CITY OF DURHAM 



The presentation of a criminal at the Sheriff's 

 tourn when the offence was committed within 

 the jurisdiction of the borough court is duly 

 noted. Over two hundred years later, in 1757,^ 

 we find the same kind of offences being presented, 

 and the state of the streets, judging from the 

 numerous presentments for manure, had not 

 improved. In 1835 Crossgate became part of 

 the area subject to the corporation. 



The BARONT AND BOROUGH OF 

 ELVET is that portion of Durham which 

 lies in the loop of the River Wear south-east 

 of the market place.*' It consists of Old and 

 New Elvet and the two continuations of the 

 latter, namely, Church Street, leading to the 

 south road to Darlington, and Hallgarth Street, 

 whereby Yarm and Stockton are reached.** In 

 addition to the urban area, Elvet formerly 

 included a considerable area of arable land and 

 a somewhat small moor, over which latter area 

 the inhabitants had grazing rights. Until the 

 Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, Elvet was 

 divided into the Borough and the Barony. 

 The former comprised the low-lying area north 

 of Raton Row (now Court Lane) and its con- 

 tinuation eastward along the north side of the 

 railway line ; ^ everything south of the Raton 

 Row belonged to the barony. 



Though Old Elvet is now a cul-de-sac, in the 

 15th century it formed one of the main routes 

 south by Shincliffe, and was then known as 

 New Elvet, whilst New Elvet, then known as 

 Old Elvet,'" ceased to be the principal route to 



than one day and night and not more than three 

 Scots.' This entry indicates the feeling of the burgesses 

 to their northern neighbours. 



** Rolls for 1757 and 1764 exist in the Durham 

 Treasury. 



*' The Dean and Chapter Treasury at Durham 

 contains a number of documents relating to Elvet. 

 In addition there are rentals and some court rolls. 

 References to it will also be found in the Hostellar's 

 accounts, as Elvet was under that official's special 

 jurisdiction. These all relate to the period before the 

 Dissolution ; for later periods the material is scanty. 



** In the Middle Ages the terms Church Street 

 and Hallgarth Street were not used ; houses in those 

 areas are sometimes differentiated as being in Elvet 

 Superior. Durh. Treas. 4, 16, spec. 1 31. 



** The boundaries of the Borough of Elvet are in 

 Prior Bertram's Charter, u 88-1 208. Feod. Prior. 

 Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), p. 199. 



*• \ careful comparison of the boundaries given in 

 the deeds in Durh. Treas. 4, 16 spec, and I, 17 spec, 

 makes it clear that Old and New Elvet have changed 

 names. Ibid. I, 17 spec. 54, gives the Wear as the 

 northern boundary and the King's Highway as the 

 southern boundary in ' New ' Elvet. Ibid. 3, 17 spec. 

 46, gives the ' manerium de Elvethall ' as the boundary 

 of two tenements in ' Old ' Elvet. But the clearest 

 evidence is the 15th-century sketch (Durh. Treas. 

 Misc. Charters, 7100; see below, p. 63, n. l). When the 



Shincliffe until the river washed away ' New 

 Way,' where it passed under Maiden Castle 

 Wood. Raton Row was formerly a much more 

 important thoroughfare, as it led to the Scaltok 

 MiUs. 



Except for references in the forged foundation 

 charters of the convent,*"^ nothing certain is 

 known about Elvet until the grant of the 

 Borough Charter by Prior Bertram (i 188-1208). 

 Probably the original settlement would be on 

 the high ground somewhere near the site*- of 

 the Manor House, which stood in Hallgarth 

 Street just off the road from Shincliffe Bridge 

 to the Old Borough. When in 995 the Castle 

 plateau was occupied, the Elvet area would 

 develop as the best access from the south to the 

 Castle area.'* However this may be, at the end 

 of the 12th century the history of Elvet was 

 marked by two important events, namely, the 

 building of Elvet Bridge by Bishop Pudsey and 

 the foundation of the Borough of Elvet. It is 

 probable that these two events were connected. 

 Why the convent, which already had a borough 

 in Crossgate, should found another in Elvet, is 

 not quite apparent, unless the difficulty of com- 

 munication between the convent and Crossgate 

 is borne in mind. In addition, the level nature 

 of the Elvet area rendered it more suitable for 

 commercial purposes than Crossgate's uneven 

 surface. That the new borough of Elvet soon 

 became more populous and prosperous than the 

 old borough of Crossgate seems clear.** 



change was made is doubtful ; the old nomenclature 

 was in force when the Repertorium Magnum (Durh. 

 Treas.) was drawn up in 1456, but a hundred years 

 later leases in the Dean and Chapter registers made 

 it clear that the change had taken place. .At iirst the 

 terms ' Old ' and ' New ' Elvet did not apply to 

 streets, but to areas, Old Elvet meaning the barony 

 district and New Elvet the borough. (See entries in 

 Repertorium Magnum, Durham Treasury.) 



'1 On the forged foundation charters, see Feod. 

 Prior. Dunelm. (Surtees Soc), p. xxxiv et seq. It 

 must be borne in mind that the forgeries were made 

 early in the 12th century and may therefore be 

 accepted as evidence of the state of affairs then, and 

 the passage in the charter in the Liber J'itae (Surtees 

 Soc), p. 75, 'Aeluet ut ibi XL'* mercatorum domos 

 monachi ad usum proprium habeant, qui prorsus ab 

 omni episcopi servitio sint Uberi nisi forte merceries 

 ci\'itates sit reparanda ad quam non magis quam 

 de tot civitates mcrcatoribus opus ab eis exigitur' 

 as indicating the intention of adding a mercantile 

 community to the agricultural population of Elvet. 



*2 Farm buildings and some ancient tithe barns 

 still mark the spot. 



'* By Water Lane and King's Gate. 



'* As e\-idence of this the Marescalcia Rolls of 

 the convent may be cited. When in 1392 the 

 weights and measures of the Old Borough of Elvet 

 were tested 22 tradesmen appeared from Crossgate 

 and 62 from Elvet — 20 from the barony and 42 from 



61 



