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Current keeper since 2000.
A fairly well documented Amazon here, but this may have been the first time I could get a photo myself. Perhaps taking advantage of its MOT free status these days, although it was still in use prior to that legislation. Such a cool looking car.
Currently up for sale by DRS so facing an uncertain future,37610 "T.S (Ted) Cassady" working top & tail with 37602 passes Little Eaton with the 1Z68 1206 Neville Hill - Derby RTC PLPR2 test train on 14th Jan 17....The third track to the right of the loco was the former Denby branch which curved off to the right beyond the back of the train....sadly now all lifted and the trackbed blocked here by those containers
Currently listening to: [Pavement - Grounded]
Somewhere in Kuala Lumpur, couldn't really remember where.
Donald Trump in prison uniform, chained to fence, The High Line, Meatpacking District, Manhattan, NYC. 2019.
Justin
Two mounted Police Officers patrol the "mean" streets of Brisbane for bad guys and gals! Given they are in George Street, location of Parliament House and the Executive Offices, perhaps it's the right street indeed. They should send a fleet of them to Canberra.
We asked the ladies if they would cart any crims off to jail on the horses, they refused to divulge these secret operational tactics!
Given they are on top of the horses, they seem to be allowed to operate without the current mandatory masks where social distancing is not possible. ***The vast majority of people in town were correctly adhering to the rule, even outside. And it was hardly busy, a shadow of its former self. COVID has hit inner cities hard with work from home.
***Note - I am being a bit tongue in cheek here. These officers are breaking no laws regarding masks. Current law does not require them to wear masks outside unless they cannot social distance. They are not really a street patrol, seeking baddies. In addition, it may be autumn here but in Brisbane, temps are still hovering between 25-30C. Mask, protective sunglasses and hard helmets would really be difficult. There have been no community transmission cases of COVID in Australia for weeks and then only in minute numbers. Active cases are almost 100% overseas returns in hotel quarantine or hospital isolation. Success of the vaccine rollout is another matter altogether. Masks will be not mandatory from Thursday except at Airports.
s230.photobucket.com/albums/ee103/wesleys615/?action=view...
I was looking at stencils yesterday, and I found this one by someone who goes by the name of wesleys615. I have put it on my flickr page because if you look at the bicycle, it is my track bike stencil.
Enjoy !
Janet Bike Girl
janetbikegirl@yahoo.ca
Toronto, Canada
Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña - Escocia - Saint Andrews - Catedral
ENGLISH
The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined Roman Catholic cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-century Scottish Reformation. It is currently a monument in the custody of Historic Scotland. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately 119m (391 feet) long, and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland.
The cathedral was founded to supply more accommodation than the older church of St. Regulus (St. Rule) afforded. This older church, located on what became the cathedral grounds, had been built in the Romanesque style. Today, there remains the square tower, 33 metres (108 feet) high, and the quire, of very diminutive proportions. On a plan of the town from about 1530, a chancel appears, and seals affixed to the city and college charters bear representations of other buildings attached. To the east is an even older religious site, the Church of St Mary on the Rock, the Culdee house that became a Collegiate Church.
Work began on the new cathedral in 1158 and continued for over a century. The west end was blown down in a storm and rebuilt between 1272 and 1279. It was dedicated on 5 July 1318, in a ceremony before King Robert I . When intact it had, besides a central tower, six turrets; of these remain two at the east and one of the two at the western extremity, rising to a height of 30 metres (100 feet).
A fire partly destroyed the building in 1378; restoration and further embellishment were completed in 1440.
The cathedral was served by a community of Augustinian Canons, the St Andrews Cathedral Priory, which were successors to the Culdees of the Celtic church.
Greyfriar (Franciscan) and Blackfriar (Dominican) friars had properties in the town by the late 15th century and possibly as late as 1518.
The ruins of the nave of St. Andrews Cathedral
Historic view of St Andrews Cathedral
In 1559, during the Scottish reformation, the building was stripped of its altars and images; and by 1561 it had been abandoned and left to fall into ruin.
At about the end of the sixteenth century the central tower apparently gave way, carrying with it the north wall. Afterwards large portions of the ruins were taken away for building purposes, and nothing was done to preserve them until 1826. Since then it has been tended with scrupulous care, an interesting feature being the cutting out of the ground-plan in the turf. The principal portions extant, partly Norman and partly Early Scottish, are the east and west gables, the greater part of the south wall of the nave and the west wall of the south transept.
At the end of the seventeenth century some of the priory buildings remained entire and considerable remains of others existed, but nearly all traces have now disappeared except portions of the priory wall and the archways, known as The Pends.
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ESPAÑOL
La Catedral de St. Andrews fue, en su momento, la mayor de toda Escocia y, aunque en la actualidad solo quedan en pie sus ruinas, puede deducirse por su grandiosidad la enorme pujanza que debió tener durante su época de mayor esplendor.
