THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL THE MAYOR OF DURHAM

Welcome to the Internet Site for the Mayor of the City of Durham, England

In the Municipal Year 2006/2007 - we will have the 404th Mayor of the City of Durham

HOMEPAGE
BIOGRAPHY FOR THE MAYOR
THE ROLE OF THE MAYOR
MAYOR'S APPEAL
WEEKLY DIARY
LIST OF FORMER MAYORS
CIVIC INSIGNIA
TOWN HALL (in brief)
CIVIC OCCASIONS (ADVANCE NOTIFICATION)
THE MAYOR'S BODYGUARD
PROTOCOL
STAFF
OTHER CIVIC OFFICES HELD WITHIN THE CITY OF DURHAM

TOWN HALL (in brief)

Viewing is recommended

Durham Market Place, the focal point of the City has medieval origins but the present market place is largely of Victorian origin.

The most imposing features of the market place are the Town Hall and Guildhall.

The Town Hall stands on the west side of the Market Place (made a partially pedestrian area in 1978), next to St. Nicholas's Church (the Parish Church for the City) and incorporates the Guildhall. Below and beside the Town Hall is the covered market of Durham Markets Company, formerly the site of a manor house belonging to the Earls of Westmoreland.

The Town Hall has its own basement areas now used as a boiler room for storage. A plaque above the door near the side entrance is inscribed "Prison Cells Constructed AD 1848 Mark Story Mayor", which records the areas original use.

The cells were part of the Police Station as the City Centre had its own police force. This was taken over by Durham County on 1st April 1921.

From the standpoint of antiquity, the most interesting part of the civic building is the old Town Hall or Guildhall, last renovate in 1982-3 when additional security devices were installed. It dates back to 1356 in the reign of Edward III and was rebuilt and given to the City by Bishop Tunstal in 1535. After the disastrous Scottish invasion of 164, the Guildhall was rebuilt in 1665 by Bishop Cosin. The significant interest of the Guildhall is its connection with the City and Guilds or incorporated companies. The arms of many of them hang on the walls.

By 1849 the old Town Hall had become too small for the increasing business of the City and the Mayor William Henderson, suggested the building of a new Town Hall. The suggestions was readily supported by the citizens and the new Hall was built in 1850 and opened in 1851.

The Main Hall's roof is open and similar in style to most of the open roofs of the Middle Ages. The design is of the perpendicular type - the roof of Westminster Hall is one of the finest, original examples of this style. That of Durham is similar, though Victorian, and is considered very fine.

Facing you as you enter the Main Hall is the great west window illustrating the history of the City with the Bishops of Durham shown in the upper and lower sidelights.

The Mayor's Chamber and the Guildhall are entered from a small corridor branching from the main "Crush Hall" corridor. The door to this small corridor is dated 1889 on the lock. The Mayor's Chamber appears to have been built originally as a stone walled room in the early 1500s and was first panelled in 1752 when its height was increased by three feet. The Chamber has a magnificent oak fire place in pure Jacobean style.

The fireplace was originally in the building called Bishop Hadfield's Hall, North Bailey until purchased by the then Mayor, George Gibson, and presented it to the City fully restored.

Since the Second World War some reconstruction of the Town Hall has been necessary. The Small Hall or Supper Room was built in 1955-6, the top floor was reconstructed for offices for the City Engineer in the 1920's, extended in 1955, with further work done in 1973.

On display in the "Crush Hall" is a renovated display illustrating the life of County Joseph Boruwlaski, who was about three feet three inches tall. Joseph was born in Poland to a wealthy normal sized family. He had four brothers, two of whom were around the same size as himself and two who were over six feet tall, he also had a sister to was only two feet four inches when she died at the age of twenty.

After his father died, he was adopted and because of his love for music and performing he was sent to Parish to learn to play the violin. He travelled around the Courts of Europe entertaining royalty until he eventually came to England.

In 1781 he married but his wife became tired of his travelling and visiting the great houses of England and Ireland, and she left him in 1791. He moved to Durham in the same year and decided to settle here.

He lived with his friends, the Ebdon family in South Street but when Mr Ebdon died some influential members of the City decided to give him his freedom and built him a house on the riverbanks near Prebends Bridge, now sadly demolished.

Joseph died in Durham on 5th September, 1837 in his late nineties and is buried in Durham Cathedral with a simple headstone inscribed "JB".