Eleanor
1000+ Posts
Michael and I first met in Durham fifty years ago as freshers at the university. Not only did we fall in love with Durham, we also fell in love with each other. Over the years we have made many visits back to Durham and the north east and had promised ourselves a special visit to Durham to celebrate fifty years of meeting each other. In fact the date we met has always been more important than our wedding anniversary.
We wanted to be in Durham itself. We didn’t fancy the pretensions of the Royal County and the Three Tuns didn’t appeal either. We were strongly tempted by the Victoria Inn but were concerned about parking. In the end we decided to stop at the newly opened Premier Inn between the Market Place and the river and adjacent to Walkergate car park. This worked really well as we didn’t need to use the car as everywhere was within walking distance. Rooms were comfortable and very clean and there was a restaurant. On a cold and wet October evening we ate in the Premier Inn rather than trying to find somewhere in Durham.
We spent the time just wandering around Durham and revisiting old haunts. The cathedral is still as magnificent as ever towering above the banks of the River Wear. It must be one of the best examples of Norman architecture in England and is an awe inspiring building. It still takes my breath away, even after fifty years.
Trees have grown up over the years and many of the classic views of thecathedral from South Street are now masked by trees. The view of the cathedral from Prebends Bridge is still my favourite along with the poem by Sir Walter Scott carved on the bridge.
“Grey towers of Durham
Yet well I love thy mixed and massive piles
Half church of god, half castle ‘gainst the Scot
And long to roam these venerable aisles
With records stored of deeds long since forgot”
We spent time wandering along the river banks, attractive in October with all the autumn colours. The college boathouses are still there. Brown’s boathouse where punts and rowing boats could be hired has gone and has been replaced by a modern glass and metal restaurant. It was too late in the year to do a river cruise.
In many ways, the historic centre of Durham has hardly changed at all. A few of the smaller family owned shops are still there fifty years on. There are a lot more eateries. The Milburngate centre built at the end of the 1960s and now renamed The Gates, is showing its age and is full of discount shops. The Prince Bishops shopping centre is thirty years later and is much more successful with a range of attractive shops. The Walkerdate Centre above the car park seems to be mainly eateries and entertainment.
Dunelm House, the Students’ Union building was cutting edge architecture when it was opened in 1965 and won many awards. The reinforced concrete building is also showing its age and is now looking very sad and unkempt. Kingsgate Bridge next to it is also built from reinforced concrete but the years have treated this more kindly.
The top end of Gilesgate beyond the bridge is unchanged and still retains the air of a village. The rest of Durham has changed beyond recognition. The university is five times the size with a lot of new buildings. Church Street is solid with students hurrying to or from lectures.
The Post Office which moved to Durham in the early 60s is now the Passport and Immigration Office with a huge office building and more offices being built along the river.
There are now very strict traffic regulations and parking is tightly controlled in the historic centre. These work very well, keeping streets free of traffic and parked cars. Gone are the days back in the 60s when the city centre was clogged with traffic controlled by the police box in the Market Place and with buses lumbering up and down Silver Street.
There was no traffic around the Market Place apart from a few vans unloading and none along Saddler Street, The Bailey and Palace Green, apart from the Cathedral bus service which provides a regular service between the railway station, market place, some city centre car parks, cathedral and castle.
The Market Place is Victorian rather than medieval.
Of pride of place is the statue of the third Marquis of Londonderry who was an important colliery owner and built Seaham harbour. Otherwise known as ‘the Man on the Horse’, the green copper figure is wearing a Hussar uniform and is on a sandstone pillar.
The statue of King Neptune has been returned to the Market Place after languishing forgotten in Wharton Park for many years. The DLI statue depicting a soldier from the Korean War is a new addition.
The Town Hall is open office hours and is mid C19th but modelled on a medieval hall with a lovely hammer beam roof. St Nicholas Church with its lovely spire is also mid C19th replacing an earlier church.
Off the Market Place is the covered market still reached by a rather dour passageway. Inside it is attractive and well lit by skylight windows. Gone are the second hand stalls and it contains a range of up market shops including a toy shop, book shop, very good butchers, bakers and fish monger.
The cathedral and castle dominate the centre of Durham.