Sus orÃgenes se remontan hasta el año 742, cuando las reliquias del apóstol San Andrés (St Andrews), luego patrón de Escocia, llegaron a esas tierras. Sobre una zona rocosa, justo donde hoy se alzan las ruinas de la catedral, se levantó entonces la iglesia de St Mary on the Rocks, la primera de las tres que sucesivamente irÃan ocupando este lugar. En 1140 una comunidad de agustinos fundó aquà mismo su propia iglesia (iglesia de St. Rules), cuya alta torre cuadrada y aislada aún se conserva y usa como mirador de todo este lugar privilegiado sobre la costa escocesa. Finalmente, serÃa ya en el año 1160 cuando el Obispo de Sant Andrews promovió la construcción de una gran catedral, cuyas ruinas son las que hoy podemos ver.
Su construcción se llevó a cabo a lo largo de 158 años, siendo finalmente consagrada en 1318. A partir de ahà su historia fue muy agitada, pasando por numerosas vicisitudes. AsÃ, en 1270 y por tanto antes de su terminación, su costado oeste fue destruido por los efectos de una galerna. Posteriormente sufrió un importante incendio en 1378, lo que obligó a su reconstrucción; y más adelante, en 1409 otra tormenta acabó con el lado sur; como se ve, tormentas y vendavales que le efectaron muy directamente debido a su posición directa frente a la costa abierta, en un paraje agreste y muy expuesto a las inclemencias naturales.
Pero además la catedral de Saint Andrews fue vÃctima de los turbulentos momentos vividos en Escocia durante el siglo XVI con motivo de la Reforma Protestante y la dura reacción del presbÃtero John Knox, lo que dio lugar a que fuera semiderruida. Tras un tiempo en el que se dudó sobre la posibilidad de su reconstrucción, poco a poco sus piedras se fueron utilizando para distintas obras civiles en la propia localidad de Saint Andrews. AsÃ, de aquella catedral hoy solo queda una gran explanada con algunos muros en pie, uno de los testeros frontales casi completo con sus dos altas torres a los lados, y parte de lo que fue su claustro, de estilo gótico.
Gran parte del terreno se encuentra ocupado por un enorme cementerio, donde antiguas tumbas de distintos tamaños y categorÃas se distribuyen libremente por doquier, dando lugar a un escenario impresionante que evoca la grandiosidad de esta catedral, en su dÃa la más grande de Escocia. La torre cuadrada de la antigua iglesia de Sant Rule se conserva en relativo buen estado y es visitable, con unas vistas espectaculares desde su parte superior, tanto del acantilado y la costa, como de las propias ruinas de la catedral, de las ruinas del cercano castillo, o de la actual localidad de Saint Andrews.
Currently going through my LMS collection and lining them up appropriately. The Fowler tender from my Royal Scot is first. I am loving how this is looking so far. Hope to get it done in time for my next 2 Midland builds.
Seen at Zuma Beach, a county beach on Pacific Coast Highway - Malibu [Los Angeles County, California]. Zuma has good waves but also can have riptides and strong currents.
Whilst the current operator of this Volvo/Plaxton combination is clear enough, the livery led me to suspect it may have been new to my nearest operator McCarthy of Macclesfield (CH, which fellow enthusiasts confirmed.
Here she is when with McCarthy'
www.flickr.com/photos/nicksbuscoach/8689950389/in/photoli...
Location; Jodrell bank Visitor Centre.
19 - 043
09/2012 - new as YN62 ACU to McCarthy; Macclesfield (CH). ??/???? - passed to Maude; Barnard Castle (DM)
06/2018 - Re-registered 8990 SM
Here's a panorama of the Pink Marri Eucalyptus (Corymbia calophylla) that's currently flowering profusely in the gardens of the Belvidere Manor Hotel. You can easily see this tree from the other side of the Knysna estuary while driving along Lagoon Drive. It sticks out like a sore thumb!
I spent some time sitting on this bench yesterday, absorbing the natural energy of this remarkable tree, while thinking about Life, the Universe and Everything else (in between). How long has this tree been growing here and how many people have sat on this bench before me? Did they also feel a sudden jolt of positive energy as soon as they sat down? Why is it that spending time with trees often feels more rewarding to me than spending my time with (most) other people? Will this photo also be included in my next coffee-table photo-book about the most "Remarkable Trees in Urban Knysna"?
At this stage, I only know the answer to one of those questions.
One of the 15 brand new Enviro 400 MMCs for Cambridge park and ride, with USB charging points, free onboard WiFi, high back e-leather seats, the new Cummins start/stop technology and euro6 engines. Currently on loan to Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire. Here we see 10805 at Ellesmere Port bus station, sporting the Milton version of the Park and Ride livery, while operating an X8 express service between Liverpool and Chester.
Specifications
Chassis: Alexander Dennis E40D.
Bodywork: Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 MMC.
