Reference code: GB-0033-DCF
Title: Durham City Freemen's Records
Dates of creation: 1754-2024
Extent: 10 boxes (2 metres)
Held by: Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections
Origination: Deposited with Durham University Library and the Department of Palaeography and Diplomatic (since 1990 part of the Special Collections department of Durham University Library) in a series of accessions since the
1950s by successive Clerks and Receivers to the Freemen's Trustees, and by other wardens and freemen. Records relating to the John Kirby Charity, formerly a Mercers' Company charity, are filed in this collection as, under a Scheme for the regulation
of the charity, (sealed 23 October 1953), the Freemen's Trustees were appointed trustees of the Kirby Charity, and which charity was also administered by their clerk.
Language:
English
The Freemen of Durham City have always been closely linked with the freemen of the city's guilds or trade companies, the records of which guilds are also held in our Special Collections. Freemen of the guilds have always been freemen of Durham
City, and indeed it is usually essential for a man (and now woman) to be admitted as a freeman of a guild before the freedom of the city can be conferred, although honorary freemen of the city have been created from time to time without going
through this process; the latter do not enjoy the same privileges as ordinary freemen. Qualification for admission as a freeman of a trade company was generally achieved either by patrimony or by servitude, i.e. by being the son, formerly in most of
the guilds the eldest son, of a freeman, or by serving an apprenticeship, originally of seven years, then (after the passing of the Durham Corporation Act 1932, but in practice from the early 1940s) five years, to a freeman master working at the
trade of his guild within the city. In recent years these criteria have been somewhat relaxed to admit a wider selection of persons by patrimony and apprenticeship. Durham City Freemen are currently admitted under the provisions of the City of
Durham Act 1985 and through the medium of recent equality legislation which makes provision for the admission of women. Candidates over the age of eighteen can apply having completed a Durham full-time apprenticeship of not less than three years, or
by patrimony being the son or daughter of a Freeman. Prior to the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act, s.202 of which prohibits admissions by gift or purchase, companies sometimes also used to admit, by gift or redemption, non-trading gentlemen freemen
and traders whose apprenticeships had been served elsewhere, though the latter is a rare occurrence. This means of admission by the particular decision of the wardens was re-activated by the 1985 Act: these now are gentlemen and lady freemen whose
rights thenceforward through patrimony are the same as with those regularly entitled. Freemen swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown and to the bishop of Durham upon their admission.
Freemen have formerly had the following rights: to put up a stall in the open market place on market day without payment; (those residing in the city and suburbs), to receive a share of the income from property belonging to the Freemen, i.e.
Union Hall Farm on Brasside Common; to the herbage on The Sands (the freehold of which belongs to the County Council), and from which common right accrues rents of fairs and encroachments which are also distributed among the resident freemen; to
hold meetings in the guildhall (the freehold of which is also the County Council's).
From 1602 onwards, under a charter granted to the city by Bishop Matthew of Durham, the Freemen of the city were the only electors and the only candidates for election to the city council, an exclusive right which they retained until the passing
of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. Except for a brief time during the Commonwealth period, when a member (a mercer) was returned in 1654 and 1656, the city did not secure parliamentary representation until 1678, from which date until 1832
the Freemen formed the exclusive franchise for the city's two seats, so greatly enhancing their status. Records of the Freemen's involvement in elections throughout this period can be traced in this and the Durham City Guild Records collections, and
in the related collections listed below. An increasingly lax city freedom admissions regime weakened the guildsmen's commercial control in the city and provoked a corporation by-law in 1728. This attempted to curb the fraudulent creation of freemen,
a popular political tactic, and reassert the guilds' monopoly on the city's trades by stipulating that applications for admission to the freedom, or freelage, of the trade companies and the city could only be accepted if called and approved at three
different “guilds”. These were quarterly assemblies of the mayor and aldermen of the City of Durham and borough of Framwellgate together with the wardens and stewards of the city guilds, the records of which meetings
are held at the County Record Office (DCRO Du 5): the modern procedure followed at such meetings is described in Morris (1984). This system of admission through guilds still prevails, although a freeman's admittance into a particular guild has long
since ceased to indicate any involvement in such a trade.
The Freemen held rights of common on the moors bordering the north of the city, and upon their inclosure in the early 19th century they were allotted land on Brasside Moor, later called Freemen's Farm or Union Hall Farm. Trustees of the Freemen
were appointed in the Inclosure Act for the management of this land and the distribution of its rental income through the wardens of the city's guilds, accounts of which appear in many of the guilds' subsequent records. The Union Hall Farm was
purchased from the Freemen by the War Office in February 1940, which at the same time acquired the underlying clay from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Freemen also possess and still exercise a right to the herbage on The Sands in Durham City,
the freehold of which is the property of the Corporation of Durham, now Durham County Council. With the exception of Freemen's Farm and its income, all such rights and incomes of the Freemen are and have been managed by the Wardens (selected from
each guild) and their chairman: this body operates independently of the Freemen's Trustees and their Clerk, but the Clerk also acts as Receiver and in which capacity is also responsible for rents derived from Sands leases. Rents from properties
encroaching on The Sands were divided by a 1850 Agreement, two thirds to the Freemen and one third to the Corporation. This formula was latterly also applied to other income generated from activities on The Sands: events, most often fairs and
circuses, occupying The Sands compensate the Freemen for occupying the herbage; wayleaves have also been granted on the same principle. Payments to the Freemen's Trustees for fishing rights at Union Hall Farm are also found in the accounts.
The Freemen's Trustees meet regularly with the Wardens of the guilds, formerly four times a year, to identify those resident freemen entitled to a share in the bi-annual distribution of the Freemen's income, and to make such distributions;
latterly these distributions have occurred annually, and the Trustees have therefore met twice a year. The Wardens of the eight surviving guilds of freemen hold separate monthly meetings under their chairman. From 23 October 1953 and until its
winding up in September 1997 the Freemen's Trustees have also been the Trustees of the John Kirby Charity, a fund originally established in 1681 to support widows and impoverished members of the Mercers' Company. The current activities of the Durham
City Freemen may be followed on their website.
The collection principally contains the records created by the Clerk and Receiver to the Trustees of the Freemen of Durham City: it also includes some freemen admission records dating from before the trustees and their clerk were appointed by the
1801 Act inclosing the moors on the north edge of Durham City. These records concern the administration of the Freemen's property and the regular distribution of profits issuing therefrom to the Freemen, the defence of their rights, and the regular
appointment of new trustees. The Freemen's property included Union Hall Farm on Brasside Moor, and a common right to the herbage on The Sands on the east side of the River Wear in Durham City, but also extending to lands on the west side of the Wear
at Framwellgate Waterside. Prior to the creation of the Trustees in the 1801 Act, occasional records of Durham City freemen acting in a coordinated manner, if not yet strictly as a legally defined body, will not be found in this collection, but
rather in the Durham City Guild Records collection, and of course in the records of the city Corporation (see below).
Durham City Freemen records have been deposited with the Department of Palaeography and Diplomatic (since 1990 part of the Special Collections department of Durham University Library) and Durham University Library by the Clerk to the Freemen's
Trustees in several accessions since 1951 or 1969 (see below), often forming part of larger Durham Diocesan records accessions (the Trustees' Clerk in recent years usually having also been the Diocesan Registrar). Further deposits are expected.
Other Freemen material deposited and donated to the library over the years by trustees, wardens or individual freemen was formerly listed in the Small Gifts and Deposits collection, and is now incorporated here. Finally, one volume was transferred
from the Durham City Guild Records collection: many others of the guilds' volumes contain copies of Freemen's Trustees records, usually as pertains to a particular company and its share in the division of Union Hall Farm rents, or as relate to joint
legal actions and costs thereof. Some volumes were, for a time, listed with the Durham City Records collection prior to its transfer to Durham County Record Office in 1981. More detailed notes of former reference numbers are recorded at item
level.
23 October 1951: three parcels containing “10 minute and account books etc. of the Durham Freemen” deposited by H. C. Ferens, Clerk to the Freemen's Trustees (see DCF 3/8). [This note, which promises a
schedule of the deposited records will follow, probably refers to Durham City Guild records deposited by the Freemen's Clerk, rather than Freemen's records.]
7 November 1969: 2 volumes of minutes and accounts deposited by H. C. Ferens, Clerk to the Freemen's Trustees, through the good offices of Dr C. W. Gibby, a trustee, and J. Iley, Ferens' clerk in the Diocesan Registry. Part of a larger Durham
Diocesan Records deposit, and formerly assigned the reference DDR/EA/RGN/2.
25 March 1975: 2 boxes of correspondence and financial papers, former reference DDR/EA/RGN/2-3; 1 bundle of receipts, former reference DDR/EA/RGA/2; 1 bundle of receipts, former reference DDR/EA/MIS, all deposited within a larger Durham
Diocesan Records accession.
8 January and 2 February 1976: lists of resident Freemen and annual accounts, donated by Dr C. W. Gibby; former reference SGD.45.
5 August 1980: 6 volumes of membership records, deposited by Thomas Heron, Chairman of the Wardens of the Durham City Freemen; temporarily listed among the Durham City Records collection and numbered 56A, 63A, 65A, 66A, 67A-B.
10 November 1980-18 June 1990: lists of resident freemen and annual accounts, records relating to the Association of the Freemen of England, The Sands, and admission qualifications, donated in by Dr C. W. Gibby and (18 June 1990 only) Thomas
Heron; former reference SGD.68 and SGD.70/1-68.
10 October 1983: 5 April 1966 valuation of Freemen's plate, donated by Dr C. W. Gibby; former reference SGD.84.
10 October 1983: records relating to the Association of the Freemen of England, donated by Dr C. W. Gibby; former reference SGD.85.
14 October 1985: records relating to Durham City Council Act 1985, donated by Dr C. W. Gibby; former reference SGD.92.
31 March 1988: 1 box correspondence, 1 box financial papers, minute book, deposited as part of a larger Diocesan Records accession; former reference DDR/EA/RGN/2.
19 June 1990: 1910 account, deposited by Jim (James Henry) Vest via Thomas Heron and Roger Norris; former reference SGD.70/69.
2 December 1991: 1 box of correspondence, minutes and financial papers; 1 booklet, deposited as part of a larger Diocesan Records accession; former reference DDR/EA/RGN/2.
12 November 2010: correspondence relating to the John Kirby Charity, 1904-1997, wound up in 1997, deposited by Philip Wills, Diocesan Registrar; Accession Misc.2010/11:50.
23 May 2014: 1 box of deeds, accounts, and membership records, 1810-1973, deposited by Paul Stringer, Administrative Secretary, Durham Diocesan Board of Finance; Accession Misc.2013/14:68.
20 July 2015: 4 textile bades, formerly worn by the mayor's bodyguard on their robes (DCF 8/1/1-4); Accession Misc.2014/15: 107.
9 January 2017: 2016 DCF Yearbook (DCF 2/9); Accession Misc.2016/17:70.
2 March 2017: 2014-2015, 2017 DCF Newsletters and Yearbook (DCF 2/9); Accession Misc.2016/17:94.
17 June 2019: 1878-2007 register of distributions of annual rent (DCF 4/5); Accession Misc.2018/19:129.
Records in this collection have chiefly been created and collected by the Clerks and Receivers to the Freemen's Trustees, who in recent years have usually also been Durham Diocesan Registrars and have stored and deposited these records with the
Diocesan records. A series of volumes of membership records were formerly in the possession of a Chairman to the Wardens of the Durham Freemen's guilds, and correspondence, copy correspondence and a few other records generated by this officer have
also been found incorporated within deposits by the Clerk to the Trustees, as might be expected. Guild records and, it is likely, some Freemen records too, (those not in the possession of the Diocesan Registrar), were used to be held in company
boxes in the homes of chief wardens, or, latterly, deposited with local banks for safer keeping. Some of the piecemeal gifts of accounts and lists of resident Freemen etc. by individual trustees and freemen will have been circulated to all such
individuals by the Trustees' Clerk.
For readers wishing to consult records created within the preceding fifty years, permission of the Clerk to the Freemen's Trustees will be required. Please contact the library some time in advance of your visit. All other records are open for
consultation.
Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Sub-Librarian, Special Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist
where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material
DCF 1: Minutes and accounts, 1830-1988
DCF 2: Admission and membership records, 1754-2016
DCF 3: Correspondence, 1865-2009
DCF 4: Vouchers and other financial records, 1875-1991
DCF 5: Deeds and plans, 1810-1970
DCF 6: Freemen of England, 1968-1972
DCF 7: Poll book; printed historical guides; and other papers, 1761-1984
DCF 8: Objects, 20th century
Durham City Freemen records formerly filed within Small Gifts and Deposits (SGD) and Durham City Guild Records (DCF) collections have been interpolated within this collection, and former references are indicated in the catalogue.
Further accruals are expected.
An index of Durham City
freemen is available, compiled from membership records in the Durham City Guild Records Collection: in addition an index
of apprentices for each Durham guild has been compiled from these same collections, and is available online via the Durham City Guild Records collection
Catalogue, or in the search
room at Palace Green Library.
Admission registers and indexes, 1754-1815, are found at DCF 2/1-6, some of which indexes refer to admission records, 1742-1919, held at Durham County Record Office, Durham City Records collection, Du 5/1/12-184. The County Record Office holds an
index of freemen (no.716; compiled from DCRO Du 5/1/12-17), 1742-1802. The minutes of Guild meetings, 1728-1949, are also held by the County Record Office (Du 5/1/1-11), to which meetings persons applying to be admitted as freemen were called in
order that their qualifications for admission might be verified: a microfilm of indices to volumes Du 5/1/1-7 (1728-1908) is held in Durham University Library (5TC 160).
