Elvet

For the geographic division in Wales, see Elvet Hundred.

Human settlement in England

Elvet

Old Elvet Bridge

Elvet

Location within County Durham

Population| 10,175 (2011 Ward)[1]
OS grid reference| NZ2742
Civil parish|

* City of Durham

Unitary authority|

* County Durham

Ceremonial county|

* Durham

Region|

* North East

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| DURHAM
Postcode district| DH1
Dialling code| 0191
Police| Durham
Fire| County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance| North East
UK Parliament|

* City of Durham

List of places

England
County Durham

54°46′33″N 1°34′28″W﻿ / ﻿54.775948°N 1.574325°W﻿ / 54.775948; -1.574325

Elvet is an area of the city of Durham, in County Durham, England. It is situated on the opposite side of the River Wear from Durham Cathedral and forms the south-eastern part of central Durham.

## Name

[edit]

The name Elvet is recorded as Aelfetee in circa 800 AD and in the 12th century as Aeluete and Eluete. It is thought to be Old English in origin, containing the element elfitu ("a swan") + either ēa ("a river") or ēg ("an island"), giving the name a meaning of "swan stream" or "swan island".[2][3] The Swan and Three Cygnets, a public house on Elvet Bridge, is a reminder of the historical name given to this part of the city.

Other attempts at the etymology of Elvet include identification with the epithet Elfed in the name of Madog, a hero in Y Gododdin.[4]

## History

[edit]

Elvet grew up from two medieval settlements based around Old Elvet and St Oswald's Church and includes Church Street, Hallgarth Street, Whinney Hill and the Roman Catholic St Cuthbert's Church. Elvet is home to Durham Prison and Durham Crown Court centre (Court Lane), County Court centre (New Elvet) and magistrates' court (Old Elvet). The Crown Court centre was originally built for the Durham Assizes and is a grade II* listed building.[5][6]

Elvet was chartered by Prior Bertram of Durham in 1188–1208 and was an ancient borough until 1835, when it became a township in the civil parish of St Oswald, within the municipal borough of Durham.[7][8][9] In 1866 Elvet became a separate civil parish within the borough; on 1 April 1916 the civil parish was abolished and Elvet became a ward of Durham.[10] In 1911 the parish had a population of 3934.[11] The 1919 25 inch to 1 mile Ordnance Survey maps show the Elvet ward boundary as running northeast along a stream from the Quarryheads Lane – Potters Bank junction to the River Wear and then along the centre of the river to join the municipal borough boundary where this came down to the river at Pelaw Woods, then following the municipal borough boundary along the river to Shincliffe Bridge and then along Stockton Road and Quarryheads Lane back to the junction with Potters Bank.[12]

Elvet forms one of the character areas of Durham City conservation area. The Elvet character area is bounded by the River Wear to the west and north, the scarp slopes to the east and the road to Mountjoy Farm and Stockton Road to the south, as and extends along both sides of Quarryheads Lane as far as the Potters Bank roundabout, taking in the built up area of Elvet and surrounding countryside, including the Racecourse, Maiden Castle and Mount Joy hill.[13] Since 2018, Elvet has been part of the Elvet and Gilesgate ward of the City of Durham parish. The south and east boundaries of the ward are similar to those of the character area, although excluding Mount Joy hill; as the ward takes in Crossgate, the Peninsular, Claypath and part of Gilesgate, the north and west boundaries lie beyond Elvet.[14]

## Streets

[edit]

### Hallgarth Street

[edit]

Elvet House, a former Crown building (c. 1951) in Hallgarth Street, is currently the base for Durham's Jobcentre Plus, Crown Prosecution Service, Driving Standards Agency and Tribunals Service. The County Court vacated its purpose-built 1960's annex to Elvet House in October 2008 to relocate alongside the magistrates' court.

The former priory farm included the former granary called the Tithe Barn,[15] which is grade II* listed;[16] and two former barns,[17] other buildings[18] and a wall which are grade II listed.[19] The Tithe Barn has been dated between 1446[20] and 1449.[21]

Hallgarth House, which is number 77,[22] is grade II listed.[23] The Victoria, formerly the Victoria Hotel, an inn which is number 86, is grade II listed.[24][25]

Numbers 18,[26] 21 to 32,[27] 54 to 56,[28] 58,[29] 59,[30] 67,[31] 68, 69,[32] 70,[33] 73[34] and 75[35] are grade II listed.

