Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens

Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens stands on a four-mile stretch west of Durham, a former Roman Catholic seminary built in the early 19th century. The site mixes Georgian lines with Victorian Gothic touches, and its chapels are listed buildings from the 19th century. After training priests for more than two centuries, the college closed in 2011 and reopened in 2014 as a heritage attraction. Today it hosts art shows, concerts and plays alongside a café and tearooms. Durham University keeps offices and teaching rooms here, while the County Durham Music Service also uses the campus. The chapels show the work of major architects. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin designed the first chapel in 1847, later replaced by a larger chapel in 1884. Joseph Hansom built the Big Library and Exhibition Hall between 1849 and 1851, and Peter Paul Pugin added the Junior House in 1859. The College Chapel is Grade II* listed, and the Chapel of St Michael holds Grade I status. A 2023 arson attack damaged the Junior Seminary Chapel of St Aloysius and its common room. Visitors walk through the listed main buildings and chapels, then explore the surrounding gardens. The Big Library opened to the public one day a month for the 175th anniversary in 2026. A charter of King John was discovered in the library manuscript collection, and the site now hosts musical events and the Ushaw Lecture Series. The college’s heraldry, with its crosses and coneys, reflects its history and patron saint.