Tower, or Castle, for which licence to crenellate had been granted in 1341 and from which the three brothers set out in 1715, stood as the visible symbol of a powerful family with an illustrious history. When William, born in 1678, succeeded as 4th Baron Widdrington in 1695, he inherited estates in Northumberland worth £4,000 per year, making him the second wealthiest Roman Catholic peer in the county after Derwentwater, to whose family the Widdringtons were distantly related. His great-grandfather, also William, had, moreover, acquired an estate at Blankney in Lincolnshire, by his marriage to Mary Thorold, the Thorolds being a notable family in that county. A strong Royalist, he had been knighted, created a baronet and finally ennobled as Baron Widdrington of Blankney in 1643; he eventually met his death in the cause of the future Charles II, being mortally wounded at Wigan Lane in 1651. William, the 4th Baron, significantly enhanced his inherit-
11 ance by his marriage to Jane Tempest, heiress to her father’s coal-mining estate at Stella, County Durham. By this marriage, furthermore, William, who had been educated at the Jesuit College of St. Louis le Grand in Paris, cemented his own and his family’s loyalty to Roman Catholicism. The Tempests were a leading recusant family and Jane’s own book of personally written prayers preserved at Ushaw College testifies to her genuine piety. With this background of royalism and recusancy, it is not surprising, that William, 4th Baron Widdrington, was also a Jacobite, clearly seen as a leader of local society, especially by friends and neighbours of similar religious and political persuasion, as well as at the exiled Court. At Widdrington’s trial he was to claim that his entry into the rebellion was unpremeditated, a ‘rash’ and hasty reaction to the gathering in arms of ‘almost all his neighbours and acquaintance’. This was somewhat disingenuous in that he was one of a select few informed of plans being made for a joint French landing and northern rising; furthermore, he did canvass support in the north-west where he had family connections, being assured by his brother-in-law, Richard Towneley, that there would be ‘a general insurrection of at least 20,000 men’ in support of James Francis Edward Stuart. For almost two weeks the Northumbrians marked time gathering recruits and awaiting the landing of Prince James Edward and French assistance. However, with the arrival in Newcastle of government troops, they retreated north to Kelso where they rallied with Scottish Lowland gentry and a substantial group of Highlanders. Following some argument, they crossed back into England, heading for Lancashire; Widdrington was a key influence in this decision, pressing his family connections in the county and the promises of support he had gained. They arrived at Preston on 10th November. Two days later came the encounter with government forces under General Wills; though the Jacobites successfully resisted the first onslaught, with the arrival of Carpenter’s troops,
Chadsian – ‘prisoners of discretion as rebels taken in the act of rebellion’. Between 1,500 and 1,600 men were taken prisoner. At Preston, Widdrington was one of the first to urge capitulation, a point he made in his defence: ‘I did not obstinately persist in my fault, but was the first to propose an early submission to his Majesty’. Following the surrender at Preston the prisoners of war, including Widdrington, were taken to London, where they were greeted by pro-Hanoverian and anti-Popish demonstrators. The peers, including Lord Widdrington, were sent to the Tower. With Derwentwater and four other peers, Widdrington was tried for treason by the House of Lords on 19th January 1716. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, but reprieved with only hours to spare. It was said that Lord Carlisle (Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle) and Lady Cowper, the Lord Chancellor's wife, a Clavering, distantly related to Widdrington, intervened on his behalf. Catharine Graham, a first cousin of the Earl of Carlisle by virtue of her mother being a Howard, made clear her intention to marry 'William Widdrington', by tradition, her childhood sweetheart; this was shortly before he and his brothers were released from imprisonment in November 1717 under the Act of Grace, the marriage taking place in July 1718. Though Widdrington's life was spared, his estates remained forfeited and he lost his barony. His new wife, however, was a person of standing and substance: not only was she a Howard by maternal descent, but her father had risen to the office of Secretary of State on the eve of the 'Glorious Revolution' and she was ultimately sole heiress to the Graham estates at Nunnington in the North Riding of Yorkshire and Netherby in Cumberland. There was, nevertheless, clearly a period of straitened circumstances for Widdrington financially, compelling him to sell medieval manuscripts - including items from the monastic library at Durham. In 1719, although the king had no objection, the Commons rejected his petition for an annual allowance of £700 from his first wife's estate, Stella, to support himself and his ‘distressed family’. In 1733 he petitioned for the removal of the legal disabilities incurred by his attainder, 'having forfeited by his rebellion in 1715 a larger estate than any other [to the value of £100,000], and behaved himself like a good subject since his pardon'. This was granted ‘and many members spoke in his favour'. Henry Francis, Widdrington's eldest son and heir, did thus succeed to the reduced - though not insignificant - inheritance of Stella (2,826 acres in 1873) and, in spite of his father's attainder, was regularly styled Lord Widdrington. After his death Lord Widdrington was interred in the vault of his wife’s family – the Grahams – at Nunnington, where his widow placed an impressive monument signed by Gibbs. The inscription (the original draft of which, written by an as yet unidentified hand, is in the Ushaw archives).