### Church Street

[edit]

Oswald Court is off Church Street. A fire ball is reported to have fallen there during a thunderstorm on 13 July 1884.[36]

### New Elvet

[edit]

Dunelm House, a grade II listed building, is located on New Elvet.[37]

### Old Elvet

[edit]

Shire Hall, a grade II listed building,[38] is located on Old Elvet.[39][40] Ustinov College operates three student residences (houses 29, 34 and 38) on Old Elvet; The Swan is unnumbered but located immediately beside 38.

The local Masonic Lodge (Universities Lodge 2352) is at 36. The Masonic Hall was built in 1869. The architect was T C Ebdy.[41]

The Royal County Hotel is a grade II listed building. It has a staircase traditionally said to have been taken from Lochleven Castle.[42][43] Number 32, which has been used as an Adult Education Centre, is a grade II listed building.[44]

Elvet Methodist Church was begun in 1902.[45][46]

Number 34 is a grade II listed building. It has been used as the Graduate Society Offices.[47] Elizabeth Milbanke and John Bacchus Dykes lived there at different times.[40][48]

The Dun Cow, a pub which is number 37, is a grade II listed building.[49]

Numbers 1,[50] 5, 6,[51] 14,[52] 15, 15A,[53] 17,[54] 18, 19,[55] 19½,[56] 20,[57] 25,[58] 26,[59] 26A, 27,[60] 28,[61] 30,[62] 38,[63] 39, 40,[64] 42,[65] 43,[66] 44, 45, 46,[67] 52,[68] 53, 54, 55 and 55A[69] are grade II listed buildings. Numbers are 47, 48 and 49 are grade II* listed buildings.[70]

### Whinney Hill

[edit]

Whinney Hill is a street on a hill of the same name in the Elvet area, that name being derived from the whin (gorse) shrub that grows there in profusion. The street runs north–south from Durham Prison and the Durham City Cricket Grounds, on the banks of the River Wear, to the roundabout on the Stockton-on-Tees road near the Durham University science site. The lower site of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School was located on it until September 2009 when the school's sites merged.

Durham's third passenger railway station, Durham Elvet, opened in 1893 at the north end of Whinney Hill, closing in 1954.[71] Its site is now occupied by Durham Magistrates' Court and the university's Parson's Field buildings.

## References

[edit]

* Margot Johnson. "Elvet" in Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures. 1992. ISBN 094610509X. Pages 16 to 18.
* Keith Proud. "Heart of the City". Northern Echo. 20 May 2011.
* Francis Frederick Johnson. Historic Staircases in Durham City. City of Durham Trust. Durham. 1970.