Durham City Guild Records Collection (DCG)
All freemen of the Durham City guilds are also Freemen of the city. Before the (much protracted) 1801 enclosure of Framwellgate Moor, discussion of which began c. 1690s, recorded instances in the guild records of the freemen of the different
companies combining toward a particular aim are rare and tend to relate to the defence of their privileges - against the bishop (over tolls in 1758, for example), the city Corporation (over voting irregularities in 1761 or 1802, for example), or
mercantile interlopers (frequently). Other more proactive, but again poorly documented, cases of such coordinated activity include the foundation of Durham College in the 1650s, River Wear navigation in the 1750s and a canal in the Team Valley in
1796, obtaining a new Charter of Incorporation for the city in the 1770s, and a petition against the Shop Tax in 1786. After the passing of an Act to inclose the moors to the north of the city, by which the Freemen were allotted Union Hall Farm on
Brasside Moor and trustees were appointed to manage the estate, extracts of the minutes and accounts of the Freemen's Trustees are quite often found, particularly as they relate to the bi-annual division of the profits of the Freemen's property
which were distributed by the wardens of the companies among those of their freemen resident in the city. In some cases lists of resident freemen and (particular companies') annual accounts of such distributions only survive in the records of
particular guilds, and which are noted as appropriate below. The Guilds collection also contains an election agent's canvas book for the 19 June 1818 election, the provenance of which is not yet fully understood.
Printed Collections
A large number of items, including much election material, is listed in the library catalogue. Poll books for pre-1832 Reform Act Durham City elections and by-elections: 30 March 1761 (DCF 7/1); 11 October 1774, 17 March 1800, 24 July 1802, 5
March 1804 (XL 324 DUR); 7 December 1761 (XL 324 DUR/2); 10 December 1813 (XLL 324 DUR/1); 5 August 1830 (XLL 324 DUR/3 ); 23 March 1831 (XLL 324 DUR/4); 11 December 1832 (XLL 324 DUR/5).
Baker Baker Papers (BAK)
The Baker and (allied by marriage) Conyers families were politically active in the city in the early 18th century, and the papers include many records relating to city elections, including canvas books, election accounts and ephemera.
Roy Gazzard Papers
Menu for Durham Freemen dinner, 14 October 2000.
Durham County Record Office
Durham City Records, Freemen Du 5: 18th-20th centuries, but with extracts of 16th- and 17th-century records.
Strathmore Estate, Correspondence and personal papers, Family (part 2) George Bowes, D/St/C1/3/135: canvas books (2 volumes), with names of freemen, their trade, abode and voting intentions, [1730].
Brancepeth Estate, Family Papers, D/Br/F 95: list of Freemen of Durham resident in Sunderland, and how they promised to vote for Milbank, Tempest and Lambton, 10 October 1774.
Various other collections, including: Durham City Council (Du 1); Brancepeth Estate, Family Papers (D/Br/F); Durham St Oswald Parish (EP/Du.SO); Greenwell Deeds (D/Gr); Londonderry Estates (D/Lo); Miscellaneous Documents (D/X); National Coal
Board (NCB).
Glamis Castle Archives
Bowes, Volume H: poll books and returns etc. for the 27 March 1678, and 20 February 1679 elections.
Durham Cathedral Library
RAI 5/81: poll book for the 10 September 1679 election.
JJH 31/10: transcripts of 13 January 1701 and 14 May 1705 poll books.
Colgrave, B.,
Durham freemen and the gilds, (1946).
Dodds, M. H., “The Bishops' boroughs”,
Archaeologia Aeliana, 3rd series, 12 (1915), 81-185.
Gibby, C. W., “Admission of freemen of the city of Durham”, [1968].
Gibby, C. W.,
Durham freemen and the guilds, (1971).
Hutchinson, W.,
The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham, (1785-1794).
Morris, R. J. B.,
The City of Durham. Its town hall, guildhall and civic traditions, (1984).
Newby, “Forms of oath administered to the freemen of Durham”,
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 3rd series, vol. III (January 1097-December 1908).
Pegge, J. T., “Municipal history and works of a small city [Durham]”,
Journal of the Institution of Municipal Engineers, vol. 1, no. 3 (September 1909), 79-98.
Spearman, J.,
An enquiry into the ancient and present state of the county palatine of Durham, (1729).
Surtees, R.,
The history and antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham, vol. 4 (1840).
Todd, Mary, “Civic government of Durham 1780-1835” (unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Liverpool, 1924). A copy is held in Durham University Library.
Todd, Mary, “The civic government of Durham [1780-1835]”, being a collection of five articles published in the
Durham University Journal, 1931-1932.
Whiting, C. E., “The Durham trade gilds”, parts I and II,
Transactions of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland, 9 part 2 (1941), 143-262, and
9 part 3 (1943), 265-416.
Minutes and accountsReference: DCF 1Dates of creation: 1830-1988
Extent: 1 box
Minutes and accounts of the Trustees of the Durham City Freemen.
Accession details
DCF 1/1: found filed among Durham City Mercers' Guild records probably deposited at Durham University Library by the Town Clerk within a larger accession of Durham City records on 23 November 1955.
DCF 1/2: deposited by H. C. Ferens, the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen (and Diocesan Registrar), through the good offices of Dr C. W. Gibby, trustee, and J. Iley, clerk to H. C. Ferens, [7] November 1969.
DCF 1/3: deposited within a larger Diocesan Records accession, 31 March 1988.
Additional Freemen's minutes are at filed at: Durham City Guild Records collection DCG 1/8 (1806-1808); DCG 3/10 (1808-1811); DCG 6/2 (1806-1808); DCG 9/5 (1806-1808; 1834; 1847); DCG 10/9 (1806-1814); DCG 11/4 (1808-1812); DCG 11/17 (1806-1808);
DCG 12/3 (1834).
DCF 1/1 1830-1878
Minutes, 1 January 1830-31 January 1878: management of the Union Hall Farm estate, and the bi-annual distribution among the Freemen of its rental income from farm, clay, stone, game, and railway wayleaves. The farm was leased successively to
Charles Hodgson, John Smith junior (Messrs Smith), James Adamson, Messrs A. and P. Miller, Martin Brown, John Baines. Freemen numbers are listed by guild until January 1831, an aggregate figure is entered thereafter. Cover title
“Freemen's Trustees Minute Book”. f.128-145 blank.
Also contains:
f.32v-41: Wayleave over Union Hall Farm for Headley Hope Railway, with altered line of the railway and negotiated terms of the lease described, 18 July 1839-1 January 1840.
f.51r, flyleaf, 99v: Appointment of trustees, 25 November 1845; 1 January 1850 (listed); 20 December 1867
f.79r: Rental income and transfer of a lease of a brickyard from Richard Cail to another; sale of plot of land to North Eastern Railway Company, 16 September 1858
Paper; leather 1 volume (145f)
Binding: Quarter calf
Accession details
Item explicitly recorded by C. E. Whiting as being among other Mercers' company records in the custody of the Clerk to the Trustees of the Durham City Freemen in 1943; and was probably deposited at Durham University Library by the Town Clerk
within a larger accession of Durham City records on 23 November 1955.
Former reference: Durham City Guild Records collection, Mercers 11.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 1/2 1 January 1892-1 July 1943
Minutes. Front cover labelled, ‘Durham Freemen's Trustees’.
1 volume (137f)
Binding: Quarter calf
Former references: Durham City Records, vol. 197; DDR/EA/RGN/2.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 1/3 1 July 1943-31 January 1972
Minutes. Front cover impressed, ‘Durham Freemen's Trustees’.
1 volume (137f)
Binding: Quarter calf
Former reference: DDR/EA/RGN/2.
Access to this volume is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 1/4 23 July 1948-17 June 1988
Meetings agenda, some annotated with draft minutes, and with one meeting paper for item 4 of 27 April 1984 meeting, considering ‘proposed new regulations relating to admission of Freemen’; with [draft] minutes of
special meeting of the Trustees and Wardens of the Freemen, 16 March 1984.
More such agenda are found interleaved with correspondence and other papers in the series DCF 3.
Paper 1 file
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
Admission and membership recordsReference: DCF 2Dates of creation: 1754-1989, 2014-2017
Extent: 2 boxes
Membership records.
DCF 2/1 1754-1760; 1764-1765
Admittance certificates of freemen of the guilds and city, 1754-1760 (numbered in ink 1-120) and 1762-1765 (numbered in ink 1-74): to some freeledge certificates are annexed certificates of approval at candidates' third guild meeting. Indices to
each series are located at the front and end papers of the volume. Some certificates are fragmentary. Certificates usually state the name of the freeman, their company, the date of admission, and can also include the names of his father and / or
(former) master.
Certificate 16 (1st foliation) is backed with a printed sheet bearing verses of ‘The Collier's Wedding’ by Edward Chicken.
1 volume
Binding: Quarter calf; marbled paper boards
Former reference numbers: labelled ‘City of Durham, Old Admittances, 1754 to 1765, No.1’; Durham City Records, vol. 63A; MB/Du 293; Durham City Freemen's Records, vol. 3.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/2 1763-1766; 1780-1800; 1813-1815
Admissions of freemen of the guilds and city, 29 October 1763-4 October 1766, 2 October 1780-13 May 1800 and (loose as DCF 2/2/1) 1 December 1813-21 April 1815. Front cover inscribed: ‘Admittances, from the 2d October
1780 to the 13th May 1800’. Part indexed in DCF 2/4 (DCF 2/4 indexed pagination page 1 = DCF 2/2 pencilled page 12). Records state the date, the name of the admitted freeman, his guild, and the identity of either his (former) master or, for
those admitted by patrimony, his father.
The oaths of allegiance, abjuration and of Durham City Freemen (with additional clause for those entering by redemption) are entered at f.175 (rev.).
1 volume; 3f (loose)
Binding: Full leather
Former references: Durham City Records, vol. 65A; MB/Du 294; Durham City Freemen's Records, vol. 4.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/2/1 1 December 1813-21 April 1815
Admissions of freemen of the guilds and city (loose inside front cover of DCF/2/2).
Paper 3f
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/3 [c. 1800]
Name index to a separate volume (now Durham County Record Office Du 5/1/4) recording minutes of guild meetings, 1780-1793, held to hear the "calls" of tradesmen prior to their being admitted freemen of the guilds and city. The index records the
name of the admitted freeman, his guild, and the identity of either his master or, for those admitted by patrimony, his father.
Paper 1 volume (12f)
Former references: Durham City Records, vol. 56A; MB/Du 298; Durham City Freemen's Records, vol. 1.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/4 [c. 1802]
Name index to separate volume (now Durham County Record Office Du 5/1/15) recording admissions of freemen, 12 October 1780-10 May 1797: the index also partly covers DCF 2/2, although the pagination in the index does not match the pencil foliation
in DCF 2/2 (pencilled f.12=pp.1-2 in index). The index records the name of the admitted freeman, his guild, and the identity of either his master or, for those admitted by patrimony, his father.
Paper 1 volume (13f)
Former references: Durham City Records, vol. 66A; MB/Du 297; Durham City Freemen's Records, vol. 2.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/5 1802-1813
Admissions of freemen of the guilds and city, 17 July 1802-31 August 1813. Labelled ‘Admittances of Freemen, from 1802 to 1813, Book C.’ Indexed (with guild details) in DCF 2/6.
Paper 1 volume (74f)
Former references: Book C; Durham City Records, vol. 67A; MB/Du 295; Durham City Freemen's Records, vol. 5.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/6 [1802-1813]
Name index to DCF 2/5, recording admissions of freemen, 17 July 1802-18 September 1813. The index records the name of the admitted freeman, his guild, and the identity of either his master or, for those admitted by patrimony, his father.
Paper 1 volume (12f)
Former references: Durham City Records, vol. 67B; MB/Du 296; Durham City Freemen's Records, vol. 6.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/7 11 February 1848
Freeman's oath of Matthew Palmer, mason, sworn before M[ark] Story, mayor of Durham.
Paper 1f
Accession details
[Possibly donated in 1957 with instruction to deposit with Durham University, see DCF 3/6 letter dated 3 January 1957.]
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/8 1890; 1921-1989 (with gaps)
Bi-annual and (after [1977]) annual lists, some annotated, of freemen resident in the City of Durham suburbs on 1 January/1 July, entitled to the rent of Freemen's Farm due 23 November/13 May (until its sale in 1940, and thereafter entitled to
the income of properties and investments), and payable (divisible) 31 January/31 July until [1978], and 27 April thereafter. Items are numbered DCF 2/8/1890/1, DCF 2/8/1921/2 etc.
For a register of rental distributions to freemen, see
DCF 4/5.
January 1890 [outsize]; [1900s: none yet deposited]; [1910s: none yet deposited]; July 1921; July 1922; January 1924-July 1929; January 1930-July 1939 (complete); January 1940-July 1942; January 1944-January 1945; January 1947-July 1947; July
1948; July 1949; July 1950; July 1951; January 1954-January 1958; January 1959-July 1959; January 1960-July 1962; July 1963-July 1966; July 1967-July 1969; January 1970-January 1976; January 1979; January 1981; January 1982; January 1983; January
1984; January 1985; January 1986; January 1987; January 1988; January 1989.
Paper 1 file
Accession details
DCF 2/8/1890/1, 2/8/1927/1B: found among a parcel of historical notes on the Durham Guilds made by C. M. Carlton (1832-1892), deposited at Durham University Library by W. A. Bramwell in 1937 (Misc.2002/2003:8), see
Add.MS. 1905.
Former references: DCF 2/8/1921/2, 1922/2, 1924/1 and 1933/2 formerly Small Gifts and Deposits collection SGD.45/1/1-4; DCF 2/8/1974/2A, 1976/1 formerly SGD.45/2/1, 3; DCF 2/8/1972/2, 1975/1-2, 1979/1 formerly SGD.68/2/8-10; DCF 2/8/1971/1-2,
1972/1, 1974/2B, 1981/1A-B, 1982/1A-C, 1983/1A-B, 1984/1, 1985/1A-B, 1986/1A-B, 1987/1A-B, 1988/1A-C, 1989/1 formerly SGD.70/1,7-9, 15-16, 18-19, 24, 29-30, 35, 40, 44, 48-49, 55-56, 61, 63-64.