William, then, was reprieved as to his life and although there was a partial recovery of the family fortunes the Widdringtons lost historic, valuable estates together with the status and power enjoyed in Northumberland for over 600 years. Furthermore, the childless deaths of Charles and Peregrine and then that of Henry Francis, titular Lord Widdrington, in 1774, meant that within a generation the senior line of the family became extinct. The properties they retained passed either directly or through the Eyres of Hassop in Derbyshire to the Towneleys of Towneley Hall in Lancashire, this deriving from the marriages of sisters of William, the 4th Baron, and his son, Henry Francis. Mary Teresa Widdrington, married Rowland Eyre of Hassop; his sister, Elizabeth Eyre, who died in 1786, is buried in St. Oswald’s church, Durham; there is a monument to her in the north aisle. Thomas Eyre, the first President of Ushaw College, descended from a collateral branch of this family. Charlotte Brontë was to use the surname in her novel Jane Eyre.
Substantial houses once occupied by the Widdringtons no longer survive: their seat at Blankney, whence they took their title, was ravaged by fire in 1945; Stella was demolished in 1954; above all, the desolate site of Widdrington Tower, bare but for the trees, conspicuously symbolises their fall. The Widdrington family name has survived in Northumberland, but through descendants of cadet branches. Peter Hills
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The Horsfall Society The Horsfall Society has been founded by St Chad’s College to recognise our gratitude to those former students and friends who have generously chosen to make provision for the College in their Will. ⬥ Anyone who decides to make a bequest to the College, and lets us know, either confidentially or openly, will automatically become a member of the Horsfall Society. ⬥ Members of the Society, and their guests, will be invited each year to attend a lunch in College hosted by the Principal. Members will have the opportunity to hear about the College’s current development plans and financial situation and will be able to voice their own concerns and views about the College and its future. ⬥ The Horsfall Society has its own specially designed tie and scarf which members will receive to wear with pride. ⬥ In time, the College will commission and erect a benefactors board upon which will be listed the names of all past and present benefactors. Of course, requests for anonymity will be respected. ⬥ One of the Horsfall Society’s main aims is to encourage others to make a legacy and remember St Chad’s College in their will, following the example of generosity set by our founder, Douglas Horsfall.
Douglas Horsfall was born in 1856, the son of Robert Horsfall of Grassendale, Liverpool. He attended Eton and subsequently entered his father's stockbroking firm. Perhaps Douglas Horsfall's greatest achievement was the foundation of St. Chad's College, Durham. At the end of the 19th century, realising that there were many men with a vocation to the priesthood who could not enter the church because of their inability to pay for their training, Horsfall initially helped finance a small college in the village of Hooton Pagnell, Doncaster. A few years later, in 1904,this venture resulted in the foundation of St. Chad's College, Durham, under the Rev. S. R. P. Moulsdale, a young curate working in Everton, as the College’s first Principal. Douglas Horsfall, initially, and over many years, was a very generous benefactor to the College. The Church Times wrote of Douglas Horsfall in 1935: “To found a College in an ancient University is not given to most men. That it stands as one of many great benefactions in Horsfall’s life is a tribute to the greatness of his many activities.” Douglas Horsfall died in 1936.
