TWO time-served craftsmen, whose working lives followed different courses, discovered they unwittingly shared a common bond shortly before being sworn in as freemen at November’s Guild Day in the Town Hall Gary Wilkinson, who became a member of the Joiners’s Company, has been a key player in the multi-million-pound rescue of the Durham Miners’ Hall […]
I’m excited to share some highlights from the recent major restoration of Durham Town Hall. As many of you know, the town hall closed in November 2024 to allow for an extensive programme of repairs and conservation—part of a broader initiative that originally began during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020–21. This vital work included a […]
The multi-million-pound rescue of Durham’s Miners’ Hall, to be formally unveiled to the public later this year – will be fronted by a key feature funded by a £3,000 gift from the city’s freemen. The transformation, which has breathed new life into the dilapidated Redhills building in Flass Street, was launched nearly a decade ago […]
A Durham-based charitable hub – one of four regional centres offering trainees from the margins of society the chance of advancement by learning new skills – is expanding its operation thanks to a gift from ancient trade guilds of the city’s freemen. For nearly fifteen years Handcrafted Projects has, from their Langley Moor skill and […]
YOUNG house-building carpenter Liam Thynne, singled out for his “exceptional skills,” has been declared overall winner of a pioneering annual awards scheme showcasing the achievements of modern-day craft apprentices. The project, launched 12 months ago by Durham City’s Freemen, and supported by New College, Durham, this year considered 25 new hopefuls in eight trade categories, […]
A woman reinforced her family’s long-standing links with Durham City’s ancient trade guilds when she was sworn in as a freeman. Barbara Kingston, who joins two cousins recently installed into the Company of Drapers, insisted: “I know my maternal grandfather Joseph, who I was particularly close to, would be very proud if he was here […]
Cordwainers’ warden, Joe McElwee, was given a particularly warm reception when he arrived at an eco-friendly community project in Durham to formally hand over an £8,000 donation from the City’s Freemen. Fire-eater John Wolstenholme, a retired geneticist and now one of a team of volunteer helpers at The Wood Pile in Renny’s Lane, Gilesgate, provided […]
A halt to free fishing, on a stretch of the River Wear in the heart of Durham City, has been authorised by the freemen’s trustees to combat what conservationists have condemned as “salmon and sea trout poaching on an industrial scale.” A new bylaw, currently sought by the Wear Anglers’ Association, will reinforce the trustees’ […]
Iain Wilmshurst Works Manager at Durham Cathedral is elected new warden of the Currier’s Company. Iain was educated at Whinney Hill Secondary School from 1969 until 1974. In June 1974 he joined the staff of Durham Cathedral as an apprentice stonemason. He served under Edward Hughes who was one of the best masons at the […]
Eric Bulmer Chairman of the Plumber’s Company is elected new Chaiman of the Wardens. Although I was only appointed Warden of the Plumbers’ Company in May 2013, I have strong family ties with the Freemen of Durham City and I am the fourth generation of Bulmer to be admitted to the Freemen; a line that […]