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Additional lists of resident freemen are at filed at: Durham City Guild Records collection DCG 11/5/17, 19-24 (1867, 1874-1877, 1891, 1902); Durham University Records collections UND/CC1/M20 (1 July 1940).
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 2/9 2014-2024
Issues of annual periodicals
City of Durham Freemen Newsletter (2014-2015) and its successor
Durham City Freemen Yearbook (2016-2017, 2024). Volumes are numbered DCF 2/9/2014 etc. Contents can include: diary dates
and calendar of past year's involvements; lists of wardens and trustees, new members, and (from 2016) current membership of each company (in- and ex-district); applications for membership, and membership criteria; news; obituary; reports of the
chairman of trustees, chairman of the wardens, the treasurer, and website manager.
Paper 4 volumes
Accession details
Donated by Eric Bulmer, 9 January 2017 (Misc.2016/17:70) and 2 March 2017 (Misc.2016/17:94).
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
CorrespondenceReference: DCF 3Dates of creation: 1865-2009
Extent: 2 boxes
Correspondence and papers of the Clerk and Receiver to the Trustees.
DCF 3/1 1865-early 20th century
Copy correspondence (1849-1873) and newspaper report of an 1865 Special Meeting of the Freemen relating to the use of and encroachments upon The Sands and The Islands.
Paper 1 file
DCF 3/1/1-2 late 19th century; early 20th century
Copy letter from Henry Stapylton, [barrister], to William Henderson, [mayor of Durham], dated at Durham 23 August 1849: in relation to illegal encroaching development on The Sands and a dispute between the Corporation and the Freemen as to each
of their rights in the land, asserts that the Freemen's rights on The Sands are restricted to herbage, and that the soil and freehold they claim belongs to the Corporation alone, citing precedents of ‘the late case’
Corporation v. Nicholson, and the case submitted by the Freemen in 1832 to Baron Rolfe, Solicitor General. Stapylton advises the Corporation to offer 21-year leases to those who have built on ‘the waste’ [The Sands],
‘determinable in case the Land is wanted for Railway purposes’, and should this be rejected, to take action to eject them. Suggests, in return for the Freemen's amicable acknowledgement of the Corporation's freehold
and consent to the new leases, that the Corporation will not dispute the Freemen's right of common or herbage.
With typescript transcript.
Paper 2f; 2f
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/1/3 14 July 1865
Durham Chronicle: ‘The Corporation and the Freemen of Durham. Special meeting of the Freemen.’ Meeting, chaired by W. Bulmer ‘the steward’ to the Freemen,
called in response to a resolution passed by a Corporation committee authorising the City Clerk to commence proceedings against holders of property on The Sands. Recital of the Freemen's arguments and grievances: the receipt of (informal) out-rents
by the Freemen for such properties (including Providence Row) since at least 1837; 1850 Agreement between the Freemen and the Corporation to divide proceeds from The Sands 2/3 and 1/3 respectively, which agreement had never been carried into
practice (alleging the Corporation and the Local Board failed to pay their rents in 1851, and rejecting the Corporation's counter claims); long neglect by the Corporation to force the out-renters to take leases has afforded them, after 21 years, the
right to claim the freeholds in their properties, subject to an annual payment to the Freemen; occasional payment by the Freemen of 1/3 rents to the Corporation is not accepted by The Sands property holders as an acknowledgement of the Corporation's
freehold; 1/3 proceeds from fairs on The Sands paid to Corporation; recent entry of some Sands property holders in the Northern Division electoral register as freehold voters; Corporation claim to have purchased the freehold of (enfranchised) The
Sands from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, probably excepting mineral rights, for about £1,200; 21-year leases proposed by the Corporation, without security of right of renewal; estimates [?1/3] annual proceeds at no more than £5; Freemen's rights
[in The Sands] had been ‘in existence and acknowledged for hundreds of years’; the support of Councillors Charles Robson and Stafford at the Council Board, representing the Freemen's interests after an implied long
period of the Board's indifference; non-Freemen property holders on The Sands urged to contribute to any legal costs.
Paper 1f
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/1/4-5 late 19th century; early 20th century
Copy resolution of [Durham Corporation Board] accepting the recommendations of the Finance Committee, 5 February 1873: consenting to the construction of a new [sewage] subsiding pond on The Islands by Messrs Henderson, paying a rental of £10 per
annum for the whole site of the sewage treatment works; land on The Islands used as sheds or buildings to be charged rents of 3d / square yard per annum; garden lands of occupiers of houses in Freemans Place to be charged 1d / square yard per annum;
all such rents to be formalised in 1-year renewing leases; tipping of soil and refuse on The Islands to be charged at 3d / load, only with the consent and direction of the Surveyor.
With typescript transcript.
Paper 2f; 1f
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/1/6-7 [November 1877 x 1915]; early 20th century
Notice to the mayor, aldermen and Corporation of Durham from the [Wardens of the] Freemen, citing terms of an 1850 Agreement between the Corporation and the Freemen's Wardens: division of rents from The Sands and Islands; building development and
waste tipping controls; restoration of herbage (£1) subsequent to fairs, and the drainage and improvement of The Sands and Islands for holding of such fairs, to be at the City's expense. Infringements of this agreement are listed - development and
tipping without Wardens' consent, non-compensation to Freemen for damage to herbage, 2/3 cost of improvements charged to Freemen - and demands for compensation, restitution and cessation made. Requests are also made for higher rents from the Urban
Sanitary Authority on The Islands and the Urban Authority stables in Providence Row.
Signed by [?Freemen's Wardens]: Thomas Hopper Chairman, Thomas Robson, Thomas Atkinson, J. R. Weelands Mercers' Company, Thomas Boyd, William Harker [Masons'
Company], Thomas Palmer, Carr Mitchinson [Currier's Company], William Forster Drapers' Company, W. Herbert Barbers' Company, Edward Hopper Joiners' Company, John Etherington Butchers' Company.
With typescript transcript.
Paper 5f; 3f
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/2 8 January 1924-11 November 1937
Correspondence and papers: Trustees annual administration, resident membership and accounts; Freemen's rights at Berwick-upon-Tweed (1924), and Gloucester (1937), with summary of Durham Freemen's rights and administration and dates of founding
charters of the guilds [1937]; genealogical enquiries; applications and qualifications of freemen; Plumbers' guild records; voluntary liquidation of The Framwellgate Coke and Coal Company Ltd (1924), to which the Freemen's Trustees leased a wayleave
for a wagon-way over land at Brasside [at Union Hall Farm]; geographical delimitation of residence qualification; Felling Male Voice Choir, Sands rental (1926); Frankland Coal Company borehole (1930); rent for road [wayleave] through Moor Leazes
Farm to Union Hall Farm (1931); insurance of 11 guild coats of arms (1932), and subsequent annual premium receipts; right to relief from market stallage (1932); letter from William Henry Lowes of 216 Gilesgate, writing in the context of the 1932
Durham Corporation Bill and its reduction of apprenticeship terms to 5 years, notes how few of the active skilled workmen in Durham are freemen, doubts a 5-year term sufficient, argues the proposed 5-year terms should commence later, so that skilled
workmen qualify later, at 21, at which age they might both command full skilled wages and qualify for freeledge (1932); objection to Brasside Office Row Clearance Order, 1935; lease (with plans) to M. Tindle of Chester-le-Street of land at Union
Hall Farm for use as a clay pit and for manufacturing bricks, rejection of sale of option on surrounding lands, and assignment of lease from Tindle to newly formed company Finchale Bricks & Tiles Ltd (1936-1937) (see also DCF 3/5); minute of
Trustees' non-objection to demolition of 1-11 Freemen's Place and 1-2, 4-6 The Sands (1937).
Paper; tracing paper; waxed linen paper 1 file
Former reference: Freemen 2.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/3 1 July 1937-27 August 1940
Correspondence and papers: Trustees annual administration, and annual accounts; advice of clerk to the Trustees on questions raised relating to Ecclesiastical Commissioners' rights to commercial exploitation of clay at Union Hall Farm, and to
Sanitary Officer's notice of the insanitary condition of 1-11 Freeman's Place and 1, 4-6 The Sands with order to demolish (1937); annual premium receipts of insurance [of 11 guild coats of arms]; requirement to shorten Finchale Bricks & Tiles
Ltd lease from 50 to 21 years, and non-compliance of lessor (1938).
Paper 1 file
Former reference: Freemen 3.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/4 4 December 1940-2 January 1959
Correspondence, draft minutes, papers and accounts, particularly relating to income and corporation taxation, with (partial) index: Trustees annual administration; fishing rights at Union Hall Farm (1941); notice of expropriation of land for the
National Fire Service, with plan (scale 8':1") of proposed alterations to [Fire] station 1G1Z, at The Sands (1942) (for [earlier] plan, see also DCF 5/B/9); division of cost of demolition of houses in Freemen's Place (1942); Mercers' Company records
on deposit at Barclays Bank, ownership transferred to four senior Trustees (1942); deferment of claim under Compensation (Defence) Act 1939 relating to National Fire Service unit on The Sands (1942); circus receipts, [The Sands] (1943); construction
of hose drying and drill tower on The Sands at National Fire Service unit (1944); access to Freemen's silver (1944); notes by C. W. Gibby extracted from C. E. Whiting paper on the Durham Guilds, as relate to historical qualifications for admission
by patrimony as adopted and amended by various Durham guilds (1959).
Paper 1 file
Former reference: File numbered 7, amended to 8 in pencil.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/5 12 March 1937-24 August 1946
Correspondence, accounts and papers and plan relating to the lease of clay under Heather Field at Union Hall Farm, an allotment on Brasside Common, (part of Framwellgate Common), 1867-1939. The file in particular concerns the lease to Finchale
Bricks & Tiles Limited, terminating upon the firm's bankruptcy in 1939 with rents in arrears, and also the successful claim in 1937 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to exclusive (commercial) mineral rights from the time of the award of the
allotment upon enclosure in 1801. The War Office purchased Union Hall Farm surface lands from the Freemen on 5 April 1940. Includes: draft licence to assign 11 March 1937 lease of clay by Martin Tindle, lessor, to Finchale Bricks & Tiles Ltd, 23
April 1937; advice of clerk to the Trustees on questions raised relating to Ecclesiastical Commissioners' rights to commercial exploitation of clay at Union Hall Farm, and to Sanitary Officer's notice of the insanitary condition of 1-11 Freeman's
Place and 1, 4-6 The Sands with order to demolish (1937).
Paper 1 file
See also DCF 3/2 for initial correspondence and plans relating to the lease, 1936-1937.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/6 22 January 1946-1 December 1959
Correspondence, accounts and papers: Trustees' administration; taxation; investments; lease of land to J. F. J. [‘Icey’] Smith for Durham Ice Rink car park (1946-1950 and annually thereafter), and sublet to Durham
City Council for a public car park (1955-1956); Finchale Bricks & Tiles Ltd (1946); National Fire Station on The Sands, compensation claim and annual rents (1946-1959); sewerage scheme and The Sands (1948); illegally pastured horses (chiefly of
Ambrose Appleby and Lawrence Grieveson, hawkers) on The Sands straying into Finney Terrace (1948); Fire insurance policy for 11 pictures of the arms of the Companies in the Guildhall (1944), policy holder J. M. Herring substituted for W. Imrie
(1948: DCF 3/6B); removal of concrete Defence / Gun-post on The Sands, it being used [?in connection with illegal pasturing of horses] (1949); re-investment of the John Kirby Charity funds (1950); Royal Observer Corps Group headquarters on The Sands
(1950-1951); Mr [?Bertram] Colgrave's proposal to withdraw those Freemen's [in fact Guilds'] records in the Trustees' custody at Barclays Bank and to deposit them with Durham University ‘Muniment Room’, the Wardens to
be invited in their turn to make like deposits of any records in their custody (1951; see DCF 3/8 for receipts); Billy Smart's New World Circus Ltd (1951,1954, 1957); 1914 and 1924 N.E. Electricity Board wayleave Agreements (1952); Sir Robert
Fossett's Circus (1952); 1813 certificate of admission to the Freedom, presented by Sir Thomas Bradford (1953); exhibition of Freemen's plate (1953); widening of qualification for admission by patrimony to reverse dwindling numbers of Freemen
(1953), with information of customs prevailing at Newcastle upon Tyne (1953), and Derby (1955-1956); deposit by Robert Dixon of Butchers' company silver plate with that of the other companies at Barclays Bank (1957); instruction to deposit 1848
‘Deed for Freeman’ [?DCF 2/7] with Durham University (1957); N.E. Electricity Board Durham 20/6 kV Reinforcement cable layed at The Sands [stage I] (1958), for related plan see DCF 5/C/13; application by Durham Girls'
Grammar School for playing fields on The Sands denied (1958); subject to agreement of purchase price, Freemen approve sale to the Executors of T. W. Holiday (Holiday Park Stadium) of Freemen's herbage rights in a plot of Corporation land [?part of
The Sands] on west side of river at Framwellgate Waterside at foot of Sidegate, the sale to be considered at next Council General Purposes Committee meeting (1958-1959) (but see DCF 3/7); Wear fishing rights licence request referred to Dean and
Chapter (1959). Shorthand annotations.
