their camp on this green semi-isle; but at the same time they would scarcely neglect to secure the vantage ground of the high and threatening opposite cliff, and Maiden Castle would bristle thick with lines of defence. This would have been all probable, had merely a guarded ford existed across the river; but very recent discoveries have proved, that one of the most doubtful of Cade's assertions was not hazarded without authority. During a late dry summer the wooden piers of a bridge over the Wear, leading exactly to the station at Old Durham, were not only visible, but those very piers were taken up, consisting of long trunks of trees, squared and bored, and mortised together so as to form a strong foundation for each side of the river. At the same time, from the state of the river, the piers of a bridge of solid masonry were discovered on the north side of the Wear, below Kepier Hospital, confirming, as it would seem, the old tradition, that a great road passed this Leway across the race ground, and so by Kepier northwards, apart from the later track of Elvet and Framwellgate Bridges, which were only established when the convenience of the Norman castle or the new borough of Elvet demanded them. Of these bridges of Old Durham and Kepier, the earliest monastic historians do not appear to have taken the slightest notice; their origin, therefore, may fairly be referred to a remoter period-to the distant era, in all probability, of the Roman dominion in Britain." Old Durham was formerly possessed by the Booths, from whom it passed to the Cockburnes and Heaths, and afterwards to the Tempests. It was subsequently transferred by marriage to the Londonderry family, who are the present possessors. It is comprised in the barony of Elvet, pays church rates to Shincliffe, poor rate and county rates to the parish of St. Oswald, and queen's taxes to the parish of St. Giles. Alderson John, market gardener Akenhead William shoemaker Ayre John, vict. Shincliffe Colliery Inn, Barker Joseph, vict. Oak Tree, Banktop Chapman George, engineer, Durham Water Dowell John, victnaller, Rose Tree Douglas James, parish clerk French Robert, butcher French William, blacksmith Green Wm, vict. Pine Apple, Old Durham and Durham Railway Station Hindmarch George, tailor Hodgson Joseph, tailor, draper, and grocer Tilery Lindsley William, victualler, Seven Stars Miller Mrs. Mary Moon John, station master, N.E. Railway OLD DURHAM COLLIERY, the Marchioness of Londonderry, proprietor Oates George, sen., Banktop Sanderson James, East Grange Sanderson John (yeoman) Westgarth Thomas ST. GILES' PARISH. * The parish of St. Giles is bounded on the north by the river Wear, on the west by St. Nicholas' parish, on the south by the Wear and St. Oswald's parish, on the south-east by Pittington, and on the north-east by Houghton-le-Spring parish. The long suburb of St. Giles, or Gilesgate, joins Claypath in the parish of St. Nicholas, near the summit of the first hill, and, after crossing a small valley, it ascends the second hill, whence it extends along the height to the eastward, and terminates on Gilesgate Moor. This was formerly termed the borough of St. Giles. The lands and burgages are held with very few exceptions, by copy of court roll, and courts were regularly held by the masters of Kepier Hospital before the dissolution of the religious houses, and, since that period, they have been continued by the successive lay owners. On the division of Gilesgate Moor, in 1817, the Marquis and Marchioness of Londonderry received one-sixteenth of the entire moor, in lieu of their manorial rights, but they reserved to themselves the proprietorship of the mines. The population in 1801 was 940; in 1811, 906; in 1821, 1,237; in 1831, 1,277; in 1841, 3,396; in 1851, 5,423 souls. Kepier Hospital, which gives name to the hamlet by which it is surrounded, is situated on the banks of the Wear, in the parish of St. Giles, about a mile north-east from Durham. It was founded and endowed in 1112, by Bishop Flambard, for a master and twelve brethren; but during the usurpation of Cumin, it was destroyed by fire. It was afterwards restored by Bishop Pudsey, who also confirmed the endowment of the hospital. At the dissolution of the religious houses its revenues were valued at £186 0s. 10d., and it was then granted by Henry VIII. to Sir William Paget. It was afterwards transferred by purchase to the Heaths, and from them passed to the Coles, the Tempests, the Carrs, and the Musgraves, to whose descendants it still belongs. Of the ancient monastic buildings the only portion now remaining, is the gateway, a strong and not inelegant piece of masonry, having a groined roof, and the keystones highly ornamented with figures and foliage. Portions of the mansion erected subsequently to the dissolution still remain; the carved oak panelling of one of the rooms is still in excellent preservation. The scenery in Kepier Wood is grand and beautiful; in one place, rocks a hundred feet high and crowned with wood, overhang the river, which is here alternately broken into rapid streams and collected into deep pools. At another point a long level plain covered with hazels, broom, wild roses, and other