Colleges of Durham University so. Colleges of Durham University The Colleges of Durham University are residential colleges which are the primary source of accommodation and support services for undergraduates and postgraduates at Durham University, as well as providing bursaries and scholarships to students. They also provide funding and/or accommodation for some of the research posts in the University. All students at the University are required to be members of one of the colleges. Durham University has 16 colleges, of which University College is the oldest, founded in 1832. The newest college is Josephine Butler, founded in 2006. The last single sex college, St Mary's,
St Cuthbert Without although the former separate parish of Wreay was absorbed in 1934. The parish is named after St Cuthbert's Church in Carlisle city centre. The "Without" part of the name means this was the part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Cuthbert's that was outside the city boundary or walls. The original civil parish of Carlisle St Cuthbert was split in 1866 to form St Cuthbert Without and St Cuthbert Within - the latter of which became part of a merged Carlisle civil parish in 1904. St Mary's Church (Wreay), built in 1842, is notable for its architecture. At one time