Elvet is an area of the city of
Durham, in
County Durham, 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 situated on the opposite side of the
River Wear from
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 ...
and forms the south-eastern part of central Durham. Elvet is currently
unparished. Historically, the word ''elvet'' means "
swan
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...
" or "swan-stream", from the
Old English ''elfetu'' or ''ilfetu''. 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.
Elvet grew up from two
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
settlements based around Old Elvet and
St Oswald's Church and includes Church Street, Hallgarth Street, Whinney Hill and much of
Durham University's science site and the Roman Catholic chaplaincy at
St Cuthbert's Church. Elvet is home to
Durham Prison and Durham's
Crown Court
The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wale ...
centre (Court Lane),
County Court centre (New Elvet) and
magistrates' court (Old Elvet). The Crown Court centre was originally built for the
Durham Assizes The palatine courts of Durham were a set of courts that exercised jurisdiction within the County Palatine of Durham. The bishop purchased the wapentake of Sadberge in 1189, and Sadberge's initially separate institutions were eventually merged with ...
and is a
grade II* listed building.
Hallgarth Street
Elvet House, a former Crown building (c. 1951) in Hallgarth Street, is currently the base for Durham's
Jobcentre Plus,
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal ad ...
,
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.
Old Elvet
Shire Hall, a
grade II listed building, is located on Old Elvet.
[Margot Johnson. "Old Elvet" in ''Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area''. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures. 1992. Page 18.]
Ustinov College
Ustinov College is the largest college of Durham University, located in Durham, North East England. Founded as the Graduate Society in 1965, it became a college in 2003 and was named after then-chancellor, Sir Peter Ustinov. Formerly at the Howland ...
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.
The Royal County Hotel is a grade II listed building. It has a staircase that was taken from
Loch Leven Castle.
Number 32, which has been used as an Adult Education Centre, is a grade II listed building.
Elvet Methodist Church was begun in 1902.
Number 34 is a grade II listed building. It has been used as the Graduate Society Offices.
Elizabeth Milbanke
Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne (née Milbanke; 1751 – 1818) was one of the most influential of the political hostesses of the extended Regency period, and the wife of Whig politician Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne. She was the ...
and
John Bacchus Dykes
John Bacchus Dykes (10 March 1823 – 22 January 1876) was an English clergyman and hymnwriter.
Biography
John Bacchus Dykes was born in Hull, England, the fifth child and third son of William Hey Dykes, a ship builder, later banker, an ...
lived there at different times.
[
The Dun Cow, a pub which is number 37, is a grade II listed building.
Numbers 1, 5, 6, 14, 15, 15A, 17, 18, 19, 19½, 20, 25, 26, 26A, 27, 28, 30, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, 53, 54, 55 and 55A are grade II listed buildings. Numbers are 47, 48 and 49 are grade II* listed buildings.
]
Whinney Hill
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
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
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.
References
*Margot Johnson. "Elvet" in ''Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area''. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures. 1992. . 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.
{{Reflist
Areas of Durham, England