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Traidcraft Ndima, Kenya
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Seeing Ourselves For the past six years Richard Else, St Chad’s College Professorial Fellow, film maker and photographer, has been working with Traidcraft documenting its work with communities around the world. In 2011 Traidcraft ran an innovative photography project with its tea farmers in Kenya. ”This is my first opportunity to photograph where I live.” This is just one of the many responses from the newly-trained photographers when they attended the opening of the exhibition of their photography at Ndima Tea Factory in central Kenya. Friends and colleagues crowded into the marquees to spot the places and people they knew, then signed the visitors' book to record their presence at ‘A New Perspective’, the first exhibition of its kind in this part of Kenya. Traidcraft has been commissioning photography for product packaging, publications and resources for many years, but this was the first time it had invited the producers themselves to photograph what was important to them. Nine months earlier, I visited Ndima to take photographs and gather images to promote Traidcraft's fairtrade tea but, importantly, I also made sure that I got to know many of the local people. Whilst I always try to work in a cooperative manner, explaining why I am taking certain images, I wondered what kind of photographs I’d see if I encouraged those in front of the camera to take photographs themselves.” For this pilot project I worked with ten men and women, together with three children from a local school. All were highly enthusiastic and needed less help with the intricacies of a modern digital camera than might be expected. After a short training session, the photographers took the cameras home and began recording family and church life, as well as work in the tea fields and factory. Additionally I took a portrait of every participant, but with one interesting change from normal practice - they chose where they would like to be photographed and how their image looked.
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Throughout the three days of the project, a number of common traits became evident. These included aspects of the workers lives that are not often seen by visitors - whether that was a Saturday afternoon visiting street comedians or intimate pictures of home and family life. Equally clear was a highly developed visual literacy, unhindered, or perhaps even aided, by lack of previous experience with a camera. Printing the images on a small portable printer enabled the mounting of the exhibition which brought this project full circle and led to considerable
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discussion in a community that had not previously seen itself portrayed through photography. “This was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done with Traidcraft,” said my colleague and Traidcraft employee Fiona Thomson. “Some of the photographers were invited to visit and photograph other factories in Kenya, then share the images when they returned, while the children taught their head teacher how to use a digital camera for the first time.” When so many photographs of people in developing countries feature examples of suffering and deprivation, I think it important to access a different narrative. Images like these accompanying this article, taken by Ann Wanjiki Guchuki, reveal a more complete and complex picture.
All photographs by Ann Wanjiki Guchuki. 2011.
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College Foundation Membership of the College Foundation is free and automatic for all matriculated alumni of St Chad’s, its Fellows and SCR members.
All members will receive two copies of the College Magazine, The Chadsian, each year; one in Epiphany Term and one in Easter term. Members will also receive invitations to events and reunions.
Each year the College holds a Northern Festival, in Durham, on the weekend closest to the 2nd March, St Chad's Day, and a Southern Festival in London over the following weekend. Because of the history of St Chad's College, members of the Foundation will represent both the secular and ecclesiastical worlds, sometimes both. For this reason some college events will have a religious dimension and some won't; we hope the Foundation, therefore, will cater for the needs and interests of all its members. We particularly want to increase the number of cultural, intellectual, civil and ethical events. Your ideas are always welcome: please contact the Director of Development.
Every year, usually in September, the College will host a 'Decades Reunion Weekend' in college. This is our College Gaudy. Alumni of all graduating years ending in the same number as the current year, and one year either side, will be invited by the Principal to enjoy a weekend back in college for which there will be only a small fee. In September 2013 we will welcome all years ending in 2, 3 and 4.
Other classes are also encouraged to organise their own year reunions and should contact the Director of Development for help with mailings, contacting lost friends and accommodation in St Chad's.
Alumni can help current students by volunteering to offer careers advice for their particular profession and also through organising internships and placements.
Increasingly, as government funding to universities for undergraduates, research and physical improvements decreases, institutions like St Chad's will need significantly to increase income from charitable donations and conferencing in order to survive. To provide ever improving facilities for our students we now need to call upon the generosity of our alumni who, themselves, have benefited from their time at St Chad's.
Many alumni already give generously to St Chad's. In 2011/12 we received just over ÂŁ31,000 in donations, and in the past our alumni and friends have helped us expand our library facilities through our campaign for the Fenton Library which was a great success. However, looking to the future, we are going to have to ask you to contribute much more.
Chadsian
Moulsdale Society. This society is for members The College Governing Body is currently considering proposals to launch a fundraising campaign for two important projects:
who commit to giving at least £1,000 a year, or £80 a month, for a minimum of three years. Members will receive an invitation to the annual College Domus Dinner and a Moulsdale Society tie or scarf.
Chad’s Paddock. For many years our land next to the River Wear has been under-utilised and somewhat neglected. If the College is given planning permission, we want to transform this space into a sport and leisure facility for our students. In this project we plan to include a new boathouse, gym, tennis court and multipurpose pitch. It is estimated that this will cost £250,000.
