Beloved son of Jen and Thomas. Devoted husband and best friend of Anne. Loving dad to Ian and Paul. Doting grandad to Dylan, Emily and Alice. Harry Robson24 November 1937 – 27 July 2018 Proud member of the Durham City Freemen and dedicated Warden of the Plumbers Guild. Harry always had time and always had […]
A woman who plays a key role in an international publishing company has been installed as a Freeman of Durham – just months after her dad, a leading regional academic, was sworn in. Mother-of-two Niki Haunch, whose family links with the city stretch back to the early 1800s, insisted she was “proud” to have further […]
Following our visit to Berwick last year, the Durham City Freemen hosted a visit of the Berwick Guild. It proved to be very enjoyable day which also benefited from wonderful sunny weather. The programme for the visit of members and guests of the Berwick Guild included; The visit concluded with refreshments in the Town Hall […]
A woman, whose extended family links with the city’s freemen stretch back more than a century, has been sworn in as a new member – the result of a chance conversation with her cousin. Forty-two-year-old Sue Staveley lives in a village on the outskirts of Scarborough with her husband Jamie, 13-year-old daughter Emily and son […]
Three freemen, all members of the same family, put their best feet forward over the Easter holiday to climb to the top one of England’s highest mountains – a trek organised to give a cash boost to cancer research. The trio, Geoff Kitson, son Leighton and daughter Alison, were part of a seven-strong group who […]
A donation from the Freemen has topped off a public appeal to meet the cost of roof repairs at a divisional Girl Guides’ centre in the city. The £1,000 gift lifted the fund to the £8,100 target needed to get the building work under way at Redwood Lodge in Durham City. “The freemen’s contribution was […]
John Atkinson was known to all as a welcoming spirit at Freemen Meetings, Guild Days and the Annual Dinner. Although John had originally been admitted to the Company of Drapers, he agreed to become Warden of the Masons’ Company in 1999 in succession to Donald Young. He retired as Warden of the ‘Masons’ in 2013. […]
All patients at the University Hospital of North Durham will enjoy the benefits of a financial injection from the city’s freemen that will underpin the development of radio broadcasts throughout the complex. The hospital’s broadcasting service, first established in 1963, is currently run by a 14-strong band of volunteers. They have recently been working with […]
Two city craftsmen, who struck up entirely separate friendships with two leaders of Durham’s ancient craft guilds, were sworn-in as city freemen at the Candlemas ceremony (February 5th). Surveyor Stuart Trow kept a promise to the late John Heslop, the former warden’s chairman, to apply for the freedom, while plumber Alan Oliver’s application was the […]
Double-award winning volunteers, who provide a guiding hand to the tens of thousands of tourists who visit Durham every year, have been given a second cash boost by the city’s freemen. The Durham Pointers received a £4,000 donation from the freemen in 2016 after earning a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The money was used […]