Set above a deep incised meander in the River Wear, they are reached along Saddler Street with its small shops and The Bailey. This is the heart of the original university with Hatfield, St Chads College, St Johns College and St Cuthbert’s Society. It is lined with attractive Georgian Brick Houses and the Assembly Rooms are here.
The Church of St Mary le Bow dates from the C17th and is now the Durham Museum and Heritage Centre. The tiny Church of St Mary the Less is the chapel for St John’s College and has a splendid Norman doorway.
Palace Green standing between the cathedral and castle was the original market place. It is now a large grassy area lined with lovely old buildings including Durham University Music School, Durham Union Buildings and Palace Green Library. This now houses several exhibitions and includes the Archaeology Museum, moved here from the fulling mill on the river banks below the cathedral.
The Castle is a splendid example of a Norman motte and bailey castle and reached through an archway off Palace Green. It is now the home of University College and is not open to the public apart from guided tours.
On the far side of the cathedral is The College, another green space which was the outer court of the monastery before the Dissolution in the C16th. It is surrounded by attractive houses lived in by cathedral dignitaries.
On the River banks across from the cathedral is St Oswald’s Church.
It is thought there was a church here before the cathedral. Little survives of the Norman building and most of the church dates from the C14th. It has always been popular with students
On Crossgate, is the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, which was originally built as a Chapel of Ease for St Oswald’s.
web
On the outskirts of the city is the Oriental Museum. The University has always had a flourishing Oriental Department and close links with Teikyo University, Japan who have a campus here. The museum is an attractive modern building and is a treasure house of exhibits covering China, Japan, India and South Asia, the Himalayas including Tibet and Nepal as well as Ancient Egypt.
The University Botanic Garden, set on the hillside between the Science site and Grey College. This has grown out of all recognition from the days it was a few flower beds behind the science site. There is an Alpine garden s well as a bamboo grove. Glass houses contain everything from cacti to a tropical rain forest. Throw in a woodland and wild flower meadow and some of the best views in Durham.
There is also the delightful Crook Hall and Gardens, sitting above the north bank of the River Wear, a C13th medieval hall surrounded by beautiful flower gardens. It is an oasis of peace.
The Durham Light Infantry have always had an importance place in the history of Durham. As well as the new statue in the Market Place and the chapel in Durham Cathedral, there is a museum near the County Hall buildings to the north of Durham.
We had a lovely time. The historic centre of Durham has hardly changed, but we weren’t as good on all the hills as we were fifty years ago.... but sadly it was the last time we would visit there together...
We wanted to be in Durham itself. We didn’t fancy the pretensions of the Royal County and the Three Tuns didn’t appeal either. We were strongly tempted by the Victoria Inn but were concerned about parking. In the end we decided to stop at the newly opened Premier Inn between the Market Place and the river and adjacent to Walkergate car park. This worked really well as we didn’t need to use the car as everywhere was within walking distance. Rooms were comfortable and very clean and there was a restaurant. On a cold and wet October evening we ate in the Premier Inn rather than trying to find somewhere in Durham.
We spent the time just wandering around Durham and revisiting old haunts. The cathedral is still as magnificent as ever towering above the banks of the River Wear. It must be one of the best examples of Norman architecture in England and is an awe inspiring building. It still takes my breath away, even after fifty years.
Trees have grown up over the years and many of the classic views of the
“Grey towers of Durham
Yet well I love thy mixed and massive piles
Half church of god, half castle ‘gainst the Scot
And long to roam these venerable aisles
With records stored of deeds long since forgot”
We spent time wandering along the river banks, attractive in October with all the autumn colours. The college boathouses are still there. Brown’s boathouse where punts and rowing boats could be hired has gone and has been replaced by a modern glass and metal restaurant. It was too late in the year to do a river cruise.
In many ways, the historic centre of Durham has hardly changed at all. A few of the smaller family owned shops are still there fifty years on. There are a lot more eateries. The Milburngate centre built at the end of the 1960s and now renamed The Gates, is showing its age and is full of discount shops. The Prince Bishops shopping centre is thirty years later and is much more successful with a range of attractive shops. The Walkerdate Centre above the car park seems to be mainly eateries and entertainment.
Dunelm House, the Students’ Union building was cutting edge architecture when it was opened in 1965 and won many awards. The reinforced concrete building is also showing its age and is now looking very sad and unkempt. Kingsgate Bridge next to it is also built from reinforced concrete but the years have treated this more kindly.