Engine: Cummins ISLe (Euro6)
Transmission: Voith DIWA6.
Anticipation
Currently untraced
Watercolor and gum arabic
10.24 X 7.28 in., 26 X 18.5 cm
Signed
Provenance:
Edward and Evelyn Grindlay, Westcott, Dorking, England and then by descent (S) East Anglican Fine Art & Antiques 27 April 2021, Lot 1200 (P) £7,000, $9,700
This is another version of the watercolor in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and an earlier, more austere version of The Expectant, a watercolor from 1848, formerly at Blair House, Manchester, England and now in a private collection. This watercolor appears to be badly faded.
A mesmerizing dance of light and texture, where abstract shapes flow like ripples in a liquid mirror. The interplay of tones creates a visual symphony of movement and depth. This was created using one of my digital photos and Filter Forge, and Lightroom. Rotate it around and find the flow that works for you, Wayne.
Moved my Collectors to here. The Novi's were originally on this closet but I don't have them on display at all anymore.
The western section of current day service 48 was Alder Valley service 339 to Lane End. There was also a 338 variant which continued to Ibstone. Bristol VR 907 (UBL 247G) is pictured in the Sands district of High Wycombe, bound for Ibstone in somewhat inclement weather.
By the summer of 1982 just three of these series 1 Bristol VRs remained at High Wycombe for schools duties, alongside the batch of 14 series 3 models from a diverted East Kent order, and by 1985 only 902 and 907 were left. The series 1 models rarely ventured out on to scheduled services, this was the only time I pictured one doing so in three and a half years of living there.
Moonlight in Valley of Fire
Finally, I am free to chase the stars. We're currently testing out our 'rig' and have been taking some practicing runs close to our home base in Las Vegas, NV. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can read more about our story here: Chasing Stars: We are ALL in.
This was my first visit to VoF. I missed the silence of the desert and openness of the night sky it provides. VoF is the oldest state park in Nevada and was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1968. It covers an area of almost 42,000 acres. It derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs. It surely does not disappoint.
This image was created by stacking multiple exposures to increase the depth of field. The half moon was setting to the left of the frame to provide just enough light to bring out the color in the foreground. You can faintly see the Milky Way behind the large rock formation and Polaris in the upper right.
Our 2014 Night Sky Workshops are filling up fast if interested.
Thank you all for your support!
Currently open challenges in Our Daily Challenge include "DOMESTIC BLISS" and "A BUILDING INTERIOR". This corner of my kitchen is comfortable, functional, and beautiful in my eyes. So, I think it is appropriate to both challenges.
It is the cable transport service (monocable), currently distributed in 8 lines: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, White, Blue, Orange and Purple. It connects the cities of the city of La Paz and El Alto. It is estimated that it can mobilize up to 17,000 passengers per hour with departures every 12 seconds, for 17 hours a day. Tickets cost Bs 2 for the general public, with a rate of Bs 1.5 for students and senior citizens. Since its inauguration on May 30, My Cable Car has transported more than 10 million passengers.
It is currently considered the longest, most modern and highest cable car in the world. Two new cable car lines are also under construction (2019). A total of 10 lines are expected.
Currently, my most interesting/viewed/favorited photo. Actually, it's also the one portrait I personally like most of all the thousands I've taken.
These sweet things are currently on their honeymoon so I thought I better get to it and finish all their pics! We had a fabulous afternoon together and I degree it a most excellent way of pinning down two extremely busy people a couple of days before their wedding! The outtakes are so good, shots of Stew chasing Minks, Minks eating props and Stew with his hands on Jas' butt, all comedy gold. Love you lovebirds, hope you are getting cozy together on your holiday! Mwah!
Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service & Nottinghamshire Police - Ford Tranist - Joint Welfare Unit - Currently based at Stapleford Fire Station
There are pretty much the only things I have built up right now. I'm reluctant to break up the M200 until I know exactly what I want to build next. I really want to attempt another sniper rifle, preferably a Remington 700, but light bley isn't the ideal colour.
Also, the M4 has undergone yet more changes! The most noticeable are the long ejection port and a new stock. I want to reduce the height of the hand guard area slightly but I can't bring myself to take it apart again just yet.
On the right-hand side you can see a green plate with some tan pieces on it; this is a MOC that I started late last year of a local building. Having never built a building based on a real-life building, progress is slow but I am determined to complete it some time this year, no matter the cost!
Well that's about it! Just lately I've been busy with college work and whatnot so I haven't really been in the building mood, but I'm sure I'll be back soon!
River Wear, river that rises near Wearhead in the county of Durham, England, and enters the North Sea at Sunderland. With headwaters in the Pennines, it flows through Weardale and once entered the sea in the vicinity of Hartlepool, but it was subsequently diverted northward. Durham city is built along the Wear, and its castle and cathedral stand 100 feet (30 metres) above the river on an incised meander (loop). From Bishop Auckland the river flows across coalfields, but coal mining had ceased by the end of the 20th century.
