  st john's college is a college of the university of durham, united kingdom. it is one of only two "recognised colleges" of the university, the other being st chad's. this means that it is financially and constitutionally independent of the university and has a greater degree of administrative independence than the other, "maintained", colleges. however, in order to maintain its status as a recognised college, the university council must approve the appointment of its principal and be notified of changes to its constitution.http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/university.calendar/volumei/statute.colleges_and_societies.pdf st john's is durham's second smallest college and comprises john's hall for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying any university course and cranmer hall (named after thomas cranmer and with its own master or warden), an anglican theological college in the open evangelical tradition. the methodist wesley study centre, named after john wesley, is also based within cranmer hall despite not technically being part of the college. the college's chapel choir has flourished in recent years due to the college's commitment to supporting choral scholarships. ==buildings== the college is formed from a number of georgian houses on the bailey between durham cathedral and the river wear. the main house is haughton house, named after haughton castle, the seat of the family of william donaldson cruddas who were early benefactors of the college and other christian churches and charities in the north east of england. the houses which make up cranmer hall were once owned by the [[
1909_establishments_in_England Anglican_seminaries_and_theological_colleges Bible_colleges,_seminaries_and_theological_colleges_in_England Colleges_of_Durham_University Educational_institutions_established_in_1909 Evangelicalism_in_the_Church_of_England Grade_II*_listed_buildings_in_County_Durham Grade_II_listed_buildings_in_County_Durham Grade_II_listed_educational_buildings