Paper 1 file; 1f
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/7 25 June 1959-12 January 1969
Correspondence, accounts and papers: Trustees' administration; re-use of vacant National Fire Station for emergency accommodation for Durham Girls' Grammar School during works at the school, and for Corporation purposes (1959); Royal Observer
Corps Group Headquarters Protected Accommodation lease terms (1959-1960; see also DCF 3/9); advice sought by G. A. Farrow for scheme to restore The Batts, Bishop Auckland, as a public park, its ownership suggested to lie with the town's freeholders
(1960); rents for County Council Education Committee (until 1963) and Corporation Depot use of former Fire Station property on The Sands (1960); demolition of 2 The Sands, the Freemen paying 2/3 costs (1960); City Council sub-committee formed to
discuss future use of The Sands, Freemen (including the Chairman of the Wardens) and their Grassman to attend (1961); N.E. Electricity Board Durham 20/6 kV Reinforcement cable layed at The Sands [stage II] (1961), for related plan see DCF 5/C/18;
construction of playing pitch on The Sands, and demarcation works (1961); no objections raised to consultation by Prison Commission regarding construction of a Remand Centre on 29 acres of land formerly part of the Freemen's Union Hall Farm (Low
Newton) (1961); lease of land at The Sands, adjacent to the Royal Observer Corps Group Headquarters, to the Durham Air Training Corps, and subsequent rents (1961); Cody's Circus (1962); declines re-purchase of Union Hall Farm from War Office (1962);
City Council's refusal to lease land at The Sands to A. W. Stones & Son for the erection of a business equipment store (1962); permanent loan of Mercers' company plate (itemised; formerly deposited at Barclays Bank) by the Freemen to the City
Council, to join with the rest of their plate already entrusted to the city (1963); small public car park on The Sands adjacent to Royal Observer Corps Group Headquarters, demarcation, and subsequent rents (1963-1964); Durham Companies' plate
exhibited on visit of the Duke of Edinburgh (1963); grading of the banks of The Sands by the Wear and Tees River Board, using soil removed when ‘levelling and improving’ the rest of the site, and mitigation of works
impact upon Easter Fair or Sands Races (1963-1964); regular evening meetings on Guild days adopted (1964); N.E. Electricity Board Durham 11 kV Reinforcement cable layed at The Sands, with plan (1964), for another related plan, see DCF 5/C/23; Draft
Agreement for a right of way over part of The Sands between the Corporation, Freemen's Trustees and C. Brown of 4 Wearside Drive, with 2 copies of plan (1964); application by City Council to renew lease for Incinerator on The Islands, with copy 1934
thirty-year grant and plan re the same (1964); construction of car park on The Sands opposite Corporation depôt, with plan (1964-1965); purchase by City Council of Freemen's right of herbage in a plot of City Council land at Framwellgate Waterside
at foot of Sidegate, with draft release of right of common (1964-1965); deterioration in relations between City Council and Freemen during negotiations relating to Council encroachments onto The Sands and perceived disregard of Freemen's right of
herbage thereon (1964-1965); eligibility of G. E. Tulip for admission to the Plumbers' Company (1964); public dissatisfaction with ‘Broncho Bill's’ Circus spurs greater discrimination in future, and intention to
consult R.S.P.C.A. (1965); agreement to pay 1/3 Freemen's income from fairs etc. on The Sands to the City Council towards restoring herbage (1965); list of Wardens of the 8 Companies (1965); exhibition of Freemen's silver in the re-constructed Town
Hall (1966); suggestion of Robert F. Morgan, Joiner's Company, initiates maintenance of more comprehensive lists of all Durham freemen rather than only those resident in the city (1966); lists of freemen, 1900-1966, provided by the Town Clerk from
two volumes [of admissions], 1900-1908 and 1908-1966 (1966); Youth Centre development beside St Nicholas burial ground, and wayleave over The Sands, with plan (1966); Corporation tax returns, the burden of which prevent any January 1969 bi-annual
distribution (1967-1969); Commons Registration Act 1965 inapplicable to The Sands (1967); Memorandum outlining the effect of the Finance Act 1965 upon the taxation of income receivable by the Freemen of the City of Durham (1967).
Paper 1 file
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/8 23 July 1948-28 February 1990; 12 February 2009
Correspondence: Trustees administration; receipts from J. Conway Davies, Reader in the Palaeography and Diplomatic department of Durham University for the deposit of records of the Freemen [?Guilds], and the Barbers', Drapers', Masons', Weavers',
and Joiners' Companies (1951-1952); memorandum, ‘Suggested ceremonial proceedings regarding future Guild Days’, issued by Norman Richardson, mayor [1963 x 1964]; Corporation and Income tax returns (1966-1968);
transfer by Durham University Department of Palaeography and Diplomatic of Guilds' records from Prior's Kitchen to South Road repository (1967); advice of C. W. Gibby regarding extension of patrimony admission qualification (1968); minutes of the
second AGM of the Freemen of England, Newcastle upon Tyne, 5 October 1968; Department of Environment questionnaire relating to freemen, with penciled answers (1972); Standing Committee Debate,
Local Government Bill (HC 9 March 1972, 2551-2622); planning application by Pengap Properties Ltd for a hotel, restaurant, public house, wine bar, shopping units and parking on site of carpet factory, Freeman's Place,
and car parks adjoining, refused (1983, 1988); corrected list of Trustees and Wardens (after June 1988); Durham Cathedral service sheet for matins, attended by the Freemen of England, 25 September 1988; statement of accounts of the Freemen of
England's A.G.M. in Durham, to which the Freemen of Durham were hosts and financial contributors (1988); extracts, from a newsletter, written by the President [of the Freemen of England] concerning inter alia the York City Bill about Freemen's
rights to the York Strays [1988]; use of The Sands on the Golden Jubilee of Airborne Services (1989); illegal parking on The Sands, and installation of removable bollard (1990); (unspecified) Finchale College gift (2009).
Paper 1 file
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/9 16 May 1904-16 October 1997
Correspondence, accounts, receipts relating to the administration, reform of regulation, re-registration, and winding up of the John Kirby Charity. Upon the death of the last resident Mercer and Warden, A. M. Hutchinson, before 26 December 1937,
the Mercers' Company ceased to exist, and its assets including funds of the Kirby Charity were subsequently administered by successive Clerks and Receivers to the Durham Freemen's Trustees: G. A. Carpenter (to 1942) Town Clerk; C. Leatham (to 1944);
H. Cecil Ferens (to 1975), W. K. Wills (to c. 1993), Philip Wills, Diocesan Registrars. The last Mercers' Company widow beneficiary of the Charity died in 1946, and a revised Scheme for its regulation was sealed by the Board of the Charity
Commission 23 October 1953, providing that the Kirby Charity be administered by the Trustees of Durham City Freemen, applying its income to Durham freemen's widows (with priority to Mercers' widows), and then to ‘widows in
reduced circumstances of tradesmen’ of Durham City. Records relating to the re-investment of the Charity's capital in 1950 may also be found in DCF 3/6. The Kirby Charity was endowed by Henry Smith in 1681 (see DPRI/1/1681/K3/1-2) and wound up
in September 1997.
Also includes: inventory and Barclays Bank receipts to the four senior trustees of Durham Freemen for the Mercers' Company chest containing plate and ‘[t]wo sealed parcels containing books &
papers re Mercers Co’, 7 July 1942; Barclays Bank receipt to the Trustees of Durham Freemen for ‘one sealed parcel said to contain 1 minute book & 2 books (Smiths Co)’, 17 December 1943; correspondence
between the Clerk to the Freemen's Trustees and the Air Ministry relating to Royal Observer Corps Protected Accommodation on The Sands, 1958.
Paper 1 file
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
For Kirby Charity papers prior to its administration by Clerks to the Freemen's Trustees, see Mercers' Company records in the Durham City Guild Records collection DCG 11/6, DCG 11/14/1-6, and DCG 11/24.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/10 5 April 1966-8 January 1986
Correspondence and papers relating to Freemen's silver (plate), its entrusting to Durham City Council, valuation and insurance.
Paper 1 file
Former reference: 5 April 1966 valuation transferred from the Small Gifts and Deposits collection, formerly numbered SGD.84.
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/11 1 June 1977-8 January 1986
Correspondence, draft and copy deeds, plans, and papers relating to the lease of herbage rights to Durham City Council for a recreation and leisure centre on The Sands (see also DCF 3/12).
Paper 1 file
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 3/12 8 January 1982-20 May 1985
Correspondence and papers relating to the drafting and enacting of Durham City Council Act 1985; and including 1984 draft of a deed of variation, in respect of The Sands, between the Trustees and Wardens of Durham City Freemen and Durham City
Council.
Paper 1 file
Former reference: 3 items, dated 1985, were formerly within the Small Gifts and Deposits collection (SGD.92/1-3).
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
Vouchers and other financial recordsReference: DCF 4Dates of creation: 1875-1991
Extent: 1 box; 1 file
Vouchers and other financial records.
DCF 4/1 1875-1945
Account book, containing biannual statements of accounts of the Trustees of the resident freemen of Durham City, 31 July 1875-31 July 1945; with investment accounts to 31 January 1896.
Also contains loose items:
f.55A: Receipt for 5s interest on £637 9s invested in £2 15s consolidated stock upon its transfer to John Lloyd Wharton, Christopher Rowlandson and Thomas Scawin [trustees], witnessed by the attorneys of the
executors of J. Henderson, 18 September 1888.
f.263A-B: 2 bills, 5 April and 4 July 1940, from J. Adamson & Son, sharebroker, Durham to Messrs G. A. Carpenter & Son [Freemen's Trustees] for the purchase of £3,729 11s war stock 3.5%.
f.265A: Statement of £65 5s 4d interest on £3,729 11s war stock 3.5% in the account of William Imrie, George Blagdon, John D. Peele and Matthew Fowler [Freemen's Trustees], 1 December 1940.
f.265B: Names and addresses of four Freemen's Trustees, 3.5% war stock account holders (as DCF 4/1 f.265A), [December 1940]
Paper 1 volume (285 f); 5f (loose)
Binding: Half goat; water silk effect textile over paper boards; marbled end papers
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 4/5 1878-2007
Register of bi-annual and (from 1977) annual distributions of companies' proportional shares of Freemen's rents (Union Hall Farm etc.), with some gaps. Each entry states the company's total proportional share, and each resident freeman's share
(equal across all companies), and from which therefore it is possible to calculate the total number of resident freemen in each company at the date of each distribution. Each company's entry is signed by its warden, usually with a revenue stamp
(1878-1920 1d; 1921-1970 2d).
For related lists of resident freemen entitled to such distributions, see
DCF 2/8.
1 volume
Until 2058 access to this volume is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 4/2 23 August 1934-5 April 1987
Vouchers file (now 4 files), with some related correspondence and annual accounts; income, corporation, property and land tax assessments and returns; Barclays bank account statement (Jan-July 1936); and chiefly containing receipts and vouchers.
Receipts: wayleave, insurance (on 11 [guilds' arms hanging in the Guildhall]), rates, tax, Queen Anne's Bounty, stationary and publications, salaries, legal and accounting services, Sands (buildings and land, Corporation rents) and Union Hall
Farm maintenance, tithe redemption annuity, water analysis and report by County Analyst (1938).
Payment vouchers: wayleave, rents, standage, stock interest statement.
With ‘Memorandum outlining the effect of the Finance Act 1965 upon the taxation of income receivable by the Freemen of the City of Durham’.
Accession Misc.2013/14:68: a Durham Freemen's Trustees' Barclays Bank Ltd account book (1936-1946: DCF 4/2A/1), and two books of cheque stubs (1941-1944; 1944-1947: DCF 4/2A/2-3) have been added to this file; a handful of other records have been
interfiled at the correct chronological points.
Paper 4 files
Former reference: 1966 and 1969 receipts of the mayor's sergeants, the [guildhall] janitor, and the Freemen's auditor, and Clerk and Receiver found intermixed with Durham Diocesan records (DDR/EA/MIS), deposited 25 March 1975.
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 4/3 1914-1991 (with gaps)
Freemen's accounts, including some proof and annotated copies. Accounts [and distributions] were made bi-annually until 1976 x 1980, and annually thereafter. Items are numbered DCF 4/3/1914/1-2, 1915/1-2; 1980, 1981 etc. The 1985 and 1986
accounts also include separate annual statements of the Freemen's deposit account.
Bi-annual accounts (to 31 January and 31 July):
July 1914-July 1917; July 1918
July 1921; January 1924-July 1929;
January 1930-January 1939;
January 1940-July 1949;
January 1950-July 1959;
January 1960-July
1969;
January 1970-July 1973; July 1975-January 1976;
Annual accounts (to 5 April):
1980-1989;
1991.
Paper 1 file
Former reference: DCF 4/3/1971-1972, 1975/2-1976/1, 1981-1982, 1985-1988 formerly part of Small Gifts and Deposits collection SGD.45/3; SGD.68/1/5-6; SGD.70/4, 13, 17, 25, 28, 33-34, 36-37, 47, 53-54.
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Additional accounts and bi-annual distributions of Freemen's Farm rent are filed or copied in the Durham City Guild Records collection: DCG 1/8 (1806-1808); DCG 3/10 (1808-1811); DCG 6/2 (1806-1808); DCG 9/5 (1806-1808); DCG 9/11 (July
1890-January 1891); DCG 10/9 (1806-1814); DCG 11/4 (1808-1812); DCG 11/17 (1806-1808). Several Durham City Guild companies also regularly account for distributions of Freemen's Farm rents among each of their own company's resident freemen, and
sometimes note the Trustees' disbursements out of these rents.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 4/4 1910-1979 (with gaps)
Annual accounts [to 31 December] between the Corporation of Durham and the [Wardens of the] Freemen of Durham in respect of houses and land at: Freemen's Place (to 1942 only), Islands, Sands, Providence Row, and Framwellgate. Items are numbered
DCF 4/4/1910 etc.
Annual accounts (to 31 December):
1910;
1923-1929;
1930-1933, 1935-1937, 1939;
1940, 1942-1944, 1946-1949;
1952, 1956-1957;
1963-1969;
1970-1972
Annual accounts (to 31 March):
1979.
Paper 1 file
Former reference: DCF 4/4/1910 formerly part of Small Gifts and Deposits collection SGD.70/69.