Stanhope is a market town and civil parish in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It lies on the River Wear between Eastgate and Frosterley, in the north-east of Weardale. The main A689 road over the Pennines is crossed by the B6278 between Barnard Castle and Shotley Bridge. In 2001 Stanhope had a population of 1,633, in 2019 an estimate of 1,627, and a figure of 1,602 in the 2011 census for the ONS built-up-area which includes Crawleyside. In 2011 the parish population was 4,581.[4]
Stanhope parish is the largest parish area in England, at 85 square miles (221 km2) It has some land in common with the neighbouring Wolsingham civil parish. On 31 December 1894 "Stanhope Urban" parish was formed from part of Stanhope parish, but on 1 April 1937 it was merged back. In 1894 Stanhope became an urban district which contained Stanhope Urban parish, on 1 April 1937 the urban district was abolished and merged with Weardale Rural District. On 1 April 1946, 2,396 acres (969.6 ha) were transferred to the parish from Wolsingham. Stanhope Town Hall was completed in 1849.
Stanhope is surrounded by moorland in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second largest of a current 40 such areas in England and Wales.
Features of interest include:
A petrified tree stump standing in the churchyard was found with two others, one of which features in the Great North Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Durham Dales Centre incorporates a tea room, tourist information and craft shops.
Stanhope Bridge, a scheduled monument, was built in the 15th century and widened in 1792.
The ford has a stepping-stone bridge for pedestrians.
The 18th-century Stanhope Castle in the town centre stands on the possible site of a medieval castle. It was built in 1798 by Cuthbert Rippon, MP for Gateshead.
The town has one of only two heated open-air swimming pools in the North East.
Stanhope was at the centre of the Weardale campaign (1327), when Sir James Douglas of Scotland invaded England and faced Edward III and Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. A series of skirmishes took place on the valley floor and in Stanhope Park.
The parish church dedicated to St Thomas is mostly from the 12th–13th centuries, with restoration in 1663 and 1867. The earliest known Rector was Richardus in 1200. Joseph Butler, later Bishop of Bristol, was Rector in 1725.
Stanhope Castle may be on the site of a motte and bailey castle according to some evidence from the 1790s. Furthermore, Bishop Anthony Bek granted land "to the west side of Stanhope castle". The present castle was built for Cuthbert Rippon (1744-1801) in 1798 with additions in 1823 by his son, also Cuthbert (1797–1867) and Member of Parliament for Gateshead. Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was the architect. In 1941 the castle was adapted by the Home Office as a school for boys and remained so until 1980, when it was converted into apartments. Part of the gardens lie to the north of the castle across the main road, including the park wall and gazebo.
Stanhope Agricultural Show is held on the second weekend of September each year. It has been held annually since 1834, except in world-war years, the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak and times of bad weather.
Stanhope is the current terminus of the Weardale Railway, a heritage line operating mainly at weekends from Bishop Auckland, with stations at Frosterley, Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear. Stanhope Station stood in for the fictional Partlington Station in an episode of the criminal drama series Vera.
Notable residents
Joseph Butler (1692–1752), theologian and cleric
William Greenwell (1820–1918), archaeologist and Anglican cleric, catalogued Late Bronze Age finds at Heathery Burn Cave near Stanhope in 1859–1872.
William Percival Crozier (1879–1944), scholar and journalist, edited the Manchester Guardian in 1932–1944.
Muriel Young (1923–2001), television continuity announcer, presenter and producer, died in Stanhope.
County Durham, officially simply Durham is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington, and the county town is the city of Durham.
The county has an area of 2,721 km2 (1,051 sq mi) and a population of 866,846. The latter is concentrated in the east; the south-east is part of the Teesside built-up area, which extends into North Yorkshire. After Darlington (92,363), the largest settlements are Hartlepool (88,855), Stockton-on-Tees (82,729), and Durham (48,069). For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas—County Durham, Darlington, and Hartlepool—and part of a fourth, Stockton-on-Tees. The county historically included the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne, and excluded the part of County Durham south of the River Tees.
The west of the county contains part of the North Pennines uplands, a national landscape. The hills are the source of the rivers Tees and Wear, which flow east and form the valleys of Teesdale and Weardale respectively. The east of the county is flatter, and contains by rolling hills through which the two rivers meander; the Tees forms the boundary with North Yorkshire in its lower reaches, and the Wear exits the county near Chester-le-Street in the north-east. The county's coast is a site of special scientific interest characterised by tall limestone and dolomite cliffs.
