Sid was admitted to the Cordwainers Company of the Durham City Freemen in May 1992 and regularly attended Guild Days. He was extremely proud of his association with the Freemen and the City of Durham. Sid is survived by Vera whom he married in 1958 and sons Ian and Peter. Sydney Davidson(Cordwainers Company)11 September 1927 […]
A former police detective and a law professor are the newest members of the Durham City Freemen. Leah Freeland and Dr Peter Minto were sworn in as Freeman at a Guild Hall ceremony in the Town Hall. A miner’s son, who established himself as one of Britain’s leading legal academics, was one of two newcomers […]
A dedicated group of volunteers, who point the way for tens of thousands of tourists who visit Durham each summer, have themselves been given a helping hand by the City’s Freemen. The work of the Durham Pointers, a sixty-strong group who provide directions and information to visitors, last year earned them a Queen’s Award for […]
A major donation from the City of Durham Freemen has enabled a groundbreaking community project to plan for the future – by stepping back in time. A £7,000 grant from the freemen has underpinned ambitious new developments at workshops run by the LionMouth Rural Centre, including the revival of the ancient woodland craft of bodging. […]
Signs, formally underlining the introduction of a total fishing ban on a stretch of the River Wear in the centre of Durham City, are now in place – offering clear warning to salmon and sea trout poachers they risk arrest by police. The erection of the signs follows a unanimous decision taken in January by […]
A long serving freeman, whose family links to the city’s trade guilds stretch back more than 300 years, died in hospital on February 26th after a long illness. Retired police sergeant John Reginald Stout, known to his friends as Reg, was admitted into the Butchers’ Company in February 1964 and at the time of his […]
Durham’s oldest performing arts company, facing a fight for survival, has been thrown a financial lifeline by the city’s freemen. The award-winning Durham Musical Theatre Company, formed in 1908, is, staging a programme of glittering three-hour shows at the Gala Theatre in a bid to secure its future. An ambitious medley from “The best of […]
A great grandmother, who has given behind-the-scenes support to Durham’s freemen for more than quarter of a century, was honoured today (Monday, August 10th) at a unique ceremony in the city’s town hall. Seventy-five-year-old Rita Brown, was sworn into the joiners’ company as a Lady Freeman, joining her two children and five grandsons who have […]
Our Annual Dinner was held on 4 October 2014 in the Town Hall and was another most enjoyable evening. The dinner has been organised single handedly for over 10 years by our Chairman of Trustees, Roger Norris, to whom we all owe a great debt of gratitude. This was the last Dinner that Roger will […]
With a view to providing opportunities for members of the Plumber’s Company to meet socially in a relaxing and interesting environment, Eric Bulmer, John Booth, Mel Wortley and Haydon Watson of the Plumber’s Company together with Joe McElwee (Cordwainers) and Geof Kitson (Barbers) were met by Nigel Mawson in the restaurant for coffee before embarking […]