|
|
Durham
A historical guide to Farndale relative to Farndale history
|
|
Introduction
Dates are in red.
Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
Headlines of the history of the Durham
are in brown.
References and citations are in turquoise.
Contextual history is in purple.
This webpage about the Durham has the following
section headings:
·
The
Farndales of Durham
·
Durham, an
overview
·
Links, texts and books
The Farndales of Durham
The following Farndales are associated
with Durham: Mary Ann Farndale (FAR00397), Mary
Farndale (FAR00402),
James Farndale (FAR00521),
Tom Farndale (FAR00536),
George Farndale (FAR00565),
Albert Farndale (FAR00740),
Cecil Farndale (FAR00742),
Mary E Farndale (FAR00765),
Wilfred Farndale (FAR00769),
Margaret Farndale (FAR00823), William
H Farndale (FAR00840),
Albert W Farndale (FAR00866), Doris
Farndale (FAR00883),
Janet C Farndale (FAR00906),
Colin R Farndale (FAR00932),
Mavis Farndale (FAR00971),
Karen Farndale (FAR01116),
Sonja Farndale (FAR1139).
Richard Martin Farndale (FAR01122)
went to Durham University and met his wife Charlotte there. Nigel Geoffrey
Farndale (FAR01130)
also went to Durham University.
Durham, an Overview
Durham is a historic
city and the county town of County Durham in North East England. The city lies on the River Wear, to
the south-west of Sunderland, south of Newcastle upon Tyne and
to the north of Darlington. Founded over the final resting place
of St Cuthbert, its Norman cathedral became a centre of
pilgrimage in medieval England. The cathedral and adjacent 11th-century castle were
designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.
The castle has been the
home of Durham University since 1832.
The name Durham comes from
the Celtic dun, signifying
a hill fort, and the Old Norse holme,
which translates to island. The Lord Bishop of Durham takes
a Latin variation
of the city's name in his official signature, which is signed
"N. Dunelm". Some attribute the city's name to the legend
of the Dun Cow and the milkmaid who in legend guided the
monks of Lindisfarne carrying the body of Saint Cuthbert to
the site of the present city in 995 AD. Dun Cow Lane is said to be one of
the first streets in Durham, being directly to the east of Durham Cathedral and
taking its name from a depiction of the city's founding etched in masonry on
the south side of the cathedral. The original Nordic Dun
Holm was changed to Duresme by
the Normans and was known in Latin as Dunelm. The modern
form Durham came into use later in the city's history. The north eastern historian Robert Surtees chronicled
the name changes in his History and
Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham.
Timeline of Durham
2,000 BCE
Archeological evidence suggests a history of
settlement in the area since roughly 2,000 BCE.
995 CE
The present city can
clearly be traced back to 995 CE, when a group of monks
from Lindisfarne chose the strategic high peninsula as a place to
settle with the body of Saint Cuthbert, that had previously lain in Chester-le-Street, founding a church
there.
Local legend states that
the city was founded in 995 by divine intervention. The Twelfth century
chronicler Symeon of Durham recounts
that after wandering in the north, Saint Cuthbert's bier miraculously
came to a halt at the hill of Warden Law and, despite the effort of
the congregation, would not move. Aldhun, Bishop
of Chester-le-Street and leader of the
order, decreed a holy fast of three days, accompanied by prayers to
the saint. During
the fast, Saint Cuthbert appeared to a monk named Eadmer, with instructions
that the coffin should be taken to Dun Holm. After Eadmer's revelation, Aldhun found that he was able to move the bier, but did not know where Dun Holm was.
The legend of the Dun Cow,
which is first documented in The Rites of
Durham, an anonymous account about the Durham Cathedral, published in
1593, builds on Symeon's account. According to this legend, by chance
later that day, the monks came across a milkmaid at Mount Joy, southeast
of the city. She said that she was seeking her lost dun cow, which she had
last seen at Dun Holm. The monks, realising that this was a sign from the
saint, followed her. They settled at a wooded "hill-island", a high wooded rock surrounded on three sides by the
River Wear. There they erected a shelter for the relics, on the spot where
the Durham Cathedral would later stand. Symeon says that a modest wooden
building erected there shortly later was the first building in the city.