What is now County Durham was on the border of Roman Britain, and contains survivals of this era at sites such as Binchester Roman Fort. In the Anglo-Saxon period the region was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. In 995 the city of Durham was founded by monks seeking a place safe from Viking raids to house the relics of St Cuthbert. Durham Cathedral was rebuilt after the Norman Conquest, and together with Durham Castle is now a World Heritage Site. By the late Middle Ages the county was governed semi-independently by the bishops of Durham and was also a buffer zone between England and Scotland. County Durham became heavily industrialised in the nineteenth century, when many collieries opened on the Durham coalfield. The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, opened in 1825. Most collieries closed during the last quarter of the twentieth century, but the county's coal mining heritage is remembered in the annual Durham Miners' Gala.
Remains of Prehistoric Durham include a number of Neolithic earthworks.
The Crawley Edge Cairns and Heathery Burn Cave are Bronze Age sites. Maiden Castle, Durham is an Iron Age site.
Brigantia, the land of the Brigantes, is said to have included what is now County Durham.
There are archaeological remains of Roman Durham. Dere Street and Cade's Road run through what is now County Durham. There were Roman forts at Concangis (Chester-le-Street), Lavatrae (Bowes), Longovicium (Lanchester), Piercebridge (Morbium), Vindomora (Ebchester) and Vinovium (Binchester). (The Roman fort at Arbeia (South Shields) is within the former boundaries of County Durham.) A Romanised farmstead has been excavated at Old Durham.
Remains of the Anglo-Saxon period include a number of sculpted stones and sundials, the Legs Cross, the Rey Cross and St Cuthbert's coffin.
Around AD 547, an Angle named Ida founded the kingdom of Bernicia after spotting the defensive potential of a large rock at Bamburgh, upon which many a fortification was thenceforth built. Ida was able to forge, hold and consolidate the kingdom; although the native British tried to take back their land, the Angles triumphed and the kingdom endured.
In AD 604, Ida's grandson Æthelfrith forcibly merged Bernicia (ruled from Bamburgh) and Deira (ruled from York, which was known as Eforwic at the time) to create the Kingdom of Northumbria. In time, the realm was expanded, primarily through warfare and conquest; at its height, the kingdom stretched from the River Humber (from which the kingdom drew its name) to the Forth. Eventually, factional fighting and the rejuvenated strength of neighbouring kingdoms, most notably Mercia, led to Northumbria's decline. The arrival of the Vikings hastened this decline, and the Scandinavian raiders eventually claimed the Deiran part of the kingdom in AD 867 (which became JórvÃk). The land that would become County Durham now sat on the border with the Great Heathen Army, a border which today still (albeit with some adjustments over the years) forms the boundaries between Yorkshire and County Durham.
Despite their success south of the river Tees, the Vikings never fully conquered the Bernician part of Northumbria, despite the many raids they had carried out on the kingdom. However, Viking control over the Danelaw, the central belt of Anglo-Saxon territory, resulted in Northumbria becoming isolated from the rest of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Scots invasions in the north pushed the kingdom's northern boundary back to the River Tweed, and the kingdom found itself reduced to a dependent earldom, its boundaries very close to those of modern-day Northumberland and County Durham. The kingdom was annexed into England in AD 954.
In AD 995, St Cuthbert's community, who had been transporting Cuthbert's remains around, partly in an attempt to avoid them falling into the hands of Viking raiders, settled at Dunholm (Durham) on a site that was defensively favourable due to the horseshoe-like path of the River Wear. St Cuthbert's remains were placed in a shrine in the White Church, which was originally a wooden structure but was eventually fortified into a stone building.
Once the City of Durham had been founded, the Bishops of Durham gradually acquired the lands that would become County Durham. Bishop Aldhun began this process by procuring land in the Tees and Wear valleys, including Norton, Stockton, Escomb and Aucklandshire in 1018. In 1031, King Canute gave Staindrop to the Bishops. This territory continued to expand, and was eventually given the status of a liberty. Under the control of the Bishops of Durham, the land had various names: the "Liberty of Durham", "Liberty of St Cuthbert's Land" "the lands of St Cuthbert between Tyne and Tees" or "the Liberty of Haliwerfolc" (holy Wear folk).
The bishops' special jurisdiction rested on claims that King Ecgfrith of Northumbria had granted a substantial territory to St Cuthbert on his election to the see of Lindisfarne in 684. In about 883 a cathedral housing the saint's remains was established at Chester-le-Street and Guthfrith, King of York granted the community of St Cuthbert the area between the Tyne and the Wear, before the community reached its final destination in 995, in Durham.
Following the Norman invasion, the administrative machinery of government extended only slowly into northern England. Northumberland's first recorded Sheriff was Gilebert from 1076 until 1080 and a 12th-century record records Durham regarded as within the shire. However the bishops disputed the authority of the sheriff of Northumberland and his officials, despite the second sheriff for example being the reputed slayer of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots. The crown regarded Durham as falling within Northumberland until the late thirteenth century.
Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror appointed Copsig as Earl of Northumbria, thereby bringing what would become County Durham under Copsig's control. Copsig was, just a few weeks later, killed in Newburn. Having already being previously offended by the appointment of a non-Northumbrian as Bishop of Durham in 1042, the people of the region became increasingly rebellious. In response, in January 1069, William despatched a large Norman army, under the command of Robert de Comines, to Durham City. The army, believed to consist of 700 cavalry (about one-third of the number of Norman knights who had participated in the Battle of Hastings), entered the city, whereupon they were attacked, and defeated, by a Northumbrian assault force. The Northumbrians wiped out the entire Norman army, including Comines, all except for one survivor, who was allowed to take the news of this defeat back.
Following the Norman slaughter at the hands of the Northumbrians, resistance to Norman rule spread throughout Northern England, including a similar uprising in York. William The Conqueror subsequently (and successfully) attempted to halt the northern rebellions by unleashing the notorious Harrying of the North (1069–1070). Because William's main focus during the harrying was on Yorkshire, County Durham was largely spared the Harrying.
Anglo-Norman Durham refers to the Anglo-Norman period, during which Durham Cathedral was built.
Matters regarding the bishopric of Durham came to a head in 1293 when the bishop and his steward failed to attend proceedings of quo warranto held by the justices of Northumberland. The bishop's case went before parliament, where he stated that Durham lay outside the bounds of any English shire and that "from time immemorial it had been widely known that the sheriff of Northumberland was not sheriff of Durham nor entered within that liberty as sheriff. . . nor made there proclamations or attachments". The arguments appear to have prevailed, as by the fourteenth century Durham was accepted as a liberty which received royal mandates direct. In effect it was a private shire, with the bishop appointing his own sheriff. The area eventually became known as the "County Palatine of Durham".
Sadberge was a liberty, sometimes referred to as a county, within Northumberland. In 1189 it was purchased for the see but continued with a separate sheriff, coroner and court of pleas. In the 14th century Sadberge was included in Stockton ward and was itself divided into two wards. The division into the four wards of Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Easington and Stockton existed in the 13th century, each ward having its own coroner and a three-weekly court corresponding to the hundred court. The diocese was divided into the archdeaconries of Durham and Northumberland. The former is mentioned in 1072, and in 1291 included the deaneries of Chester-le-Street, Auckland, Lanchester and Darlington.
The term palatinus is applied to the bishop in 1293, and from the 13th century onwards the bishops frequently claimed the same rights in their lands as the king enjoyed in his kingdom.
The historic boundaries of County Durham included a main body covering the catchment of the Pennines in the west, the River Tees in the south, the North Sea in the east and the Rivers Tyne and Derwent in the north. The county palatinate also had a number of liberties: the Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire and Norhamshire exclaves within Northumberland, and the Craikshire exclave within the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1831 the county covered an area of 679,530 acres (2,750.0 km2) and had a population of 253,910. These exclaves were included as part of the county for parliamentary electoral purposes until 1832, and for judicial and local-government purposes until the coming into force of the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, which merged most remaining exclaves with their surrounding county. The boundaries of the county proper remained in use for administrative and ceremonial purposes until the Local Government Act 1972.
Boldon Book (1183 or 1184) is a polyptichum for the Bishopric of Durham.
Until the 15th century, the most important administrative officer in the Palatinate was the steward. Other officers included the sheriff, the coroners, the Chamberlain and the chancellor. The palatine exchequer originated in the 12th century. The palatine assembly represented the whole county, and dealt chiefly with fiscal questions. The bishop's council, consisting of the clergy, the sheriff and the barons, regulated judicial affairs, and later produced the Chancery and the courts of Admiralty and Marshalsea.
The prior of Durham ranked first among the bishop's barons. He had his own court, and almost exclusive jurisdiction over his men. A UNESCO site describes the role of the Prince-Bishops in Durham, the "buffer state between England and Scotland":
From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England’s northern frontier.
A report states that the Bishops also had the authority to appoint judges and barons and to offer pardons.
There were ten palatinate barons in the 12th century, most importantly the Hyltons of Hylton Castle, the Bulmers of Brancepeth, the Conyers of Sockburne, the Hansards of Evenwood, and the Lumleys of Lumley Castle. The Nevilles owned large estates in the county. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby rebuilt Raby Castle, their principal seat, in 1377.
Edward I's quo warranto proceedings of 1293 showed twelve lords enjoying more or less extensive franchises under the bishop. The repeated efforts of the Crown to check the powers of the palatinate bishops culminated in 1536 in the Act of Resumption, which deprived the bishop of the power to pardon offences against the law or to appoint judicial officers. Moreover, indictments and legal processes were in future to run in the name of the king, and offences to be described as against the peace of the king, rather than that of the bishop. In 1596 restrictions were imposed on the powers of the chancery, and in 1646 the palatinate was formally abolished. It was revived, however, after the Restoration, and continued with much the same power until 5 July 1836, when the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 provided that the palatine jurisdiction should in future be vested in the Crown.