Postgraduate bursaries. Unlike undergraduates most postgraduates do not have access to finance to pay for their studies. At graduation students will be carrying a large amount of debt which might put them off higher study because of the cost. If St Chad's were able to give annual Postgraduate Bursaries of £2,000, £3,000 and £5,000, then our potential future academics and creative thinkers may not be put off fulfilling their potential. The college, the university, academia and, more importantly, our society needs postgrads so that we can make the world a better place through research.
Telephone Campaign. The University is helping us with our fundraising by employing four of our students to telephone alumni and ask for support. Many alumni will already have received a call and during 2013 many more former students will be asked in this way for financial gifts. Thank you to all those who already given and will give over the coming months, your support is most generous and very much appreciated.
Foundation Fellows.
Members who make a single donation of £50,000 or more will be installed into the Council of Fellows. A non-academic fellowship, this signals the College’s gratitude and our commitment to involve members in the ongoing life of the College.
1904 Society. A special society open to all former Senior Men and MCR Presidents. Members will be invited to an annual dinner and receive an exclusive 1904 Society tie or scarf. Membership is free but members are encouraged to make an annual donation based on 1904. Such as £19.04 a month, or £190.40 or £1,904 a year.
Horsfall Society. The College’s legacy club. St Foundation Donors are those who commit to giving at least £100 a year, or £8 each month, for a minimum of three years. To thank you we will send you a St Chad's College crest lapel pin for you to wear with pride.
Foundation Patrons are alumni and friends who give at least £200 a year, or £16 a month, for a minimum of three years. Patrons will receive an invitation to attend the annual College Domus Dinner and complimentary B&B accommodation in college.
Chad’s has been receiving legacies since its foundation and these gifts always make a huge difference. A significant gift in your will can be for a specific purpose or be used at the discretion of the Principal. Your gift may reduce your inheritance tax liability and, during your lifetime, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that after your death you will continue to help your college and its students. Do let us know if you intend to remember your college in your will. We will send you a Horsfall Society tie or scarf and invite you to the annual Horsfall Society lunch.
Alumni Diary
20
Plan your Chad’s year Chadstide Festival Events 2013
Decades Reunions 2013
In Durham
Friday 6th - Sunday 8th September ⬥For graduates of 1952, 1953, 1954, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2004, in College.
Saturday 2nd March ⬥10.00am Festival Celebration in Durham Cathedral ⬥12.00noon Palace Green ‘Chariots of Fire’ run ⬥12.30pm Alumni Foundation Members’ Lunch & Meeting with the Principal & College Officers in College Sunday 3rd March ⬥11.00am St Chad’s Day College Eucharist, in Chapel
Saturday 14th September ⬥12.30pm Inaugural Horsfall Society Lunch in College Saturday 21st September ⬥7.00pm Inaugural 1904 Society Dinner in College (free B&B available)
Monday 4th March ⬥5.15pm St Chad’s Choir sings Evensong in the Cathedral
In London Friday 8th March ⬥From 6.00pm ‘til late ‘Chad’s in London’ at Adam Street Club, 9 Adam Street, Strand, London, WC2N 6AA. Former Senior Man, Ali Gordon (2005-2008) says: “Drop into this club in Central London. Meet up with friends and other Chadsians after work (nearest tube Embankment, Temple or Charing Cross) and kick off your Chad’s weekend in great style. Free entry and snacks. Just pay for your drinks. See you there!” Saturday 9th March ⬥10.00am Choir Reunion and choir practice. King’s College London Chapel ⬥12.00noon Southern Festival Eucharist. Celebrant & Preacher, the Principal. With the St Chad’s College Alumni Choir. King’s College London Chapel, Strand, London. WC2R 2LS. (Nearest tube Temple) ⬥1.30pm Foundation Members’ Lunch & Meeting, with the Principal and a special guest speaker at Adam Street Club, 9 Adam Street, off Strand, London, WC2N 6AA.
Other Events in 2013 Saturday 16th March ⬥7.00pm Domus Dinner in College (by invitation to Foundation Patrons, Moulsdale Society members, Foundation Fellows, 1904 Society members and Horsfall Society members.) Sunday 16th June ⬥1.30pm Annual College Garden Party, College Garden
St Chad’s Day Palace Green Run For all information and bookings contact: Mark Roberts (St Chad’s 91-97) Director of Development m.r.i.roberts@durham.ac.uk St Chad’s College 18 North Bailey Durham. DH1 3RH General Enquiries: 0191 334 3358 Development & Alumni: 0191 334 3325 www.stchads.ac.uk