Porter (college)

Porter's Lodge in Magdalene College, Cambridge.

The majority of colleges at the universities of Cambridge, Durham and Oxford, as well as newer collegiate universities such as York and older universities like University of Bristol and St David's College, have members of staff called porters. There is normally a head porter and a team of other porters.^[1] Their precise job roles vary from college to college. Oxbridge porters are typically from an armed forces background, and are highly sought after jobs.^[2] Porters work in a section of the college called the Porters' lodge, at the main entrance.

Roles can involve:

• Controlling entry to the college
• Sorting mail
• Providing security to members
• Reporting students to the Dean
• Maintenance and repairs to college property

The character Skullion from Tom Sharpe's satirical 1974 novel Porterhouse Blue was a fictional head porter reputed to be based on Albert Jaggard, the Head Porter of Corpus Christi during the 1960s and 1970s.

References

1. Porters' Lodge Staff, Downing College, Cambridge.
2. http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/nov/04/working-life-university-porter-cambridge