Durham (IPA: in RP) is a little city north east of England. A shire town of County Durham, it is easily known for its Norman Cathedral and Castle, and is personal to the Durham University, England's third oldest.

Geography

Durham is placed Xv miles (Twenty-five kilometer) in the south of Newcastle upon Tyne, in North East England. A River Wear flows through the city, enclosing the centre in tierce sides to produce Durham's "peninsula". Durham occurs as mountainous city, claiming to exist as build on a emblematical seven hills. Upon a virtually all telephone exchange & prominant position high above a Get into, a cathedral dominates the skyline. A steep riverside come densely wooded, adding to the picturesque beauty of the city. Durham won a Prominent Town award in the 2005 Britain in Bloom awards.

A county town of County Durham, Durham is located in the City of Durham local government district, which extends beyond the city, & has a amount people of 87,656, & covers 186.68 square kilometer. Durham's MP is Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour).

Transport

Durham is placed on the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and London; rail travellers from either the south enter Durham on top a outstanding Victorian viaduct high above the city. By road, a A1(M), the modern incarnation of the ancient Great North Road, passes good to the east of the city. (Its former incarnation, okay, numbered A167, lives good to the west.) Durham has an airdrome, in name only, a Durham Tees Valley Airport - but this is actually far nearer to Darlington. A Market Place & peninsula form a UK's number one (albeit little) congestion charging area.

Districts of Durham

A centre of Durham sits on the peninsula created by the River Wear. At a base of the peninsula is the market square, which still hosts regular markets; the lasting indoor market is as well placed on the square. A squcome & encompassing streets are one of a independent commercial message & concidering areas of the city. From either a open-air market, The Bailey leads south preceding Palace Green: The Bailey is nearly totally owned & occupied per University and Cathedral.

There are tercet old road bridges leading onto a peninsula, at present entirely pedestrianised. Prebends Bridge is at a Southern tip of the Bailey. Running east from either a square, Elvet Bridge leads to the Elvet area of the city. Running west, Milburngate Bridge leads to the Milburngate district, Crossgate and North Road, a more independent concidering locality of the city. West of on text is an metropolitan area informally called "The Viaduct" fallowing a structure which dominates, nowadays largely student-populated. Beyond A Viaduct lies a outlying districts of Framwellgate_Moor and Neville's Cross. Running northward from either a market place leads to Claypath. A road curves back around to the East & beyond it lies Gilesgate and Gilesgate Moor.

History

Archaeologic evidences suggests the history of personal injury settlement at Durham since about 2000BC. the present city might clearly become traced back to 995AD, whilst a class action of monks from either Lindisfarne chose a strategical high peninsula as a place to settle by owning the body of Saint Cuthbert, founding a church there. A present Durham Cathedral was built from 1093, and however contains a remains of St Cuthbert as well as A Venerable Bede. These are regarded by numbers of when a finest cathedral in the world.

Facing a cathedral through Palace Green is Durham Castle, originally built by the Normans from 1071, on William a Vanquisher's go to from either candidature around Scotland. A few of the present structure is extra recent, notably Salvin's Victorian restorations. Them buildings come jointly intended the UNESCO World Heritage Site- one of the original nine inside Britain. Since 1837 the castle has been home to University College, the first college of the University.

In a threesome centuries charted the construction of the Castle, Durham was regularly besieged per Scots, with a notable Battle of Neville's Cross (1346) occurring just one mile west of the city.

Within medieval days Durham was a major centre of each political & ecclesiastic power, principally due to its strategical importance touching the border using Scotland. County Durham was the palatinate, ruled by Prince-Bishops who had lay authority & considerable autonomy from either Westminster, minting their have coinage & maintaining their own armies. Each Bishop of Durham from 1071 to 1836 was a Prince Bishop except for the foremost Norman-appointed bishop Walcher, who was an Earl-Bishop. Henry VIII curtailed some of the Prince-Bishop's powers, & smashed a shrine of Cuthbert within 1538.

Inside 1832 the prestigious University of Durham was founded, which has several colleges in the peninsula & on Elvet Hill on the other side of the river. A 19th century besides saw Durham develop as a centre of the coal mining industry. A foremost Durham Miners' Gala was held in 1871, & remains the popular annual event.

Famous Residents

Barnabe Barnes Elizabethan poet Tony Blair Politician Edward Bradley Novelist ('Cuthbert Bede') Count Joseph Boruwlaski Celebrated dwarf George Camsell International footballer John Bacchus Dykes Hymnologist John Meade Falkner Arms manufacturer and novelist (Moonfleet) Dora Greenwell Poet Canon William Greenwell Antiquary John Gully Pugilist Ian Hay Novelist Lorna Hill Author of the 'Wells' ballet books Violet Hunt Novelist and 'newly woman' Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad Philosopher and radio broadcaster James Finlay Johnston Science lecturere and training benefactor Lawrence of Durham Poet Anna Maria Porter Novelist Jane Porter Novelist Reginald of Durham Hagiographer Simeon of Durham Historian Christopher Smart Poet Joseph Spence Literary memoirist Anne Stevenson Poet Robert Surtees Historian and antiquarian Hugh Walpole Novelist Walter of Durham 13th century painter