The top end of Gilesgate beyond the bridge is unchanged and still retains the air of a village. The rest of Durham has changed beyond recognition. The university is five times the size with a lot of new buildings. Church Street is solid with students hurrying to or from lectures.
The Post Office which moved to Durham in the early 60s is now the Passport and Immigration Office with a huge office building and more offices being built along the river.
There are now very strict traffic regulations and parking is tightly controlled in the historic centre. These work very well, keeping streets free of traffic and parked cars. Gone are the days back in the 60s when the city centre was clogged with traffic controlled by the police box in the Market Place and with buses lumbering up and down Silver Street.
There was no traffic around the Market Place apart from a few vans unloading and none along Saddler Street, The Bailey and Palace Green, apart from the Cathedral bus service which provides a regular service between the railway station, market place, some city centre car parks, cathedral and castle.
The Market Place is Victorian rather than medieval.
Of pride of place is the statue of the third Marquis of Londonderry who was an important colliery owner and built Seaham harbour. Otherwise known as ‘the Man on the Horse’, the green copper figure is wearing a Hussar uniform and is on a sandstone pillar.
The statue of King Neptune has been returned to the Market Place after languishing forgotten in Wharton Park for many years. The DLI statue depicting a soldier from the Korean War is a new addition.
The Town Hall is open office hours and is mid C19th but modelled on a medieval hall with a lovely hammer beam roof. St Nicholas Church with its lovely spire is also mid C19th replacing an earlier church.
Off the Market Place is the covered market still reached by a rather dour passageway. Inside it is attractive and well lit by skylight windows. Gone are the second hand stalls and it contains a range of up market shops including a toy shop, book shop, very good butchers, bakers and fish monger.
The cathedral and castle dominate the centre of Durham.
Set above a deep incised meander in the River Wear, they are reached along Saddler Street with its small shops and The Bailey. This is the heart of the original university with Hatfield, St Chads College, St Johns College and St Cuthbert’s Society. It is lined with attractive Georgian Brick Houses and the Assembly Rooms are here.
The Church of St Mary le Bow dates from the C17th and is now the Durham Museum and Heritage Centre. The tiny Church of St Mary the Less is the chapel for St John’s College and has a splendid Norman doorway.
Palace Green standing between the cathedral and castle was the original market place. It is now a large grassy area lined with lovely old buildings including Durham University Music School, Durham Union Buildings and Palace Green Library. This now houses several exhibitions and includes the Archaeology Museum, moved here from the fulling mill on the river banks below the cathedral.
The Castle is a splendid example of a Norman motte and bailey castle and reached through an archway off Palace Green. It is now the home of University College and is not open to the public apart from guided tours.
On the far side of the cathedral is The College, another green space which was the outer court of the monastery before the Dissolution in the C16th. It is surrounded by attractive houses lived in by cathedral dignitaries.
On the River banks across from the cathedral is St Oswald’s Church.
It is thought there was a church here before the cathedral. Little survives of the Norman building and most of the church dates from the C14th. It has always been popular with students
On Crossgate, is the Church of St Margaret of Antioch, which was originally built as a Chapel of Ease for St Oswald’s.
web
On the outskirts of the city is the Oriental Museum. The University has always had a flourishing Oriental Department and close links with Teikyo University, Japan who have a campus here. The museum is an attractive modern building and is a treasure house of exhibits covering China, Japan, India and South Asia, the Himalayas including Tibet and Nepal as well as Ancient Egypt.
The University Botanic Garden, set on the hillside between the Science site and Grey College. This has grown out of all recognition from the days it was a few flower beds behind the science site. There is an Alpine garden s well as a bamboo grove. Glass houses contain everything from cacti to a tropical rain forest. Throw in a woodland and wild flower meadow and some of the best views in Durham.
There is also the delightful Crook Hall and Gardens, sitting above the north bank of the River Wear, a C13th medieval hall surrounded by beautiful flower gardens. It is an oasis of peace.
The Durham Light Infantry have always had an importance place in the history of Durham. As well as the new statue in the Market Place and the chapel in Durham Cathedral, there is a museum near the County Hall buildings to the north of Durham.
We had a lovely time. The historic centre of Durham has hardly changed, but we weren’t as good on all the hills as we were fifty years ago.... but sadly it was the last time we would visit there together...
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