998
Bishop Aldhun
subsequently had a stone church built, which was dedicated in September
998. It no longer remains, having been supplanted by
the Norman structure.
During the medieval period
the city gained spiritual prominence as the final resting place of Saint
Cuthbert and Saint Bede the Venerable. The shrine of
Saint Cuthbert, situated behind the High Altar of Durham Cathedral,
was the most important religious site in England until the martyrdom of St
Thomas Becket at Canterbury in 1170.
1346
The Battle
of Neville's Cross, took
place near the city on 17 October 1346 between the English and Scots.
1299
Owing to the divine
providence evidenced in the city's legendary founding, the Bishop of
Durham has always enjoyed the title Bishop by Divine Providence as
opposed to other bishops, who are Bishop by Divine Permission. However, as
the north-east of England lay so far from Westminster, the bishops of
Durham enjoyed extraordinary powers such as the ability to hold their own
parliament, raise their own armies, appoint their
own sheriffs and Justices, administer their own laws, levy taxes and customs
duties, create fairs and markets, issue charters,
salvage shipwrecks, collect revenue from mines, administer the forests and mint
their own coins.
So far-reaching were the
bishop's powers that the steward of
Bishop Antony Bek commented in 1299
AD: "There are two kings in England, namely the Lord King of England,
wearing a crown in sign of his regality and the Lord
Bishop of Durham wearing a mitre in place of a crown, in sign of his regality in the diocese of
Durham". All this activity was administered from the castle and
buildings surrounding the Palace Green. Many of the original buildings
associated with these functions of the county
palatine survive on the peninsula that constitutes the ancient
city.
Every Bishop of Durham
from 1071 to 1836 was a Prince Bishop except for the first Norman
appointment, Bishop Walcher (in office ca. 1071–1080),
who was styled an Earl-Bishop. Although the term "prince
bishop" has been used as a helpful tool in the understanding the functions
of the Bishops of Durham it is not a title they would have recognised. The
last Prince Bishop of Durham, Bishop William Van Mildert, is credited[by whom?] with the
foundation of Durham University in 1832. Henry VIII curtailed some of the Prince-Bishop's powers and, in 1538, ordered the destruction
of the shrine of Saint Cuthbert
The Prince
Bishops had their own court system, including most notably the Court
of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge. The
county also had its own attorney general, whose authority to bring an
indictment for criminal matters was tested by central government in the case
of R v Mary Ann Cotton (1873) Certain courts and
judicial posts for the county were abolished by the Supreme Court of
Judicature Act 1873. Section 2 of the Durham (County Palatine) Act
1836 and section 41 of the Courts Act 1971 abolished others
1544
The city suffered
from plague outbreaks in 1544, 1589 and 1598.
1640 to 1660
The city remained loyal to
King Charles I throughout the English Civil War. Charles I came to Durham twice during his reign.
He came to the cathedral
for a majestic service in which he was entertained by the Chapter and Bishop at great expense at the
start of his reign.
His second visit to the
city came towards the end of the civil war, escaping from the city
as Oliver Cromwell's forces got closer. Local legend stated he
escaped down the Bailey and through Old Elvet. Another local legend
has it that Cromwell stayed in a room in the present Royal County Hotel on Old
Elvet during the civil war. The room is reputed to be haunted by his
ghost. Durham suffered greatly during the civil war and Commonwealth.
This was not due to direct assault by Cromwell but the abolition of
the Church of England and the closure of religious institutions
pertaining to it. The city has always relied upon the Dean and Chapter and cathedral as an economic
force.
The castle suffered
considerable damage and dilapidation during the Commonwealth due to the
abolition of the office of bishop whose residence it was. Cromwell confiscated
the castle and sold it to the Lord Mayor of London shortly after
taking it from the bishop. A similar fate befell the cathedral, it being
closed in 1650 and used to incarcerate 3,000 Scottish prisoners. Graffiti left
by them can still be seen today etched into the interior stone.
