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
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]
Elvet was formerly a township in the parish of St Oswald,[7] in 1866 Elvet became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1916 the parish was abolished to form Durham.[8] In 1911 the parish had a population of 3934.[9]
The former priory farm included the former granary called the Tithe Barn,[10] which is grade II* listed;[11] and two former barns,[12] other buildings[13] and a wall which are grade II listed.[14] The Tithe Barn has been dated between 1446[15] and 1449.[16]
Hallgarth House, which is number 77,[17] is grade II listed.[18]The Victoria, formerly the Victoria Hotel, an inn which is number 86, is grade II listed.[19][20]
The local Masonic Lodge (Universities Lodge 2352) is at 36. The Masonic Hall was built in 1869. The architect was T C Ebdy.[36]
The Royal County Hotel is a grade II listed building. It has a staircase traditionally said to have been taken from Lochleven Castle.[37][38]
Number 32, which has been used as an Adult Education Centre, is a grade II listed building.[39]
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.[66] Its site is now occupied by Durham Magistrates' Court and the university's Parson's Field buildings.
References
Margot Johnson. "Elvet" in Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures. 1992. ISBN094610509X. Pages 16 to 18.
^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.
^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
^Arnold and Howard, "The Tithe Barn, Elvethall Manor, Hallgarth Street, Durham", 2010, report number 59
^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.
^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
^ abMargot Johnson. "Old Elvet" in Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures. 1992. Page 18.
^"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
^Charlie Emett. "Walk 1: Durham City: The Royal County Hotel". Pub Walks in County Durham & Teesside. Countryside Books. Newbury, Berkshire. 2005. ISBN1853069124. Pages 9 and 10.
^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.