brushwood, inextricably entangled with honeysuckle, presents to our view the banks of the Wear, as they were ages before the monks of Lindisfarne brought Christianity and civilisation to the district. Chapel and Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen. The ruined Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen stands on the north side of Gilesgate, and within a short distance of the railway station. This was the chapel of the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, which stood near it, and included in-brethren and out-brethren, and also sisters. It has not been used for service since the Restoration, though there have been interments in the cemetery. * See also history of the city of Durham, page 139, CHAPELRY OF ST. MARGARET. * St. Margaret's Chapelry comprises the whole of the suburbs of Durham lying on the west of the river, and a considerable portion of the adjacent country. It is divided into the townships of Crossgate and Framwellgate, the former of which includes South-street, Millburngate, and Allergate; and the latter Sidegate, Crookhall, Aykley Heads, Dryburne, Caterhouse, Haghouse, Frankland Park and Wood, Frankland Colliery and Houses, Newton Hall, Harbour House, and several other tenements. CROSSGATE is a township in this parish, and a suburb of the city of Durham. It comprises an area of 454 acres; the number of its inhabitants in 1801 Was 1,201; in 1811, 1,011; in 1821, 1,454; in 1831, 1,403; in 1841, 1,712; and in 1851, 2,074 souls. The Durham Union Workhouse is in this township. Neville's Cross, whose mutilated remains stand on the road leading to Brancepeth, in the chapelry of St. Margaret, about one mile west of Durham, was erected by Ralph, lord Neville, to commemorate a remarkable battle fought there on the 17th October, 1346, in the reign of Edward III., between the English and Scottish armies, called the Battle of Red Hills, or as it has subsequently been termed since the erection of the cross, the Battle of Neville's Cross. David, king of Scotland, whilst Edward III. was pursuing his victorious career in France, assembled one of the most powerful armies which had ever crossed the border, and invaded England by the western marches. The little tower of Liddell was the first to feel the effects of the storm; and the governor, Walter Selby, after a brave defence, was obliged to surrender at discretion, when the Scottish monarch ordered him to be beheaded on the spot. Having burned the Abbey of Lanercost, the Scots pursued their usual route through Cumberland and Tynedale, sacking the Priory of Hexham, but sparing the town, which they reserved as a deposit for their future plunder. The same orders were issued as to Darlington, Durham, and Corbridge. After crossing the Tyne and Derwent, David halted at Ebchester, and the next day encamped, without meeting with serious opposition, at Beaurepaire, three miles west of Durham. The nobles of the north, meanwhile, exerted the remaining resources of the country with vigour and despatch, and before the middle of October, an army of 16,000 men was assembled under the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of Durham, Lincoln, and Carlisle, the Lords Neville and Percy, and the sheriffs of York and Northumberland. David, heedless of the approaching danger, continued at Beaurepaire, indulging in all the peagantry of war, and wasting the country round Durham. On the 16th October the English forces lay in Auckland Park; the next day they moved forward at day-break, and, after gaining the rising grounds, halted at Merrington, when the motions of the Scots on the western hills might be plainly distinguished. The English leaders hesitated whether to advance or to observe the enemy, and expect his attack in so favourable a position; but the marshals and standard bearers moving a little forward, the troops insensibly followed them, and thus they proceeded slowly along to Ferry Hill. Here a strong foraging party of the Scots under Douglas, fell unexpectedly into the midst of the English troops, and were pursued with the loss of 500 men, as far as Sunderland Bridge. The English halted again on the high grounds above the Wear, but the standard * See also history of the city of Durham, page 141, bearers went forward, and the army moved slowly on in the order of battle, leaving Durham on the right, to the Red Hills. Douglas, who had escaped the slaughter of his followers, meanwhile reached the Scottish camp, and gave the first intimation of the approach of the English. David had employed the preceding day in drawing out his troops (as if in defiance of opposition), on Durham Moor, in order of battle, with standards flying, and had passed the night in Beaurepaire Park and Wood, without the precaution of a scout or sentinel on the watch. The prudent advice of Douglas, to retreat to the hills and avoid an engagement, was rejected with disdain; and the Scots advancing to meet the attack, the armies joined battle on the Red Hills, a piece of broken and irregular ground rising swiftly from the Wear. The Scots were formed in three divisions, under the king, the Earl of Murray with Sir William Douglas, and the High Steward of Scotland. The English