Access to certain items in this file is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
Deeds and plansReference: DCF 5Dates of creation: 1810-1970
Extent: 1 box
Deeds (with related plans) relating to:
Appointments of TrusteesReference: DCF 5/ADates of creation: 1829-1940
DCF 5/B/2-3 3 December 1829
Appointment and release.
DCF 5/A/1 25 November 1845
1. Rt Hon. Thomas Henry Lord Ravensworth, Baron Ravensworth of Ravensworth Castle, County Durham; William Lloyd Wharton esquire of Dryburn, Durham City; Thomas Richard Shipperdson clerk late of the Bailey, Durham City, but now of
Woodhorn, Northumberland; John Ward gentleman of Old Elvet, Durham City; Thomas Griffith gentleman of the Bailey; John Burrell gentleman of Bow Lane, Durham City
2. The said William Lloyd Wharton and John Burrell; John Fogg Elliott esquire of Elvet Hill, Durham City; Francis Dixon Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, Durham City; William Clark King clerk of Old Elvet; William Green surgeon of Old Elvet;
John Henry Forster bank agent of Old Elvet; John Henderson manufacturer of Leazes House, Durham City; William Henderson of the Bailey, manufacturer; Samuel Rowlandson agent of the College, Durham City; Abraham Story gentleman of Saddler Street,
Durham City; Henry Greenwell gentleman of the Bailey; Richard Horn gentleman of Old Elvet; George Shaw surgeon of New Elvet
3. Alan William Hutchinson wine merchant of Old Elvet
Indented appointment by 1 of 2 as new trustees of the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1 to 3 to the use of 2 of Union Hall Farm and all other lands allotted to the Freemen upon the division of [Framwellgate Moor], and conveyance
of trust estates. Recites: (I) DCF 5/B/2-3; (ii) deaths of trustees Rowland Burdon, Ralph John Lambton, Michael Angelo Taylor, Robert Hopper Williamson, William Thomas Salvin, Thomas Greenwell, William Williams, Alexander Logan; resignations of
Thomas Richard Shipperdson, Lord Ravensworth, John Ward and Thomas Griffith.
Signed and sealed by 1.
Parchment 2m
DCF 5/A/2 1869
1. John Fogg Elliot esquire of Elvet Hill, Durham City; Francis Dixon Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, Durham City; Reverend William Clark King esquire of Norham, Northumberland; John Henderson esquire M.P. of Durham City; William
Henderson of Durham City, carpet manufacturer; Samuel Rowlandson agent of Durham City; Abraham Story gentleman of Durham City; Henry Greenwell gentleman of Durham City; Richard Horn gentleman of 22 King Street, Saint James', Middlesex; George Shaw
surgeon of the City of Durham
2. Thomas Bagley carpet manufacturer of Durham City; Christopher Rowlandson agent of Durham City; John Lloyd Wharton esquire of Dryburn, Durham City; Thomas Scawin saddler of Durham City; George Robson gentleman of Durham City; Robert Robson
builder of Durham City; Edgar John Meynell esquire of Durham City;
3. The said John Fogg Elliot; Francis Dixon Johnson; John Henderson; William Henderson; Samuel Rowlandson; Abraham Story; George Shaw; Thomas Bagley; Christopher Rowlandson; John Lloyd Wharton; Thomas Scawin; George Robson; Robert Robson;
Edgar John Meynell
[Incompletely dated] indented appointment by 1 of 2 as new trustees of the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1 to 2 of Union Hall Farm and all other lands allotted to the Freemen upon the division of [Framwellgate Moor], and
conveyance of trust estates. Recites: (I) DCF 5/A/1; (ii) deaths of trustees William Lloyd Wharton, John Burrell, William Green, and John Henry Forster; (iii) resignations of trustees William Clark King, Richard Horn and Henry Greenwell.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Parchment 1m
DCF 5/A/3 19 September 1891
1. Francis Dixon Johnson of Aykley Heads, Durham City; William Henderson esquire of Stratfordlea Worthing, Sussex; Christopher Rowlandson esquire of Durham City; Thomas Scawin esquire of Durham City; Edgar John Meynell esquire of
Durham City; John Lloyd Wharton esquire M.P. of Dryburn Hall, Durham City
2. Matthew Fowler esquire of Durham City; George Pattison Blagdon esquire of Durham City; Charles Chapman esquire of Durham City; John Caldcleugh esquire of Durham City
3. The said Francis Dixon Johnson, William Henderson, Christopher Rowlandson, Thomas Scawin, John Lloyd Wharton, Matthew Fowler, George Pattison Blagdon, Charles Chapman, John Caldcleugh
Appointment by 1 of 2 as new trustees of the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1 to 2 of Union Hall Farm and all other lands allotted to the Freemen upon the division of [Framwellgate Moor], and conveyance of trust estates.
Recites: (I) DCF 5/A/2; (ii) deaths of trustees John Fogg Elliott, John Henderson, Samuel Rowlandson, Abraham Story, George Shaw, Thomas Bagley, George Robson, Robert Robson; (iii) resignation of John Meynell.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Parchment 2m
DCF 5/A/4 9 December 1910
1. Rt Hon. John Lloyd Wharton of Dryburn Hall, Durham City; George Pattison Blagdon esquire of Durham City; Charles Chapman esquire of Durham City
2. John Brownless esquire of Durham City; Arthur Pattison esquire of Durham City; Thomas Shadforth auctioneer of Durham City; Dixon Elliott builder of Durham City; Thomas Hopper painter of Durham City
3. The said Rt Hon. John Lloyd Wharton, George Pattison Blagdon, John Brownless, Arthur Pattison, Thomas Shadforth, Dixon Elliott and Thomas Hopper
Appointment by 1 of 2 as new trustees of the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1 to 2 of Union Hall Farm and all other lands allotted to the Freemen upon the division of [Framwellgate Moor]. Recites: (I) DCF 5/A/3; (ii) deaths of
trustees Francis Dixon Johnson, William Henderson, Christopher Rowlandson, Thomas Scawin, Matthew Fowler, and John Caldcleugh; (iii) resignation of Charles Chapman.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Parchment 1m
DCF 5/A/5-6 26 July 1915
1. John Brownless esquire, Arthur Pattison esquire, Dixon Elliott builder, of Durham City
2. John Edwin Rogerson esquire of Mount Oswald near Durham City; William Imrie esquire, John James Howe clerk, William Pattison hairdresser, of Durham City; George Blagdon of Shincliffe leather merchant; William Henry Lowes of Gilesgate
merchant
3. Arthur Pattison, Dixon Elliott, John Edwin Rogerson, William Imrie, John James Howe, William Pattison, George Blagdon, William Henry Lowes
Appointment (with draft) by 1 of 2 as trustees of the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1 to 2 in fee simple of Union Hall Farm and all other allotments awarded to the Trustees upon the division of Framwellgate Moor, to the use of
3. Recites: (I) DCF 5/A/4; (ii) deaths of trustees G. P. Blagdon on 4 July 1912, J. L. Wharton on 11 July 1912, T. Shadforth on 12 February 1915, T. Hopper on 25 March 1915; (iii) resignation of John Brownless, trustee.
DCF 5/A/6 signed and sealed by all parties.
Paper; Parchment 6f; 2m
DCF 5/A/7-8 8 December 1926
1. William Imrie, John James Howe, George Blagdon, William Henry Lowes esquires of Durham City
2. Kenneth Champain Bayley esquire of The College, Thomas Andrews Bradford esquire of Aden Cottage near Durham City, Harry Peele esquire of Springfield near Durham City
3. William Imrie, John James Howe, George Blagdon, William Henry Lowes, Kenneth Champain Bayley, Thomas Andrews Bradford, Harry Peele
Appointment (with draft) by 1 of 2 as trustees for the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1 to 2 in fee simple of Union Hall Farm and all other allotments awarded to the Trustees upon the division of Framwellgate Moor, to the use of
3. Recites: (I) DCF 5/A/6; (ii) deaths of trustees W. Pattison in 1918, D. Elliott on 6 April 1925, J. E. Rogerson on 23 March 1925, A. Pattison on 16 June 1926.
DCF 5/A/8 signed and sealed by all parties.
Paper; Parchment 5f; 4m
DCF 5/A/9 14 June 1938
1. William Imrie esquire of Durham City; George Blagdon esquire of Durham City; Thomas Andrews Bradford esquire of Durham City
2. John Dickinson Peele esquire of Blaidwood, Durham City; Matthew Fowler esquire of Westholme, Durham City; John Matthew Herring esquire of Langdale, Durham City; William Craggs esquire of Gladstone Villas, Durham City; George Greenwell
esquire of Silver Street, Durham City; William Arthur Bramwell esquire of The Avenue, Durham City
3. The said William Imrie, George Blagdon, Thomas Andrews Bradford, John Dickinson Peele, Matthew Fowler, John Matthew Herring, William Craggs, George Greenwell, William Arthur Bramwell
Appointment by 1 of 2 as trustees for the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1 to 2 in fee simple of Union Hall Farm and all other allotments awarded to the Trustees upon the division of Framwellgate Moor, to the use of 3. Recites:
(I) DCF 5/A/8; (ii) deaths of trustees Kenneth Champain Bayley on 23 February 1934 (with marginal note: “1935 registered in the name of Kennett”), Harry Peele on 18 June 1934, John James Howe on 27 February 1937;
William Henry Lowes on 5 June 1937.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Paper 2f
DCF 5/A/10 4 March 1940
1. William Imrie hosier of Western Hill, Durham City; George Blagdon leather merchant of Gilesgate, Durham City
2. John Dickinson Peele veterinary surgeon of Blaidwood, Durham City; Matthew Fowler auctioneer of Westholme, Durham City; John Matthew Herring accountant of Silver Street, Durham City; William Craggs clerk of Gladstone Villas, Durham City;
George Greenwell grocer of Silver Street, Durham City; William Arthur Bramwell optician of The Avenue
3. James Chisman Fowler grocer of Pimlico, Durham City
4. The said John Matthew Herring, William Craggs, George Greenwell, William Arthur Bramwell, James Chisman Fowler
5. The said William Imrie, George Blagdon, John Dickinson Peele, Matthew Fowler
Appointment by 1-3 of 5 as trustees for the Freemen of the City of Durham, with grant by 1-3 to 5 in fee simple of Union Hall Farm and all other allotments awarded to the Trustees upon the division of Framwellgate Moor, (except such parts as
have been sold), comprising 250.082 acres, and one half of the bed of the River Wear forming part of enclosure number 196 (O.S., 1920 edition) containing 8.5 acres. Recites: (I) [lately appreciated] effect of the Law of Property Act 1925 upon the
Trustees' title(s) throws doubt on the relative powers of the Trustees; (ii) 29 June 1939 deed of retirement (Thomas Andrew Bradford) and appointment (James Chisman Fowler).
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Endorsed with memorandum of 5 April 1940 sale of Union Hall Farm etc. by 5 to the Secretary of State for War.
Paper 5f
DCF 5/A/11 5 March 1940
1. William Imrie hosier of Western Hill, Durham City; George Blagdon leather merchant of Gilesgate, Durham City; John Dickinson Peele veterinary surgeon of Blaidwood, Durham City; Matthew Fowler auctioneer of Westholme, Durham
City
2. John Matthew Herring accountant of Silver Street, Durham City; William Craggs clerk of Gladstone Villas, Durham City; George Greenwell grocer of Silver Street, Durham City; William Arthur Bramwell optician of The Avenue; James Chisman
Fowler grocer of Pimlico, Durham City
Appointment by 1 of 2 as additional trustees to act jointly with them for all purposes of [Inclosure] Act 41 George III c.12 except for the purpose of conveying the said lands. Recites: DCF 5/A/10.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Paper 3f
Union Hall (Freemen's) FarmReference: DCF 5/BDates of creation: 1810-1940
DCF 5/B/1 14 May 1810
1. William Nesfield clerk of Brancepeth; John Fawcett clerk of Newton Hall; Francis Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, Freemen's trustees
2. Richard Wharton esquire of Old Park
Mortgage in the form of a demise for 500 years by 1 to 2 of Union Hall Farm (244a 1r 34p), occupied by Robert Hodgson, to secure repayment of £732 with 5% interest per annum. Recites: enclosure award allotting to the Freemen's Trustees 244a
1r 34p (46a 0r 7p, 50a 0r 34p, and 38a 0r 20p on High Brasside Moor; and 110a 0r 10p on Low Brasside Moor); the fencing and hedging of these lands by the Freemen, and the construction of farm buildings etc., now leased to Robert Hodgson; loans to
the trustees by 2 to fund this investment, £1,030 outstanding, £732 of which at £3 per acre, with interest.
Consideration: 30s by 2 to 1.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Parchment, indented 3m
DCF 5/B/2-3 2-3 December 1829
1. Rt Hon. Thomas Henry Lord Ravensworth, Baron Ravensworth of Ravensworth Castle, County Durham, lately called Sir Thomas Henry Liddell Baronet; Rowland Burdon esquire of Castle Eden; Ralph John Lambton esquire of Murton House;
Michael Angelo Taylor esquire of Whitehall, Middlesex; Robert Hopper Williamson esquire of Whickham; William Thomas Salvin esquire of Croxdale; John Fawcett clerk of Newton Hall; Francis Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, surviving Freemen's
trustees
2. Henrietta Wharton widow of 13 Grafton Street, St George Hanover Square, Middlesex, acting executrix of Richard Wharton esquire
3. (I) The said Thomas Henry Lord Ravensworth, Rowland Burdon, Ralph John Lambton, Michael Angelo Taylor, Robert Hopper Williamson, William Thomas Salvin (current trustees); (ii) Thomas Greenwell esquire of the Bailey, Durham City; William
Lloyd Wharton esquire of Dryburn; William Williams esquire of Framwellgate, Durham City; Alexander Logan esquire of Old Elvet, Durham City; Thomas Richard Shipperdson clerk of the Bailey; John Ward gentleman of Old Elvet; Thomas Griffith gentleman
of the Bailey; John Burrell gentleman of Bow Lane, Durham City (new trustees)
4. Alan William Hutchinson wine merchant of Durham City
(a) Appointment by 1 of 3(ii) as new trustees of the Freemen of the City of Durham; (b) with bargain and sale in the form of a lease and release by 1 to 4 in trust for the use of 3 their heirs and assigns for ever, upon trusts etc., of Union
Hall Farm; ©) with release by 2 to 1; (d) and bargain and sale by 2 to 3, with the approbation of the resigning trustees, of the remainder of a 500-year term in Union Hall Farm, to merge in the freehold.
