includes national and international collections spanning the Prehistoric, Ancient Greek, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Medieval and Post Medieval periods.
Durham Castle Museum has around 5,000 pieces from the history of the castle, including suits of armour, tapestries, silverware and art.
In addition to the three public museums, the university also holds a biosciences collection and an art collection.
=== Chapels, prayer rooms and other faith resources ===
There are Anglican chapels at many of the colleges, including the 11th century Norman Chapel in University College and the art deco chapel in Hild Bede College.
There are also multi-faith rooms at St Aidan's College, Trevelyan College, and in the hub building shared by John Snow and South colleges. Muslim prayer rooms are located in Old Elvet and at Grey College. There is a kosher kitchen in St Aidan's College which supports Jewish Sabbath meals and other festivals.
=== Environmental initiatives ===
Durham has committed to reaching Net Zero by 2035 and to achieving a net biodiversity gain on campus by 2032. The university joined the Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign in 2020, receiving silver accreditation in 2021/22 and gold accreditation in 2022/23, before becoming one of only six universities with the highest level platinum accreditation in 2024. It was a founding member of the Nature Positive Universities Alliance in 2022. Actions taken to enhance biodiversity have included converting 9 hectares (22 acres) of lawns to grassland and enriching 4 hectares (10 acres) of land in the botanic garden to increase wildflower diversity.
The green initiatives at the university and its rise in two years from 96th (3rd class) to 30th in the People and Planet University League (between 2019 and 2021) have been noted in the national press. In the 2023/24 table, it is ranked 26th (1st class). Internationally, the university was ranked 22nd globally for sustainability in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025 and joint 36th globally in the 2024 Times Higher Education …
