Durham’s freemen are backing the launch of a targeted aid programme designed to bring fresh hope to scores of disadvantaged children and young people on a city housing estate. The staff and management team of the Laurel Avenue Community Centre, established in 1985 and located on the Sherburn Road Estate, have identified many “stigmatised” children […]
David Todd Born: 3 June 1949; Died: 17 January 2022. David became a Freeman in February 1971 following the death of his father David (Known as Leslie). He proudly displayed both certificates on his wall and enjoyed meeting fellow freemen at the last dinner held pre-COVID. David spent most of his working life with Barclays […]
Roger Norris 1941 – 2021Gentleman Freeman, and Chairman of Trustees 1995-2015 At the time of his retirement as chair of the Freemen trustees in 2015, Roger’s peers recorded the significant contribution Roger had made to the ‘re-birth’ of the city’s Freemen. Ever modest about his own role, Roger instead cited the energy and vision of […]
A future of a vital communications link operated by a Durham-based charity for the blind has been guaranteed, thanks to the generosity of the city’s freemen. Blind Life in Durham, operating from Framwellgate Community Centre, provides a wide range of quality-of-life support to more than 70 members across the county. A key tool used in […]
People seeking help and support from an independently-run mental health resource centre near the centre of Durham will now be able to enjoy a welcome breath of fresh air – thanks to a gift from the city’s freemen. Every week the Waddington Street Centre, a respected charity celebrating its 40th anniversary this month (November), has provided […]
A vital donation from Durham City’s Freemen has again helped underwrite the costs of staging one of the North East’s biggest Remembrance Day parades. The spectacle – through the streets of the city on Sunday, November 14 – will feature more than 500 military personnel, among them representatives of the vast majority of the country’s […]
Durham’s Freemen are proving an even bigger hit with young boxing enthusiasts – by repeating a donation first made a year ago to buy key pieces of training kit. Last November a £300 gift from the freemen’s charitable trust helped Brandon Boxing Club cover costs of a new punch bag and gloves. This month the […]
A great-grandmother, who seven years ago was reported to be one the oldest people in Britain to be newly sworn-in as a freemen, is celebrating another milestone in her life – her 100th birthday. In the spring of 2014 Mrs Connie Hotchkiss was just four months short of her 93rd birthday when she was welcomed into […]
A medal-winning neighbourhood community champion has been installed as leader of Durham City’s Freemen. Seventy-four-year-old John Booth was unanimously elected chairmen of the wardens and now leads the freemen’s eight surviving trade guilds whose lineage is thought to stretch back to the early 14th century. A medal-winning neighbourhood community champion has been installed as leader […]
Hundreds of children with special needs are to be re-united at four huge fun-filled picnics organised by a leading County Durham charity to mark the end of their Covid isolation. Hundreds of children with special needs are to be re-united at four huge fun-filled picnics organised by a leading County Durham charity to mark the […]