1660
At
the Restoration in 1660, John Cosin, a
former canon, was appointed bishop and set about a
major restoration project. This included the commissioning of the famous
elaborate woodwork in the cathedral choir, the font cover and
the Black Staircase in the castle. Other renovations were carried out to
both the city and cathedral by his successor Bishop Lord Nathaniel Crewe.
1720
In 1720 it was proposed
that Durham could become a sea port by digging a canal
north to join the River Team, a tributary of the River
Tyne near Gateshead. Nothing came of the plan, but the statue of
Neptune in the Market Place was a constant reminder of
Durham's maritime possibilities.
1759
The thought of ships
docking at the Sands or Millburngate remained fresh
in the minds of Durham businessmen. In 1759, a new proposal hoped to make the
Wear navigable from Durham to Sunderland by altering the river's
course, but the increasing size of ships made this impractical. This was
further compounded by the fact Sunderland had grown as the north east's main
port and centre for shipping.
1787
In 1787 Durham infirmary
was founded.
1801
The first census,
conducted in 1801, states that Durham City had a population of 7,100.
1832
The Great Reform Act 1832 saw the removal
of the Prince Bishop's powers, although he still has the right to a seat
in the House of Lords and is regarded as the second most senior
bishop and fourth most senior clergyman in the Church of England. The Court
of Claims of 1953 granted the traditional right of the bishop to accompany
the sovereign at the coronation, reflecting his seniority.
Durham University was
founded in 1832. Durham Castle became the first college (University
College, Durham) and the bishop moved to Auckland Castle as his only
residence in the county. Bishop Hatfield's Hall (later Hatfield College,
Durham) was added in 1846 specifically for the sons of poorer families, the Principal inaugurating a system new to English university
life of advance fees to cover accommodation and communal dining.
Later nineteenth
century
The Industrial
Revolution mostly passed the city by. However, the city was well known for
carpet making and weaving. Although most of the mediaeval weavers who thrived
in the city had left by the nineteenth century, the city was the home of Hugh
MacKay Carpets’ factory, which produced the famous brands of axminster and tufted carpets until the
factory went into administration in April 2005. Other important industries
were the manufacture of mustard and coal extraction
The Industrial Revolution
also placed the city at the heart of the coalfields, the county's main
industry until the 1970s. Practically every village around the city had a coal
mine and, although these have since disappeared as part of the regional decline
in heavy industry, the traditions, heritage and
community spirit are still evident.
1871
The first Durham
Miners' Gala was attended by 5,000 miners in 1871 in Wharton
Park, and remains the largest socialist trade union event in the
world.
1927
Early in the 20th century
coal became depleted, with a particularly important seam worked out in 1927
1929
During the Great
Depression Durham was among those towns that suffered exceptionally severe
hardship.
However, the University
expanded greatly. St John's College and St Cuthbert's
Society were founded on the Bailey, completing the series of colleges
in that area of the city.
1942
Durham was not bombed
during World War II, though one raid on the night of 30 May 1942 did give
rise to the local legend of 'St Cuthbert's Mist'. The legend is that
the Luftwaffe attempted to target Durham, but
was thwarted when Cuthbert created a mist that covered both the castle and
cathedral, sparing them from bombing.
1950s
From the early 1950s to
early 1970s the university expanded to the south of the city
centre. Trevelyan, Van Mildert, Collingwood,
and Grey colleges were established, and new buildings for St
Aidan's and St Mary's colleges for women, formerly housed on the
Bailey, were created.
The final 20th century
collegiate addition came from the merger of the independent nineteenth-century
colleges of the Venerable Bede and St Hild, which joined the university in 1979
as the College of St Hild and St Bede.
The 1960s and 70s also saw
building on New Elvet. Dunelm House for the use of the students'
union was built first, followed by Elvet Riverside, containing lecture theatres
and staff offices.
To the southeast of the
city centre sports facilities were built at Maiden Castle, adjacent to
the Iron Age fort of the same name, and the Mountjoy site was developed,
starting in 1924, eventually containing the university library, administrative
buildings, and facilities for the Faculty of Science.
1986
Durham was created a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1986, under the title 'Durham Castle and Cathedral'.
Links, texts and books