College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham

The College of St Hild and St Bede, also known as Hild Bede, is a college of Durham University in England. It is the University's second largest collegiate body, with over 1000 students. The co-educational college was formed in 1975 following the merger of two much older single-sex institutions, the College of the Venerable Bede for men and St Hild's College for women.Hild Bede is neither a Bailey nor a Hill college, and is situated on the banks of the River Wear between Durham's 'peninsula' and Gilesgate.HistoryThe College of the Venerable Bede, for men, was founded in 1838 with a small number of trainee schoolmasters. The college was expanded greatly over the next few decades with the assistance of trade unionist and future local MP William Crawford, who would later become the college's treasurer. Its sister institution, St Hild's College, was opened for the education of women on an adjacent site in 1858. Both colleges initially specialised in teacher training but in 1892 for Bede and 1896 for Hild they became associated with the federal University of Durham, offering B.A. and B.Sc. degrees alongside teaching in education. Graduates of St Hild's were the first female graduates from Durham in 1898. The Chapel of the Venerable Bede, completed in 1939 to celebrate Bede College's centenary, was designed by Paul Edward Paget.