Neville's Cross is a place in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is also a ward of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

with a population taken at the 2011 census of 9,940. It is situated on the

A167 The A167 and A167(M) is a road in North East England. It is partially a trunk road and partially a motorway, where it is commonly referred to as Newcastle Central Motorway. Most of the road’s route was formerly that of the A1, until it was ...

trunk road to the west of the centre of

. The area is primarily residential, although there is a newsagent, a

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

, some

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s and two primary schools located there. The suburb was also home to part of New College Durham until the college consolidated onto its site at

Framwellgate Moor Framwellgate Moor is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated to the north of Durham, and is adjacent to Pity Me and Newton Hall. It has a population of 5,404,

in 2005.

History

A medieval cross is believed to have stood in the area, presumably erected by, or named for, a member of the influential local Neville family, owners of the Honour of Brancepeth. Neville's Cross would have marked the point where pilgrims approaching Durham from the west, along the old Roman road from Willington and

Brancepeth Brancepeth is a village and civil parish in County Durham, in England. It is situated about from Durham on the A690 road between Durham and Weardale. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 414. Brancepeth Castle was u ...

, would have first been able to see

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

, the shrine of

St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...

. Similar crosses stood by the main roads into Durham from the north (Aykley Heads), east (Sherburn Road Ends), southeast (Philipson's Cross near Mount Joy) and southwest (Charlie's Cross near the New Inn). Neville's Cross was the site of the

Battle of Neville's Cross The Battle of Neville's Cross took place during the Second War of Scottish Independence on 17 October 1346, half a mile (800 m) to the west of Durham, England. An invading Scottish army of 12,000 led by King David II was defeated with heavy los ...

where in 1346 the English successfully repelled a Scottish invasion force. Knowing that the English army was in France,

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, beco ...

invaded England. After pillaging much of Northern England the Scots were met at Neville's Cross by an army of Lancastrians, Yorkshiremen and Cumbrians led by the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

. The Scots were defeated by the smaller English army and David II was captured; he was freed on payment of a ransom eleven years later. To commemorate the battle a more lavish monument was erected to the south of the battlefield by Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby. Neville's Cross became a wealthy residential suburb of Durham late in the 19th century as development extended up Crossgate. Lying in the parish of St Margaret, that church established the mission church of St John, now a parish church in its own right. A teacher training college was built by the county council; this is now converted to university student accommodation. Major growth followed the widening of the Darlington and Newcastle Roads around 1960 to create what is now the A167, bridging the main east coast railway line which had severed Neville's Cross from Crossgate Moor to the north.

References

Areas of Durham, England {{Durham-geo-stub