University Town

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University Town
Flag of University Town
Coat of arms of University Town
Motto: 
Her foundations are upon the holy hills
Country Sorrenian Federation
County CapitalBrysonia
DemonymDurhamite
WebsiteMap of Sorrenia

Etymology

Given it is almost completely made up of Durham University buildings, the state is named after such.

Flag

The flag is a horizontal bicolour of white and purple with Durham University's symbol in the top-left. Purple and white are traditionally used to represent the University.

History

The Japanese exhibition in the Oriental Museum

Before Sorrenia

The area was largely countryside with some small housing settlements by the periphery with Durham. As the University grew and expanded beyond its position in the centre of Durham, the land was purposed and development began.

Until the emergence of University buildings, the only notable use is a large cemetery that is still used to this day.

In 2012, the Oriental Museum was broken into and several artefacts were stolen. Once the culprits were caught, it emerged that they had planned to steal a larger number of artefacts totalling £57m in value.

Kingdom of Sorrenia

Before the Kingdom, the area was a part of the wider state of South Durham. Upon King Ronald's ascension, he wished to mark out a state to show the vast importance of the higher education present in Durham.

Some Sorrenians have criticised the state for granting excessive political power to a small minority of young students - states are each granted a single representative in the legislature, yet states such as Lancaster have a far larger population. King Ronald has dismissed such claims, suggesting that academia should be granted a special place in Sorrenia.

Politics

University Town is competitive largely between the NDLP and The Republicans, both of whom (especially the former) source much of their support from students.

Although many students from the university live outside the official county borders, they are allowed to vote in the University Town constituency election, regardless of their citizenship status; they are the only students in Sorrenia to be granted this unique privilege.

Party Vote Percentage Seats +/–
University Town (June 2018)
NDLP 43% 1 3%
The Republicans 40% 0 5%
New Monarchists 15% 0 5%
Old Monarchists 2% 0 3%

Durham University

Durham University has a significant influence on almost all of Sorrenia, but no more-so than the State of University Town, which is almost completely made up of University buildings. It should be noted that not all (or even the most notable) University buildings are within the state, as the University lacks a single campus, instead being distributed throughout the city.

St Aidan's College, located on The Hill

University areas in the state are largely divided into three conglomerations:
 • Brysonia - this is perhaps the closest thing to a campus, and houses the University's largest library as well as a wide array of science faculty buildings and office/cafe space in the form of the Palatine Centre. The area is known for its varied architectural styles, with building ages ranging from the 1800s to 2010.
 • The Hill - The Hill houses many of the University's more modern colleges, as well as the Botanical Gardens and the Oriental Museum.
 • Southern Town - located to the South of Brysonia, the area is the most modern of Durham's university buildings and is almost purely collegiate buildings

Geography

Although the city of Durham is known for its luscious greenery throughout, University Town especially has large forests, a significant botanical garden and eco-friendly projects initiated by the University.

About half of University Town is located on a large hill, with winding roads connecting each of the colleges to Durham. As one continues to the South of University Town, they very quickly reach the urban-rural fringe, and some of the southern-most colleges in the state are surrounded almost entirely by fields.

Gallery

Economy

The local economy is entirely predicated upon the university, with only a handful of other businesses operating within the county.

Sights

The Bill Bryson Library is one of the largest academic libraries in the British Isles

 • Bill Bryson Library - named after Bill Bryson, the library is the largest of the University
 • New Inn Pub - located opposite the library, the pub is a favourite of Sorrenians and students given its cheap prices and pool table
 • Science Hub - located by the library, the area includes many science faculty buildings (Physics, Computer Science, Chemistry etc.) and the Palatine Centre which houses offices and a cafe
 • Southern Colleges - an area that hosts several of Durham's colleges - Van Mildert, Trevelyan, Knott Hall, Collingwood and the yet-unopened 17th college
 • The Panopticon - named due to its shape, this area hosts three colleges - Stephenson, John Snow and Josephine Butler
 • Botanical Garden - a large botanical garden with species of plant, butterfly and other insects and arachnids from all over the world
 • Oriental Museum - run by the University, the museum hosts artifacts from throughout the Orient, from Egyptian sarcophagus's to Japanese samurai suits