Recites: DCF 5/B/1; 7 November 1825 will of Richard Wharton; resignations of trustees John Fawcett and Francis Johnson; repayment of £732 with interest [by 1 to 2]; deaths of trustees Shute Lord Bishop of Durham, Sir Hedworth Williamson Baronet,
Sir Ralph Milbanke Baronet, Sir John Eden Baronet, Sir Henry Vane Tempest Baronet, John Shafto esquire, Matthew Russell esquire, William Nesfield clerk.
Considerations: (b) 5s and 10s by 4 to 1; (d) £732 by 1 to 2, and 10s by 2 to 3.
Parchment, indented 1m; 5m
DCF 5/B/4 1839
Draft agreement for a lease by the Freemen's Trustees to [Robert Brown coal factor of the Coal Exchange, London; Conrad Haverkam Greenhow and John Wait ship owners of North Shields] of a wayleave over Union Hall Farm for a term of 99 years, with
power to make a railway [Hedley Hope Railway]; with plan (not present).
Consideration: £350, with double the agricultural rent of land converted to railway, per annum.
Paper 8f
DCF 5/B/5 18 November 1839
Durham City Guilds Wardens' consent to the lease of a wayleave over Union Hall Farm [with power to construct a railway, part of] Hedley Hope Railway, to Robert Brown coal factor of the Coal Exchange, London, Conrad Haverkam Greenhow and John Wait
ship owners of North Shields, for the term of 99 years, pursuant to an agreement already made, and consenting to the trustees taking penal bond(s) to the sum of £2,000 from the lessees. Unsigned.
Paper 2f
DCF 5/B/6 1839
Draft bond in £2,000 by Robert Brown coal factor of the Coal Exchange, London, Conrad Haverkam Greenhow and John Wait ship owners of North Shields to [the Freemen's Trustees], indemnifying [the Freemen's Trustees] from actions contingent upon a
wayleave lease agreed between the same parties of same date, and obliging the lessees to pay the agreed annual rents.
Paper 3f
DCF 5/B/7 [23 June 1849 x 2 May 1858]
Draft statement by the Freemen's Trustees of their interest in unspecified lands in Framwellgate township, subject to a 23 June 1849 lease for 9 years to Martin Brown, Thomas Baines and Robert Brown, to be purchased by York Newcastle and Berwick
Railway (Auckland branch) Railway Company, claiming (unstated) compensation, and appointing [?George Young Wall] land agent of Durham City as arbitrator.
Paper 1f
DCF 5/B/8-9 21 August 1867
1. William Lloyd Wharton esquire of Dryburn, Durham City; John Fogg Elliot esquire of Elvet Hill, Durham City; Francis Dixon Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, Durham City; John Henderson M.P. of Leazes House, Durham City; William
Henderson esquire of the South Bailey, Durham City; Samuel Rowlandson esquire of the College, Durham City; Abraham Story esquire of Saddler Street, Durham City; George Shaw surgeon of Old Elvet, Durham City, [Durham City Freemen's Trustees]
2. William Pringle brick and tile manufacturer of Durham City; John Donkin builder of Ponteland, Northumberland
Lease and counterpart lease for 21 years by 1 to 2 of fields, closes or parcels of land and brick yard situate in Framwellgate township, part of Union Hall Farm, with the cottages and other buildings thereon (with schedule of 42a 0r 10p
lands), from 13 May 1862; with powers to extract clay, brick earth, sand, and other materials for the manufacture and sale of bricks, tiles, pipes etc., and to remove or erect buildings for the residence of employees, and upon determination of the
lease to remove all machinery and stock in trade; reserving all (other) mines and quarries, and timber.
Consideration: £75 per annum.
Signed and sealed by all parties; the signatures of 2 are present only on the counterpart.
Parchment, indented 1m; 1m
DCF 5/B/10 1 July 1870
1. John Fogg Elliot esquire of Elvet Hill, Durham City; Francis Dixon Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, Durham City; John Henderson M.P. of Durham City; William Henderson carpet manufacturer of Durham City; Samuel Rowlandson land agent
of Durham City; Abraham Story gentleman of Durham City; Thomas Bagley carpet manufacturer of Durham City; Christopher Rowlandson land agent of Durham City; John Lloyd Wharton esquire of Dryburn, Durham City; Thomas Scawin saddler of Durham City;
George Robson gentleman of Durham City; Robert Robson builder of Durham City; Edgar John Meynell esquire of Durham City, Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. William Pringle brick and tile manufacturer of Durham City
Licence by 1 to 2 to assign and transfer all his interest in a brick yard (as DCF 5/B/8-9).
Signed by 1 (excluding George Robson).
Parchment 1m
DCF 5/B/11 28 October 1881
Particulars and conditions of sale for the Brasside Brick Works, under 21-year lease from 13 May 1362 to the vendor [William Pringle] and John Donkin. Annotated with details of a 21-year lease to Potts and Robson (see DCF 5/B/15).
Endorsed: “two bidders”; with list of those present at the sale.
Paper 2f
DCF 5/B/12 1882
Abstract of an indenture made upon the dissolution of the firm of Donkin and Pringle, dated 13 August 1870. Recites: 29 December 1860 partnership; DCF 5/B/8-9; agreement to dissolve the partnership, Donkin selling his interest to Pringle for
£1,300.
Paper 3f
DCF 5/B/13-14 14 February 1882
1. Samuel Rowlandson esquire of the College, Durham City; Christopher Rowlandson esquire of the North Bailey, Durham City; Thomas Scawin esquire of the Market Place, Durham City, three of Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. William Pringle brick and tile manufacturer of Albert Street, Western Hill, Durham City; John Donkin late builder but now out of business of Ponteland, Northumberland
Licence by 1 to 2 to assign and transfer all their interest in a brick yard (as DCF 5/B/8-9) to Joseph Potts the younger architect of North Cliff, Roker, Monkwearmouth, and Henry Robson builder of Old Elvet, Durham City. (2 copies)
Signed by 1.
Parchment 2m; 2m
DCF 5/B/15 11 May 1882
1. William Pringle brick and tile manufacturer of Durham City, vendor
2. John Donkin formerly a brick manufacturer but now out of business of Ponteland, Northumberland
3. Joseph Potts the younger architect of Sunderland; Henry Robson gentleman of Durham City, purchasers
Assignment by 1-2 to 3 of all interest in a brick yard (as DCF 5/B/8-9) at Union Hall Farm. Recites: DCF 5/B/8-9; 1870 dissolution of partnership.
Consideration: £500 from 3 to 1.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Paper 2f
DCF 5/B/16 12 May 1882
1. Joseph Potts the younger architect of Sunderland; Henry Robson builder of Old Elvet, Durham City
2. Francis Dixon Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, Durham City; John Henderson esquire of Leazes House, Durham City; William Henderson esquire of Ashworth Court in or near Ludlow, Shropshire and formerly of the South Bailey, Durham City; Samuel
Rowlandson esquire of the College, Durham City; Christopher Rowlandson esquire of the North Bailey, Durham City; John Lloyd Wharton esquire of Bramham near Tadcaster, Yorkshire and of Dryburn, Durham City; Thomas Scawin esquire of Durham City;
Robert Robson esquire of Belle Vue House, Claypath, Durham City; Edgar John Meynell esquire of Old Elvet, Durham City, Durham City Freemen's Trustees
Indented surrender by 1 to 2 of the remainder of the term of a lease of lands, brick yard and premises part of Union Hall Farm (with schedule of 42a 0r 10p lands) (as DCF 5/B/15). Recites: DCF 5/B/15; new lease agreed at the request of 2.
Parchment, indented 1m
DCF 5/B/17-18 15 May 1882
1. Samuel Rowlandson esquire of the College, Durham City; Christopher Rowlandson esquire of the North Bailey, Durham City; Thomas Scawin esquire of the Market Place, Durham City, three of Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. Joseph Potts the younger architect of Sunderland; Henry Robson builder of Old Elvet, Durham City
Lease and counterpart lease for 21 years by 1 to 2 of lands, brick yard and premises part of Union Hall Farm (with schedule of 42a 0r 10p lands), from 13 May 1882, with powers as DCF 5/B/15, reserving to 1 and their lessees of Union Hall Farm
use of the railway siding from the North Eastern Railway into the brick yard in order to transport of manure, farm produce etc.
Considerations: £60 per annum; royalty of 1d / ton of daub or sand raised and sold from the premises.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Parchment, indented 2m; 2m
DCF 5/B/19-20 27 November 1888
1. John Lloyd Wharton esquire M.P. of Dryburn Hall, Durham City; Thomas Scawin esquire of Durham City; Christopher Rowlandson esquire of Durham City, three of Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. Joseph Potts architect of Sunderland; Mary Robson widow of Durham City; Edward Robert Robson architect of the city of Westminster, executors of the will of Henry Robson architect of Durham City
Licence by 1 to 2 to assign and transfer all their interest in lands, brick yard and premises (as DCF 5/B/17-18) to William Foster builder of Croxdale (2 copies).
Signed by 1.
Paper 2f; 2f
DCF 5/B/21 4 December 1888
1. Joseph Potts architect late of North Cliff, Roker, Monkwearmouth, and then and still of Bishopwearmouth; Mary Robson widow of Durham City; Edward Robert Robson architect of 9 Bridge Street, city of Westminster
2. William Foster builder of Croxdale
Assignment by 1 to 2 of all interest in lands, brick yard and premises (as DCF 5/B/17-18) at Union Hall Farm. Recites: death of Henry Robson 31 December 1884, and probate of his will 23 April 1885; 1 are tenants from year to year under a
parol agreement to the Freemen's Trustees of 28 acres adjoining the brick yard etc. and used as farming land at £15 p.a. rent.
Consideration: £800 by 2 to 1.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Parchment 2m
DCF 5/B/22 9 May 1889
1. William Foster builder of Croxdale
2. Francis Dixon Johnson esquire of Aykley Heads, Durham City; William Henderson esquire of Ashworth Court in or near Ludlow, Shropshire; Christopher Rowlandson esquire of the North Bailey, Durham City; John Lloyd Wharton esquire of Bramham
near Tadcaster, Yorkshire and of Dryburn, Durham City; Thomas Scawin esquire of the Market Place, Durham City; Edgar John Meynell esquire of Old Elvet, Durham City, Durham City Freemen's Trustees
Surrender by 1 to 2 of the remainder of the term of a lease of lands, brick yard and premises part of Union Hall Farm (with schedule of 42a 0r 10p lands) (as DCF 5/B/17-18). Recites: DCF 5/B/17-18, 21; new lease agreed at the request of
2.
Signed and sealed by 1.
Parchment 2m
DCF 5/B/23 10 May 1889
1. John Lloyd Wharton esquire M.P. of Dryburn Hall, Durham City; Thomas Scawin esquire of the Market Place, Durham City; Christopher Rowlandson esquire of the North Bailey, Durham City, three of Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. William Foster builder of Croxdale
Counterpart lease for 21 years by 1 to 2 of lands and brick yard part of Union Hall Farm (with schedule of 69a 1r 29p lands), from 13 May 1889, with powers as DCF 5/B/21, reserving to 1 (other) mines and quarries, and timber, and, to 1 and
their lessees of Union Hall Farm, use of the railway siding from the North Eastern Railway into the brick yard in order to transport of manure, farm produce etc.
Consideration: £75 per annum; royalty of 1.5d / ton of daub or sand raised and sold from the premises.
Signed and sealed by 2.
Parchment 3m
DCF 5/B/24 28 October 1892
1. George Pattison Blagdon, Christopher Rowlandson, and John Caldcleugh, three of Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. William Foster builder of Croxdale
Licence by 1 to 2 to assign and transfer all his interest in lands, brick yard and premises (as DCF 5/B/23) to Joseph White mercantile clerk of High Heworth, County Durham.
Signed by 1.
Paper 2f
DCF 5/B/25 6 March 1911
1. The Rt Hon. John Lloyd Wharton, Privy Councillor; George Pattison Blagdon esquire; John Brownless esquire; Arthur Pattison esquire; Thomas Shadforth esquire; Dixon Elliott esquire; Thomas Hopper esquire, all of the City of Durham,
Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. The Framwellgate Coal and Coke Company Limited
Counterpart lease for 21 years by 1 to 2 of a strip of land at or near Newton Hall and Frankland coloured red on plan (f.2; scale 6":1 mile) to lay and maintain and use a railway or wagon-way with any branches or sidings connected therewith
and to convey over and along the same by means of any motive power in trucks or wagons any coal, coke or other minerals produced and any colliery or mining goods or materials, from 13 May 1908.
Consideration: £15 per annum.
Signed and sealed by 2.
Paper 2f
DCF 5/B/26 7 March 1939
Copy case for opinion with opinion of J. M. Baily of Newcastle upon Tyne counsel as to power of sale and grant of wayleave in fee simple, re Freemen of Durham, Union Hall Farm, Brasside, near Durham.
Paper 4f
DCF 5/B/27 19 March 1940
1. William Imrie hosier of Western Hill, Durham City; George Blagdon leather merchant of Gilesgate, Durham City; John Dickinson Peele veterinary surgeon of Blaidwood, Durham City; Matthew Fowler auctioneer of Westholme, Durham City,
Durham City Freemen's Trustees
2. The Sunderland and South Shields Water Company, 29 John Street, Sunderland
Draft grant of easement by 1 to 2 for a strip of land at Union Hall Farm, to lay and maintain a pipe, as indicated in attached plan (Ref: B26/202; scale 1:2,500); with schedule of deeds (DCF 5/A/8; DCF 5/A/9; 29 June 1939 deed of retirement
and appointment; DCF 5/A/10).
