A specialist centre providing temporary 24-hour respite care to people with learning difficulties is benefiting a second time from the latest round of charitable awards from Durham City’s freemen “ALEXA” SPEAKS UP TO LIFT THE MOOD AT SPECIALIST RESPITE CARE CENTRE Over two years ago Hawthorn House, a county council-run complex at Newton Hall and staffed by […]
A plea for help from a storm-hit charity supporting local people with learning difficulties or recovering from mental health problems, has been answered by Durham City’s Freemen. HURRICANE TAKES THE WIND OUT OF CHARITY’S SAILS At the end of last year the LionMouth Rural Centre, a community project based at Broadgate Farm, near Esh Winning, was […]
Durham’s’ freemen saluted an historical new milestone in their long and colourful past with a day of special public celebration in the city’s centre on the weekend of Saturday, May 14 BUTCHERS’ CARVE OUT A NEW LANDMARK IN DURHAM’S CENTURIES-OLD HISTORY In 1520, during Henry V111’s reign, the freemen’s Butchers’ Company was granted the legal right […]
NEW ARRIVALS REINFORCE LINKS ACROSS FOUR CENTURIES Two men, whose family’s north east roots straddle at least four centuries, have been sworn in together as Durham City Freemen at the May Guild Day in the town hall. Father and son Jervis and Jasper Smith were welcomed into the Drapers’ Company during the ancient ceremony, presided over […]
A charity’s move to offer direct help to vulnerable homeless women, struggling with “complex and multiple needs,” has been underwritten by a gift from Durham’s freemen. Against a background of constant struggle to raise funds Durham Action on Single Housing (DASH) – a non-profitmaking organisation founded in 1972 – still pressed ahead with the project. […]
A civil engineer, who played a key role in the re-building, re-shaping and repairing the fabric of Durham during the latter part of the 20th century, has been sworn in as a freeman of the city. Bryan Proud, who as director of operations led the city’s entire 500-strong manual workforce until his retirement over 20 years […]
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 […]