forces were divided into four bodies; Lord Percy led the first, Lord Neville the second, Sir Thomas Rokeby, sheriff of Yorkshire, commanded the third, and a strong body of cavalry under Edward Baliol, formed the reserve. On a little hillock in the depth of Shawwood, called the Maiden's Bower, the prior with his attendants knelt around the holy corporax cloth of St. Cuthbert, which was elevated on the point of a spear, within sight of both armies. The city of Durham lay in dreadful suspense, a prize to the conqueror; and whilst the remaining brethren of the convent poured forth their hymns and prayers from the highest towers of the cathedral, their eyes wandered anxiously over the field of the approaching combat. The Scots were severely galled as they advanced, by the English archers; and John Graham, impatient at seeing his men fall without the means of resistance, requested of the king a hundred lances to break the archers; his request was denied, and the troops were ordered to keep the line of battle. Actuated at once by courage and indignation, Graham threw himself singly, or with few attendants, amongst the archers, dispersed them on every side, and fought till his horse was struck with broad arrow, and himself wounded and bleeding, was scarcely able to regain the ranks of his countrymen with life. The high steward immediately led his division to the charge with broad swords and battle-axes; the archers were driven back through the ranks of Lord Percy's division, which they disordered in their retreat, and the Scots pursuing their advantage, threw the whole of the body into confusion. Victory hovered on the side of the invaders, but the day was restored by the courage and decision of Edward Baliol. With a powerful body of cavalry, he made an impetuous charge on the high steward's division, and drove them from the field. King David meanwhile was engaged with equal fortunes against Lord Neville; and Baliol, suffering the high steward to retreat unmolested, threw himself on the flank of the royal, troops, which was left uncovered by his flight. The disorder of the Scots became irretrievable, and their third body, under the Earl of Murray, were cut to pieces amongst the enclosures, which prevented their escape. After all was lost, a gallant body of nobles threw themselves around their king, and fought with the courage of despair, till only eighty of their number survived. David, after receiving two arrow wounds, and resisting several attempts to take him captive, was compelled to surrender to John Copeland, a Northumbrian esquire, two of whose teeth he had first dashed out with his steel • In commemoration of the event, the organist, singing men, and singing boys of the Cathedral, went annually to the summit of the middle tower, and sang the Te Deum. This was continued until the year 1811, when it was discontinued, but was resumed on the 29th May, 1828, gauntlet. Besides the king, the Earls of Fife and Monteith, and Sir William Douglas, were made prisoners; the Earls of Murray and Strathern, John and Alan Steward, and a long list of Scottish nobility, were amongst the slain. Of the English leaders, Lord Hastings alone fell. Out of an army of 30,000 Scots and French auxiliaries, fifteen thousand were left dead upon the field, whilst the loss of the English was very trifling. After the battle, the prior and monks, accompanied by Ralph Lord Neville, John his son, Lord Percy, and many other nobles, proceeded to the Cathedral, and joined in a solemn thanksgiving to God and St. Cuthbert for the victory which they had achieved. For Directory of Crossgate township see Durham. FRAMWELLGATE township and borough forms the north-western suburb of Durham, and participates in the privileges of the city. It was formerly governed by a bailiff, appointed by the bishop, till the charters of Bishops Pilkington and Mathew incorporated it with the city of Durham, since which time it has been governed by the civic officers. The township comprises an area of 3,467 acres, and its rateable value is £8,739 10s. The landowners are the Hon. F. G. H. Russell; Thomas Toplin, Esq.; James West, Esq.; William Lloyd Wharton, Esq.; Matthew Woodfield, Esq.; Mrs. Richardson, and other freeholders. Its population in 1801 was 1,071; in 1811, 1,190 ; in 1821, 1,523; in 1831, 1,584; in 1841, 2,323; and in 1851, 3,085 souls. This township contains eighteen farms. Pity-me and Borough House form a hamlet on the great north road. Durham Moor Houses is a small hamlet, a mile and a half north-west of Durham. Framwellgate Moor gives name to a village, chiefly inhabited by the workmen employed in the neighbouring colliery. The Wesleyan Methodists have a place of worship in this township. Curry William, beer retailer, Frankland Coxon Ralph, agent Davison Thos. vict. Shoulder of Mutton Gillispy Thomas, tailor Hall John, nurseryman, St. Leonard's Heslop William, vict. Hare and Hounds Hodgson Mr. James, Stockley Heugh Pearson Thomas, beerho. Shepperd's Close Reed John, victualler, Woodman Raine Rev. George, M.A. rector, Crook Hall Robson Mr. Robert, Woodbine Cottage Wharton Wm. Lloyd, Esq. J.P. Dryburn Farmers. Archer William John, Hagghouse Clark Matthew Thomas, Harbour House |