During the 15th-century Wars of the Roses, Henry VI passed through Durham. On the outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642 Durham inclined to support the cause of Parliament, and in 1640 the high sheriff of the palatinate guaranteed to supply the Scottish army with provisions during their stay in the county. In 1642 the Earl of Newcastle formed the western counties into an association for the King's service, but in 1644 the palatinate was again overrun by a Scottish army, and after the Battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644) fell entirely into the hands of Parliament.
In 1614, a Bill was introduced in Parliament for securing representation to the county and city of Durham and the borough of Barnard Castle. The bishop strongly opposed the proposal as an infringement of his palatinate rights, and the county was first summoned to return members to Parliament in 1654. After the Restoration of 1660 the county and city returned two members each. In the wake of the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned two members for two divisions, and the boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland acquired representation. The bishops lost their secular powers in 1836. The boroughs of Darlington, Stockton and Hartlepool returned one member each from 1868 until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 reformed the municipal boroughs of Durham, Stockton on Tees and Sunderland. In 1875, Jarrow was incorporated as a municipal borough, as was West Hartlepool in 1887. At a county level, the Local Government Act 1888 reorganised local government throughout England and Wales. Most of the county came under control of the newly formed Durham County Council in an area known as an administrative county. Not included were the county boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland. However, for purposes other than local government, the administrative county of Durham and the county boroughs continued to form a single county to which the Crown appointed a Lord Lieutenant of Durham.
Over its existence, the administrative county lost territory, both to the existing county boroughs, and because two municipal boroughs became county boroughs: West Hartlepool in 1902 and Darlington in 1915. The county boundary with the North Riding of Yorkshire was adjusted in 1967: that part of the town of Barnard Castle historically in Yorkshire was added to County Durham, while the administrative county ceded the portion of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in Durham to the North Riding. In 1968, following the recommendation of the Local Government Commission, Billingham was transferred to the County Borough of Teesside, in the North Riding. In 1971, the population of the county—including all associated county boroughs (an area of 2,570 km2 (990 sq mi))—was 1,409,633, with a population outside the county boroughs of 814,396.
In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 abolished the administrative county and the county boroughs, reconstituting County Durham as a non-metropolitan county. The reconstituted County Durham lost territory to the north-east (around Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland) to Tyne and Wear and to the south-east (around Hartlepool) to Cleveland. At the same time it gained the former area of Startforth Rural District from the North Riding of Yorkshire. The area of the Lord Lieutenancy of Durham was also adjusted by the Act to coincide with the non-metropolitan county (which occupied 3,019 km2 (1,166 sq mi) in 1981).
In 1996, as part of 1990s UK local government reform by Lieutenancies Act 1997, Cleveland was abolished. Its districts were reconstituted as unitary authorities. Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees (north Tees) were returned to the county for the purposes of Lord Lieutenancy. Darlington also became a third unitary authority of the county. The Royal Mail abandoned the use of postal counties altogether, permitted but not mandatory being at a writer wishes.
As part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England initiated by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the seven district councils within the County Council area were abolished. The County Council assumed their functions and became the fourth unitary authority. Changes came into effect on 1 April 2009.
On 15 April 2014, North East Combined Authority was established under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 with powers over economic development and regeneration. In November 2018, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Borough Council, and Northumberland County Council left the authority. These later formed the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
In May 2021, four parish councils of the villages of Elwick, Hart, Dalton Piercy and Greatham all issued individual votes of no confidence in Hartlepool Borough Council, and expressed their desire to join the County Durham district.
In October 2021, County Durham was shortlisted for the UK City of Culture 2025. In May 2022, it lost to Bradford.
Eighteenth century Durham saw the appearance of dissent in the county and the Durham Ox. The county did not assist the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. The Statue of Neptune in the City of Durham was erected in 1729.
A number of disasters happened in Nineteenth century Durham. The Felling mine disasters happened in 1812, 1813, 1821 and 1847. The Philadelphia train accident happened in 1815. In 1854, there was a great fire in Gateshead. One of the West Stanley Pit disasters happened in 1882. The Victoria Hall disaster happened in 1883.
One of the West Stanley Pit disasters happened in 1909. The Darlington rail crash happened in 1928. The Battle of Stockton happened in 1933. The Browney rail crash happened in 1946.
The First Treaty of Durham was made at Durham in 1136. The Second Treaty of Durham was made at Durham in 1139.
The county regiment was the Durham Light Infantry, which replaced, in particular, the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and the Militia and Volunteers of County Durham.
RAF Greatham, RAF Middleton St George and RAF Usworth were located in County Durham.
David I, the King of Scotland, invaded the county in 1136, and ravaged much of the county 1138. In 17 October 1346, the Battle of Neville's Cross was fought at Neville's Cross, near the city of Durham. On 16 December 1914, during the First World War, there was a raid on Hartlepool by the Imperial German Navy.