Consideration: £33 9s 9d by 2 to 1.
Paper 5f; 1f; 1f
Durham CityReference: DCF 5/CDates of creation: 1850-1970
DCF 5/C/1 19th century
1. Shute [Barrington], Bishop of Durham
2. Martin Dunn esquire, mayor of Durham City; William Kirton, Christopher Hopper, John Hutchinson, aldermen
Copy 21 September 1810 lease by 1 to 2 in trust for the mayor of Durham and his successors, for 3 lives (Thomas Wilkinson 42 yrs, John Burrell 16 yrs, Thomas Wilkinson 11yrs), of the borough of Durham and Framwellgate, with the Toll Booth
with all shops houses and buildings under the same, with all borough rents, land male, rents, free rents, duties, customs and services of the burgesses, freeholders and inhabitants of the borough, and the benefit of making and admitting freemen of
any trade exercised within the borough, and all Saturday markets, and fairs, (with uses detailed), with all courts (borough, baron, leet). Recites: 21 April 1808 lease for 3 lives of the same, since surrendered.
Consideration: £20 per annum, by
2 to 1.
Endorsed: ‘Copy Corporation Lease’.
Paper 3f
DCF 5/C/2-3 [18 September 1850]
1. The Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate
2. The Wardens of the Trades' Companies of the City of Durham and Framwellgate
Two copies (19th-century/early 20th century) of an agreement between 1 and 2: (a) allocating 1/3 net rents and profits from properties encroaching, now and in future, upon 11a 2r 31p over which the Freemen possess right of common to 1, the
remainder to 2 for the use and benefit of the City Freemen; (b) that all future encroachments will require the consent of 1-2; ©) that The Sands shall continue to be used for the holding of public fairs, 1 paying to 2 an annual rent of £1 as
compensation for damage therefrom to the herbage; (d) that 1 may drain and improve The Sands for the better holding of such fairs, at the expense of 1; (e) that The Sands and The Islands shall not be used to deposit manure, paving stones or other
substances whatsoever without the consent of 1-2; (f) 2 otherwise to have use, exercise and enjoyment of a right of common for all commonable cattle in and upon the same. Recites: 12 December 1848 lease for three lives by Edward [Maltby] Bishop of
Durham to 1 of the Borough of Durham and Framwellgate, including The Sands and The Islands and several other parcels of ground and hereditaments in Durham St Nicholas parish and Framwellgate township containing 11a 2r 31p (see plots coloured green
in attached plan); Freemen's right of common for all commonable cattle thereon; historic encroachments thereon, at rents agreed by 1-2.
DCF 5/C/3 includes plan (traced) 50 x 32 cm: showing 11a 2r 31p of lands over which the Freemen possessed a right of common, lying on either side of the River Wear, in The Islands, The Sands, on Wandlass Lane, and to the north east of the Gas
Works, and at the foot of Sidegate; with reference key to occupiers, property description and extent.
Signed by: [1] Robert Thwaites, Mayor, Joseph Jackson Graham, William Oliver, George Wilson, John Nicholas Atkinson, Henry Ashworth; [2] Thomas Littlefair, William Clifton, William James Hall, Martin Dowson, George Coulson, John Caldcleugh,
Thomas Robson, William Herbert.
Paper 3f; 5f
DCF 5/C/4 17 June 1914
1. Thomas Hopper of 24 Gilesgate, Durham City for and on behalf of the Trustees and Wardens of Durham City Freemen
2. The County of Durham Electrical Power Distribution Company Limited
Lease for 21 years by 1 to 2 of a wayleave for overhead electrical wires at The Sands, Durham City, with plan (scale 25":1 mile) with line of cables marked in red (17 June 1908; Ref: 33.1 / 0467.2).
Consideration: 1s / pole (less income tax) per annum.
Paper 3f
DCF 5/C/5 3 October 1934
1. William Imrie hosier of Western Hill, Durham City; John James Howe retired Chief Clerk Durham District Probate Registry of Gilesgate, Durham City; George Blagdon leather merchant of Framwellgate, Durham City; William Henry Lowes
monumental mason of Claypath, Durham City; Kenneth Champain Bayley solicitor of Durham City; Thomas Andrews Bradford of Aden Cottage, near Durham City, Trustees of the Trades Companies of Durham City
2. Thomas Theophilus Atkinson junior of Crossgate, Durham City; Robert Dixon of Saddler Street, Durham City; Robert Baker of Gilesgate, Durham City; Ralph Smith of Paradise Lane, Durham City; James Henry Vest of Church Street, Durham City;
Frederick Morgan of Sherburn Road, Durham City; Henry Elliott of Sunderland Road, Durham City; Arthur Middleton Hutchinson of Whitwell Grange near Durham City; James Maguire of Gilesgate, Durham City, Wardens of the nine existing Trades Companies in
the City of Durham
3. The Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate
Attested copy grant by 1-2 to 3 of a right for the term of 30 years to erect an incinerator upon part of The Islands, Durham City; with 1:2,500 plan with area delineated in gray.
Consideration: 2/3 of £8 by 3 to 1-2.
Paper; waxed linen 2f; 1f
DCF 5/C/6 10 and 18 October 1935
Consent of the Minister of Health to the sale by Durham City Council of its freehold interest in c. 208 square yards of land abutting Framwellgate Waterside in Durham City, to City of Durham Gas Company, in consideration of £60; which sale to
take place within 6 months, the Consent voiding thereafter. Signed and sealed by W. A. Ross, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Health. With annexed plan (30 x 32 cm; scale 1:500) of the site issued by the Gateshead District Valuer, dated 10 October
1935, and identifying neighbouring property (owners).
Paper; waxed linen 1f; 1f
DCF 5/C/7 9 February 1938
Plan of Freeman's Place and The Islands, Durham City, by John W. Green, City Engineer. Western Freeman's Place section shaded pink; eastern mill stream section shaded green, and annotated in pencil. Dated in pencil on dorse, and with unidentified
sketch plan. Plan also shows flood levels, mill, incinerator, gardens, plantation, bridge to The Islands, and northern boundaries of carpet factory and school playing fields.
scale: 1:500
Paper 1f
Size: 90 x 46 cm
DCF 5/C/8 [February 1938]
Plan of Freeman's Place and The Islands, Durham City, by John W. Green, City Engineer. Central and eastern (The Sands) sections A-D shaded blue (0.8764a); mill stream section shaded green (0.7360a). Pencil and blue crayon annotations.
scale: 1:500
Paper 1f
Size: 90 x 46 cm
DCF 5/C/9 [before May 1942]
Plan of National Fire Service station at The Sands. [Eastern] boundary delineated in red crayon.
[Plan appears to precede N.F.S. plan for expansion and development of the site in 1942, see DCF 3/4.]
scale: 1:96
Paper 1f
Size: 88 x 46 cm
DCF 5/C/10 1950
1. The Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate, acting by David Brunel Martin-Jones Town Clerk
2. John Matthew Herring of 26 Silver Street; John Dickinson Peele of Elvet Waterside; William Craggs of The Chapter Office, The College; William Arthur Bramwell of Elvet Bridge; Bertram Colgrave of 56 South Street; Clifton William Gibby of
Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Crossways Whitesmocks, all in the City of Durham, Durham City Freemen Trustees
3. John Frederick James Smith ice manufacturer of Fyndoune Hartside, County Durham
Draft agreement as to tenancy of land situate at The Islands, Durham City, for use as a car park; with 1:500 plan (Ref: P.203) showing car park area shaded in red.
Paper; waxed linen 6f; 1f
DCF 5/C/11 1951
1. The mayor, aldermen and citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate acting by the City Council
2. John Matthew Herring of 26 Silver Street; John Dickinson Peele of Elvet Waterside; William Craggs of the Chapter Office, The College; William Arthur Bramwell of Elvet Bridge; Bertram Colgrave of 56 South Street; Clifton William Gibby of
Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Crossways, Whitesmocks, all in the City of Durham, Trustees of the Freeman of the City of Durham
3. Secretary of State for Air
Draft lease for 7 years by 1 to 3, with the confirmation of 2, of 1,363 square yards of land at The Sands, Durham City; reserving to 1, with the consent of 2, (I) right to execute works upon adjoining lands, (ii) right of passage and running
of water and soil from adjoining lands and buildings through sewers etc. With covenants by 3 to 1 respecting rent, rates and taxes etc., future development, use of site, prohibiting soil and mineral extraction and excavation, prohibiting exhibition
of advertisements, quiet possession, prohibiting sub-leasing, preventing encroachment, legal costs, stamp duty. Recites: 18 September 1850 Agreement between 1 and the Wardens of the Freemen apportioning [1/3] share of the rents and profits of The
Sands to 1. With plan (25 x 17 cm) of plot of land, shaded pink; scale 1:1,250. Typescript, annotated in pencil, and pen and ink.
Consideration: £3 10s per annum.
Paper 6f; 1f
DCF 5/C/12 [1958 x 1965]
Plan of 500 square yards of land at the junction of Sidegate and Framwellgate, Durham City, shaded pink, by L. E. Ellis, Durham City Engineer.
[For correspondence and papers relating to the sale of the Freemen's rights of common over this piece of land in 1958-1959, and 1964-1965, see DCF 3/6 and DCF 5/C/25.]
scale: 1:500
Paper 1f
Size: 36 x 30 cm
Access to this item is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
DCF 5/C/13 [23 May 1958 x 1961]
North Eastern Electricity Board plan (adapting Ordnance Survey sheet 27.1) of 20/6 kV reinforcement, central and north Durham City, The Sands, Kepier, Framwellgate Waterside, Barker Haugh areas. Plan indicates: existing 20 kV overhead conductors;
proposed 20 kV and 6 kV underground cabling. Plan includes alteration to route at The Sands (16 May 1958), and addition of Firestation buildings (23 May 1958).
[For related correspondence and papers relating to Phases I-II of this N.E.E.B. plan, see DCF 3/6.]
scale: 1:2,500
Paper 1f
Size: 52 x 59 cm
DCF 5/C/14 1960
1. The mayor, aldermen and citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate acting by the City Council
2. John Matthew Herring of 26 Silver Street; John Dickinson Peele of Elvet Waterside ... Bertram Colgrave of 56 South Street; Clifton William Gibby of Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Crossways, Whitesmocks, all in the City
of Durham, Trustees of the Freeman of the City of Durham
3. Secretary of State for Air
Draft lease for 21 years by 1 to 3, with the confirmation of 2, of 2,353 square yards of land at The Sands, Durham City, with right of 3 to demolish, remove or adapt any existing buildings, and to erect temporary buildings; with same
reservations to 1, with the consent of 2, as DCF 5/11. With covenants by 3 to 1 respecting rent, rates and taxes etc., future development, use of site, prohibiting soil and mineral extraction and excavation, prohibiting exhibition of advertisements,
quiet possession, prohibiting sub-leasing, preventing encroachment, the erection by 3 of a boundary fence or wall. Recites: 18 September 1850 Agreement between 1 and the Wardens of the Freemen apportioning [1/3] share of the rents and profits of The
Sands to 1. With plan (20 x 16 cm; scale 1:1,250) of plot of land, shaded pink. Typescript, annotated in pen and ink.
Consideration: £12 per annum.
Paper 6f; 1f
DCF 5/C/15 [1960s]
Plan (adapting Ordnance Survey) of north east Durham City centre, with The Sands and The Sands Flats shaded blue.
scale: 1:1,250
Paper 3f
DCF 5/C/16 [1960s]
Plan (adapting Ordnance Survey) of north east Durham City centre, with area adjoining Durham Ice Rink car park delineated in blue and cross-hatched pink.
scale: 1:1,250
Paper 1f
DCF 5/C/17 [1960s]
Plan (adapting Ordnance Survey) of north east Durham City centre, with area adjoining Durham Ice Rink car park delineated and cross-hatched in blue. Reduced photostat copy of original plan.
scale: 1:1,250
Paper 1f
DCF 5/C/18 [9 December 1960 x 1961]
North Eastern Electricity Board plan (adapting Ordnance Survey) of 20 kV reinforcement, north Durham City, The Sands, Framwellgate Waterside, Barker Haugh, North End, Western Hill areas. Plan includes alteration: diversion of H.V. cable due to
proposed roundabout (9 December 1960).
[For related correspondence and papers relating to Phases I-II of this N.E.E.B. plan, see DCF 3/7.]
scale: 1:2,500.
Paper 1f
Size: 60 x 46 cm
DCF 5/C/19 28 December 1961
City of Durham plan (adapting Ordnance Survey) of part of The Sands (Ref: D/106), with area of 50 square yards shaded in pink on the south side of The Sands, east of the Corporation Yard.
[For correspondence and papers concerning a 1961 lease to Durham A.T.C. of land adjoining the Royal Observer Corps Headquarters, which may relate to this plan, see DCF 3/7.]
scale: 1:1,250
Paper 2f
DCF 5/C/20 1962
1. The mayor, aldermen and citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate acting by the City Council
2. John Matthew Herring of 26 Silver Street; John Dickinson Peele of Elvet Waterside; Clifton William Gibby of Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Crossways, Whitesmocks; Harry Leslie Cawood of 17 Fieldhouse Lane; Thomas Blyth
of Abbey Mead, Quarry Heads Lane; William Arthur Bramwell of the Anchorage, Church Street Head; Lancelot Allgood Leake of Glenariff, 22 St John's Road; Norman Sewell Williamson of Arcot Villa, The Peth, all in the City of Durham, Trustees of the
Freeman of the City of Durham
3. Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Association of the County of Durham
Draft lease for 14 years by 1 to 3, with the confirmation of 2, of 0.34 acre at The Sands, Durham City, with right of 3 to erect temporary buildings; with same reservations to 1, with the consent of 2, as DCF 5/11. With covenants by 3 to 1
respecting rent, rates and taxes etc., future development, use of site, prohibiting soil and mineral extraction and excavation, prohibiting exhibition of advertisements, quiet possession, prohibiting sub-leasing, preventing encroachment, the
erection by 3 of a wooden military fence 4' 6" in height, maintenance and repairs. Recites: 18 September 1850 Agreement between 1 and the Wardens of the Freemen apportioning [1/3] share of the rents and profits of The Sands to 1. Annexed plan not
present. Typescript, annotated in pen and ink.