1. ^ "Ward population 2011". Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
2. ^ Mawer, Allen, The Place-Names of Northumberland and Durham (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1920), p. 71.
3. ^ "Key to English Place-names - Elvet, Durham". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
4. ^ Mark Reginald Wakeford, 'The British Church and Anglo-Saxon Expansion: The Evidence of Saints' Cults' (unpublished Ph.D. theses, Durham University, 1998), pp. 17-19.
5. ^ List entry 1322878
6. ^ For the courthouse used by the Crown Court, see Nikolaus Pevsner, "Assize Courts, Court Lane", The Buildings of England: County Durham, Penguin Books, 1953, (The Buildings of England, volume 9), p 128 [1]; Elizabeth Williamson (ed), "Crown Courts", The Buildings of England: County Durham, Second Edition, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1983, Corrected reprint, 1985, p 227; "The New Assize Courts at Durham" (1869) 27 The Builder 553 (10 July); "The New Assize Courts at Durham" (1869) 17 The Building News 489 (24 December), see also p 34 (9 July); The Illustrated Guide to Durham and Its Vicinity, G M Watt, 1888, p 139 [2]; "Criminal incompetence left £7.3m* bill". Northern Echo. 10 August 2011.
7. ^ "The city of Durham: Jurisdictions". A History of the County of Durham. Vol. 3\. Victoria County History, London. 1928 - via British History Online.
8. ^ "Elvet Bny/Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
9. ^ "History of Elvet, in Durham and County Durham". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
10. ^ "Relationships and changes Elvet CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
11. ^ "Population statistics Elvet CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
12. ^ "Map Images". National Library of Scotland.
13. ^ "Durham City Conservation Area - Character Area 4: Elvet" (PDF). Durham County Council. July 2016.
14. ^ "About us". City of Durham Parish Council. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
15. ^ Heritage at Risk. List entry 48798.
16. ^ List entry 1120616
17. ^ List entry 1323279
18. ^ List entry 1323278
19. ^ List entry 1160063
20. ^ Roberts, "A Preliminary Roof Typology for the North East of England c. 1200–1700" (2008) 39 Vernacular Architecture 27 to 49 [3]; Johnson, Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area, 6th Ed, 1992, p 18
21. ^ Arnold and Howard, "The Tithe Barn, Elvethall Manor, Hallgarth Street, Durham", 2010, report number 59
22. ^ Joseph Bascom St. John, The Europa World of Learning, Globe and Mail, 2005, p 1951.
23. ^ List entry 1323282
24. ^ List entry 1381263
25. ^ Stables, "Victoria Inn", A-Z of the City of Durham, 2019; Dodds, "Victoria Inn Public House", Durham City in 50 Buildings, 2019, chapter 41; Richardson, Durham Cathedral City from Old Photographs, 2009, section 5.
26. ^ List entry 1120615
27. ^ List entry 1120617
28. ^ List entry 1160068
29. ^ List entry 1323280
30. ^ List entry 1310711
31. ^ List entry 1120619
32. ^ List entry 1310715
33. ^ List entry 1323281
34. ^ List entry 1160089
35. ^ List entry 1120620
36. ^ "Thunderstorms" (1884) 13 The Electrician 220 (19 July 1884)
37. ^ List entry 1477064
38. ^ List entry 1310562
39. ^ Nikolaus Pevsner, "Shire Hall, Old Elvet", The Buildings of England: County Durham, Penguin Books, 1953, (The Buildings of England, volume 9), p 128; Elizabeth Williamson (ed), "Old Shire Hall", The Buildings of England: County Durham, Second Edition, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1983, Corrected reprint, 1985, p 226
40. ^ a b Margot Johnson. "Old Elvet" in Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures. 1992. Page 18.
41. ^ "A New Masonic Hall for Durham" (1869) 27 The Builder 20 (2 January); "Durham" (1869) 17 The Building News 467 (17 December); Elizabeth Williamson (ed), The Buildings of England: County Durham, Second Edition, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1983, Corrected reprint, 1985, p 253
42. ^ List entry 1121376
43. ^ Charlie Emett. "Walk 1: Durham City: The Royal County Hotel". Pub Walks in County Durham & Teesside. Countryside Books. Newbury, Berkshire. 2005. ISBN 1853069124. Pages 9 and 10.
44. ^ List entry 1322879
45. ^ Michael Richardson. Durham City from Old Photographs. Amberley Publishing. 2009. p 46
46. ^ "Wesleyan Church, Durham" (1903) 85 The Builder 499 Google Books
47. ^ List entry 1121413
48. ^ William Whellan & Co. History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham. Whittaker and Co. Ave Maria Lane, London. Galt and Co. Ducie Street, Exchange, Manchester. 1856. p 206.
49. ^ List entry 1121414
50. ^ List entry 1121400
51. ^ List entry 1322876
52. ^ List entry 1121401
53. ^ List entry 1121402
54. ^ List entry 1322877
55. ^ List entry 1160498
56. ^ List entry 1121403
57. ^ List entry 1160540
58. ^ List entry 1121409
59. ^ List entry 1121410
60. ^ List entry 1160628
61. ^ List entry 1121411
62. ^ List entry 1121412
63. ^ List entry 1310454
64. ^ List entry 1322880
65. ^ List entry 1121415
66. ^ List entry 1310463
67. ^ List entry 1322881
68. ^ List entry 1121417
69. ^ List entry 1160700
70. ^ List entry 1121416
71. ^ "Subterranea Britannica - Durham Elvet Station". Retrieved 17 March 2008.