Chroniclers connected with Durham include the Bede, Symeon of Durham, Geoffrey of Coldingham and Robert de Graystanes.
County Durham has long been associated with coal mining, from medieval times up to the late 20th century. The Durham Coalfield covered a large area of the county, from Bishop Auckland, to Consett, to the River Tyne and below the North Sea, thereby providing a significant expanse of territory from which this rich mineral resource could be extracted.
King Stephen possessed a mine in Durham, which he granted to Bishop Pudsey, and in the same century colliers are mentioned at Coundon, Bishopwearmouth and Sedgefield. Cockfield Fell was one of the earliest Landsale collieries in Durham. Edward III issued an order allowing coal dug at Newcastle to be taken across the Tyne, and Richard II granted to the inhabitants of Durham licence to export the produce of the mines, without paying dues to the corporation of Newcastle. The majority was transported from the Port of Sunderland complex, which was constructed in the 1850s.
Among other early industries, lead-mining was carried on in the western part of the county, and mustard was extensively cultivated. Gateshead had a considerable tanning trade and shipbuilding was undertaken at Jarrow, and at Sunderland, which became the largest shipbuilding town in the world – constructing a third of Britain's tonnage.[citation needed]
The county's modern-era economic history was facilitated significantly by the growth of the mining industry during the nineteenth century. At the industry's height, in the early 20th century, over 170,000 coal miners were employed, and they mined 58,700,000 tons of coal in 1913 alone. As a result, a large number of colliery villages were built throughout the county as the industrial revolution gathered pace.
The railway industry was also a major employer during the industrial revolution, with railways being built throughout the county, such as The Tanfield Railway, The Clarence Railway and The Stockton and Darlington Railway. The growth of this industry occurred alongside the coal industry, as the railways provided a fast, efficient means to move coal from the mines to the ports and provided the fuel for the locomotives. The great railway pioneers Timothy Hackworth, Edward Pease, George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson were all actively involved with developing the railways in tandem with County Durham's coal mining industry. Shildon and Darlington became thriving 'railway towns' and experienced significant growths in population and prosperity; before the railways, just over 100 people lived in Shildon but, by the 1890s, the town was home to around 8,000 people, with Shildon Shops employing almost 3000 people at its height.
However, by the 1930s, the coal mining industry began to diminish and, by the mid-twentieth century, the pits were closing at an increasing rate. In 1951, the Durham County Development Plan highlighted a number of colliery villages, such as Blackhouse, as 'Category D' settlements, in which future development would be prohibited, property would be acquired and demolished, and the population moved to new housing, such as that being built in Newton Aycliffe. Likewise, the railway industry also began to decline, and was significantly brought to a fraction of its former self by the Beeching cuts in the 1960s. Darlington Works closed in 1966 and Shildon Shops followed suit in 1984. The county's last deep mines, at Easington, Vane Tempest, Wearmouth and Westoe, closed in 1993.
Postal Rates from 1801 were charged depending on the distance from London. Durham was allocated the code 263 the approximate mileage from London. From about 1811, a datestamp appeared on letters showing the date the letter was posted. In 1844 a new system was introduced and Durham was allocated the code 267. This system was replaced in 1840 when the first postage stamps were introduced.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1911): "To the Anglo-Saxon period are to be referred portions of the churches of Monk Wearmouth (Sunderland), Jarrow, Escomb near Bishop Auckland, and numerous sculptured crosses, two of which are in situ at Aycliffe. . . . The Decorated and Perpendicular periods are very scantily represented, on account, as is supposed, of the incessant wars between England and Scotland in the 14th and 15th centuries. The principal monastic remains, besides those surrounding Durham cathedral, are those of its subordinate house or "cell," Finchale Priory, beautifully situated by the Wear. The most interesting castles are those of Durham, Raby, Brancepeth and Barnard. There are ruins of castelets or peel-towers at Dalden, Ludworth and Langley Dale. The hospitals of Sherburn, Greatham and Kepyer, founded by early bishops of Durham, retain but few ancient features."
The best remains of the Norman period include Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, and several parish churches, such as St Laurence Church in Pittington. The Early English period has left the eastern portion of the cathedral, the churches of Darlington, Hartlepool, and St Andrew, Auckland, Sedgefield, and portions of a few other churches.
'Durham Castle and Cathedral' is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Elsewhere in the County there is Auckland Castle.
My current favorite "happy dress". I finally found one of the cute styles at Celia's World that wasn't sized for a 92lb girl!
No group invites/awards wanted.
A non-365 selfportrait taken yesterday. I like taking reading-related SP's and tried a different angle yesterday.
I'm reading "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides now.
Well, just wanted to upload that one. I'm off to Zeeland now! Until tomorrow or tuesdayevening!
Edit to add: NO MORE GROUP INVITES OR GROUP IMAGES IN MY COMMENTS