Ushaw, the historic former Catholic seminary on the outskirts of Durham, is celebrating a milestone year and today unveils an exciting new chapter in its fascinating history. Peter Barron reports

IT has already been an epic journey, defined by religion and persecution, and spanning four-and-a-half centuries.

Now, Ushaw – magnificently set in the heart of the County Durham countryside – is about to take another leap of faith.

This year marks the 450th anniversary of the founding of its predecessor institution, the English College in Douai, northern France. After the French revolution, scholars from Douai fled to England and that led to Ushaw being permanently established in Durham, in 1808.

For two centuries, Ushaw College, near the village of Ushaw Moor, served as a Catholic seminary but closed seven years ago amid uncertainty about the future of the architecturally-significant buildings, with their glorious chapels, and stunning gardens.

However, four years ago, fortified by strategic partners, including Durham University, Durham County Council, and the Arts Council, as well as an invaluable band of volunteers, Ushaw was reborn as a visitor attraction, events venue, conference centre and business hub.

Now, halfway through 2018, it is on budget to break even for the first time, and its sustainability is about to be cemented by an ambitious new phase in its development.

A Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £100,000 is to be used to review Ushaw’s business model and, hopefully, to unlock the funding needed to bring the Junior School back to life. The building, covering 30,000 feet, was designed by renowned architect Edward Pugin, and was a residential school for 100 students until 1972. The Government’s Manpower Services Commission occupied the building up to 1988 but since then it has stood derelict and fallen prey to vandals.

“In its derelict state, the Junior School building is the biggest problem we face in making Ushaw sustainable because security and maintenance are a distraction and drain on our limited resources,” says Roger Kelly, Ushaw’s Director of Development. “It will make a huge difference if we can bring it back into use.”

Mr Kelly knows all about using culture as a means of revival. As Gateshead Borough Council’s borough solicitor, and later chief executive, he played a key role in the regeneration of the Gateshead Quays, which now boasts the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and The Sage Gateshead.

He also knows Ushaw intimately, having performed there as organist and conductor of the Crook and Weardale Choral Society for more than 20 years. In the summer of 2014, he was asked to use his experience at Ushaw to launch a programme of concerts and events, which has proved increasingly popular, and to join the team looking at a development strategy for the future of this extraordinary complex.

The aim now is to use the Heritage Lottery grant to review the business and trigger a £10m scheme to turn the derelict Junior School into mixed-use space for education, conservation, a gallery extension, storage, holiday lets, and offices. Its chapel will also be returned to its former glory with the work expected to be completed by 2022.

“This new phase would provide Ushaw with a stable foundation for the future and give us the critical mass to become a truly serious player – regionally and nationally – as a sustainable exhibition and events venue,” says Mr Kelly.

The fact that Ushaw will break even this year, and is about to raise its aspirations even higher, is music to the ears of long-serving Director of Operations and former bursar, Peter Seed, who feared the historic buildings might be lost when the college closed.

“I’m ecstatic at what’s happening and it’s also a huge relief after a period of great uncertainty,” he says. “We didn’t know if it would be boarded up and put on the market, but now we’re heading in this fantastic new direction with so much happening.”

Ushaw is indeed becoming a hive of activity, with a host of new developments during 2018. It has become the location for 70 or so staff working for Durham University’s Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, and the University’s Business School has staff working there. It is also the home of County Durham Music Service, accommodating 13 staff and 15,000 musical instruments.

Business units have opened for the first time, with three enterprises already in place, and two more ready to sign up.

The William Allen Gallery, which served as a natural history museum until 1972, was reopened earlier this year, and 2018 also saw Ushaw establish its own catering team, with a café open six days a week.

The final slice of funding has also just been received for an £80,000 refurbishment of a former infirmary, which is to become a music education and retreat centre, featuring a Victorian-style classroom, with assistance from Beamish Museum.

And, of course, 2018 marks the 450th anniversary, with a series of events throughout the year. On November 3, a special anniversary ceremony will be attended by the Head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols.

It will be a celebration of a proud history, an acknowledgement of the past, but a chance to look forward to an increasingly bright future.

Ushaw may be poised to begin a new chapter, but the progress of the past four years means there is plenty of confidence that the latest leap of faith will be worth it.