Consideration: £5 per annum.
Paper 7f
DCF 5/C/21-22 [1963 x 1964]
2 plans of proposed and existing Royal Observer Corps Group Headquarters buildings at Freeman's Place, The Sands. Plan DCF 5/21 scale c. 1:200. Plan DCF 5/22 (adapting Ordnance Survey sheet XVI.1): The Sands, Framwellgate Waterside areas. DCF
5/C/21 annotated in blue ink delineating a 40 foot strip of land adjoining to the east of the site.
[The annotation may relate to the lease by the Freemen to the Corporation of land adjacent to the R.O.C. Group Headquarters for use as a car park, 1963-1964: for related papers see DCF 3/7.]
scale: 1:2,500
Paper 1f each
Size: 34 x 22 cm; 23 x 22 cm
Access to this item is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
DCF 5/C/23 [1964]
North East Electricity Board plan (adapting Ordnance Survey) of 11 kV reinforcement, north Durham City, The Sands areas. Plan indicates proposed 11 kV cabling, with annotations in pencil and green ink. Inscribed ‘Part
Drg No. 62.24/2.649A’.
[For related correspondence and papers relating to this N.E.E.B. plan, see DCF 3/7.]
scale: 1:2,500
Paper 1f
Size: 34 x 27 cm
Access to this item is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
DCF 5/C/24 3 November 1964
1. The Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate acting by the City Council
2. John Matthew Herring of 31 Old Elvet; John Dickinson Peele of High Close, Hollingside Lane; Clifton William Gibby of Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Whitesmocks; Harry Leslie Cawood of 17 Fieldhouse Lane; William Arthur
Bramwell of The Anchorage, Church Street Head; Lancelot Allgood Leake of Glenariff, 22 St John's Road; Norman Sewell Williamson of Arcot Villa, The Peth, all in the City of Durham, Trustees of the Freeman of the City of Durham
3. Cyril Brown of 4 Wearside Drive, Durham City
Grant by 1-2 to 3 and his family, from 25 November 1964, of a right of way on foot and motor vehicle over land at The Sands, edged in red on enclosed plan.
Consideration: £1 by 3 to 1.
Signed and sealed by all parties.
Paper 2f; 1f
Access to this item is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
DCF 5/C/25 8 March 1965
1. John Matthew Herring of 31 Old Elvet; John Dickinson Peele of High Close, Hollingside; Clifton William Gibby of Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Whitesmocks; Harry Leslie Cawood of 17 Fieldhouse Lane; William
Arthur Bramwell of the Anchorage, Church Street Head; Lancelot Allgood Leake of Glenariff, 22 St John's Road; Norman Sewell Williamson of Arcot Villa, The Peth, all in the City of Durham, Trustees of the Freeman of the City of Durham
2. The mayor, aldermen and citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate acting by the City Council
Release by 1 to 2 of a right of common over 0.11 acres of land at the junction of Sidegate and Framwellgate, Durham City; with plan (16 x 16 cm) of the plot of land shaded pink, scale 1:1,250, dated 15 December 1964. Recites: freehold of the
plot of land belongs to the Corporation of Durham, subject to the rights of the Freemen of the city to use and exercise a right of common thereon.
Consideration: £10. Signed by 1, Norman Wood Sarsfield mayor of Durham City and D. B. Martin-Jones
town clerk. Witnessed by H. Cecil Ferens of Durham solicitor [and Clerk to the Freemen's Trustees].
Paper; textile 3f
Access to this item is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
See also DCF 5/C/12.
DCF 5/C/26 17 August 1966
1. The Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate acting by the City Council
2. John Matthew Herring of 31 Old Elvet; John Dickinson Peele of High Close, Hollingside Lane; Clifton William Gibby of Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Whitesmocks; Harry Leslie Cawood of 17 Fieldhouse Lane; William Arthur
Bramwell of The Anchorage, Church Street Head; Lancelot Allgood Leake of Glenariff, 22 St John's Road; Norman Sewell Williamson of Arcot Villa, The Peth, all in the City of Durham, Trustees of the Freeman of the City of Durham
3. The Parochial Church Council of the Parish of St Nicholas, Durham
The Durham Diocesan Board of Finance
Lease for 35 years by 1 to 3, from 24 June 1966, of land on the east side of Providence Row, Durham City, coloured red in annexed plan, with grant by 1-2 to 3 of a right of way to and from the said land over a footway, coloured brown in
annexed plan; excepting minerals, and with reservations; with covenants by 3 to 1, including to construct a Youth Centre, and to lay out and maintain the footway.
Considerations: 1s per annum rent.
Signed by all parties, with seals of 1 and 3.
Paper 4f; 1f
Access to these items is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
DCF 5/C/27 [July 1969 x 1970]
Plan, ‘Survey of The Sands Development’ [?The Sands Flats], by H. Stone, Durham City Engineer. Scale: 1:240. Plan indicates two sections hatched in blue (397 square yards) either side of an area delineated in
red.
[The sale in 1970 of the Freemen's rights of common over a larger area, encompassing both areas shaded red and blue in this plan, suggests a date for this plan preceding DCF 5/C/28.]
Paper 1f
Size: 59 x 33 cm
Access to this item is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
DCF 5/C/28 1970
1. John Matthew Herring of 31 Old Elvet; John Dickinson Peele of High Close, Hollingside; Clifton William Gibby of Prebends Gate, Quarry Heads Lane; Gordon McIntyre of Whitesmocks; Harry Leslie Cawood of 17 Fieldhouse Lane; William
Arthur Bramwell of the Anchorage, Church Street Head; Lancelot Allgood Leake of Glenariff, 22 St John's Road; Norman Sewell Williamson of Arcot Villa, The Peth, all in the City of Durham, Trustees of the Freeman of the City of Durham
2. The mayor, aldermen and citizens of the City of Durham and Framwellgate acting by the City Council
Draft release by 1 to 2 of a right of common over 1,879 square yards of land in The Sands, Durham City. With 2 copies of a plan (60 x 33 cm) of the plot of land delineated in red [with ?The Sands Flats development outline], by H. Stone,
Durham City Engineer, dated July 1969; scale 1:240. Recites: (I) freehold of the plot of land belongs to the Corporation of Durham, subject to the rights of the Freemen of the city to use and exercise a right of common thereon; (ii) 18 September
1850 Agreement between 1 and the Wardens of the Freemen apportioning [1/3] share of the rents and profits of The Sands to 1. Typescript.
Paper 2f; 1f; 1f
Access to these items is only permitted with the permission of the Clerk to the Trustees of Durham City Freemen.
DCF 5/D 1873-1942
DCF 5/D/1 3 July 1873
Unsigned receipt with schedule of deeds and writings relating to the several properties belonging to the Durham Freemen's Trustees, [to be] delivered by Messrs Dodds & Company of Stockton on Tees as solicitors for the administratrix of the
late John Tiplady, to William Marshall, clerk to the Freemen's Trustees.
Paper 2f
DCF 5/D/2 28 April 1937
Receipt with schedule of documents relating to Freemen's Farm, 1867-1937, signed by Charles Leatham, [Clerk to the Freemen's Trustees]. Typescript.
Paper 1f
DCF 5/D/3 May 1937
[Copy] schedule of documents relating to Freemen's Farm, 1867-1937. Typescript. Receipt unsigned.
Paper 1f
DCF 5/D/4 January 1942
[Copy] schedule of documents, papers, files etc. belonging to the Freemen of the City of Durham handed over to Mr C. Leatham succeeding the late Mr G. A. Carpenter as Clerk to the Freemen. Typescript. Receipt unsigned.
Paper 1f
Freemen of EnglandReference: DCF 6Dates of creation: 1968-1972
Extent: 1 file
Draft constitution, minutes of Annual General Meetings, and newsletters of the association of the Freemen of England, founded in 1966 and still active, as the Freemen of England and Wales, in 2014.
Accession details
These typescript documents concern the association of the Freemen of all England. They were sent to the depositor Dr. C. W. Gibby, who was a trustee of the Freemen of Durham City. He received only these documents from the association. The items
contain much miscellaneous information about freemen in many parts of England, with passing reference to Wales and Scotland.
Former references: SGD.85/1, 2(a) etc. Transferred from the Small Gifts and Deposits collection.
DCF 6/1 15 February 1968
Draft constitution of the Freemen of England.
Paper 3f
DCF 6/2
This consists of several items stapled together.
DCF 6/2(a) 5 October 1968
Minutes of the second A.G.M. of the Freemen of England held at the Guildhall, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/2(b) 27 September 1968
Addendum I, message from Her Majesty the Queen.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/2(c) 2 October 1968
Addendum I contd. message from Her Majesty the Queen.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/2(d) [5 October 1968]
Addendum II, list of 107 representatives of freemen of Alnwick, Berwick, Chester, Durham, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Newcastle upon Tyne and York, present at the meeting.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/2(e) [5 October 1968]
Addendum III. Report of the convener of the Freemen on matters arising from the previous meeting.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/2(f) [5 October 1968]
Addendum IV. Miscellaneous information on the Chester Freemen's Guildhall, the Grimsby Freemen's Market, the Newcastle upon Tyne Freemen, the origins of freemen in general, other freemen of peculiar admission, Leicester Freemen's bungalows and
the freemen of Berwick upon Tweed.
Paper 2f
DCF 6/3
This consists of several items stapled together.
DCF 6/3(a) 17 October 1970
Report and Minutes of the fourth A.G.M. of the Freemen of England, held at the Guildhall, Chester.
Paper 3f
DCF 6/3(b) 7 October 1970
Appendix I, message from H.M. the Queen.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/3©) 17 October 1970
Appendix II, list of representatives of the freemen of Alnwick, Berwick upon Tweed, Brightlingsea, Cardiff, Chester, Durham, Hale, Musselburgh, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Newcastle upon Tyne, Oxford and York present at the meeting.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/4 20 November 1970
Freemen of England -
Newsletter no.14.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/5a April 1971
Freemen of England -
Newsletter no.15
Paper 6f
DCF 6/5b [April 1971]
Appendix I accommodation at Alnwick.
Paper 1f
DCF 6/6 June 1971
Freemen of England -
Newsletter n.16
Paper 6f
DCF 6/7 July 1971
Freemen of England -
Newsletter no.17
Paper 6f
DCF 6/8 30 September 1972
Report and Minutes of the sixth A.G.M. of the Freemen of England, held in St William's College, York. Appendices: I. Telegram to the Queen; II. Attendances; III. President's report.
Paper 9f
Poll book; printed historical guides; and other papersReference: DCF 7Dates of creation: 1761-1984
Extent: 8 volumes; 4fPaper
Poll book, printed historical guides and papers.
DCF 7/1 [1761]
The poll at the election of members to serve in Parliament, for the city of Durham. Taken before Richard Wharton, Esq; Mayor, the 30th, and 31st days of March, and the 1st day of April, 1761. Annotated with initials
[?AB/NB] on cover, and with a tally of single [plumper] votes on page 27.
Paper 30p
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
DCF 7/2-3 1830
May, 1830. Extracts of the material clauses now affecting the rights of the resident freemen of the city of Durham. Contained in the Act passed 41st Geo. III. 1801. Intitled ‘An act for dividing and
inclosing certain moors commons, or waste lands, and two parcels of ground called The Intack or Cow Pasture and Shaw Wood, within the several townships of Framwellgate and Witton Gilbert, and in the several manors of Chester and Lanchester, in the
County Palatine of Durham; and for extinguishing all Right of Common on certain inclosed intercommon lands, within the same townships.’ Printed in Durham by W. J. Fewster, Saddler Street. (2 copies). Each copy contains manuscript
amendments and annotations. The front paper cover of copy DCF 7/3 is inscribed with the signature of Canon William Greenwell.
Paper; thread 1 volume
Binding: Thread-bound; paper covers
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 7/4-5 1941
‘The Durham trade guilds’, parts I-II with appendices, by C. E. Whiting, D.D., B.C.L., F.S.A. Offprints from the
Transactions of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland, vol. IX, part II, 1941.
Paper 1 volume
Accession details
DCF 7/4 presented to the Durham City Freemen by the author, 2 November 1942 (see correspondence DCF 4/X). DCF 7/5 stamped upon receipt by the Charity Commission, 8 January 1953.
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 7/6 May 1967
Freemen of England in 1967, by Harry Ward, Convenor, Freemen of England, immediate Past Master of the Gild of Freemen of the City of York.
Paper 1 volume
DCF 7/7-8 1971
Durham freemen and the guilds, by C. W. Gibby, F.S.A. (2 copies).
Paper 2 volumes
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen -- England --
Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
DCF 7/9-10 [1984]
‘Admission of freemen of the city of Durham.’ Historical paper (typescript) distributed to the Freemen as item 4 for 27 April 1984 meeting, without attribution, (2 copies).
2f (2 copies)
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
ObjectsReference: DCF 8Dates of creation: [20th century]
Extent: 1 envelopeTextile
DCF 8/1/1-4 [20th century]
Four textile badges of the shield of Durham, (sable a cross argent voided gules), formerly worn by the mayor's bodyguard on their robes.
Textile 4 badges (1 envelope)
Size: 18 x 15 cm
Durham City Freemen
Durham (England) -- Politics and government
Freemen --
England -- Durham
Guilds -- England -- Durham
