Geography of Durham
Durham lies at a distance of 21 Km from southwest Sunderland. The northern direction is covered by River Wear. This makes Durham a ‘peninsula’. Durham consists of seven hills. The cathedral constitutes the centroid of the city. The sharp riverbanks possess dense forests. They add to the picturesque splendor of Durham. To the west lies the ‘River Browney’. It joins the ‘River Wear’ by draining towards south. The city has carved a niche for itself by winning the ‘Large Town Award’ in the ‘Britain in Bloom’ awards which were held in 2005.
Durham is situated in the ‘local government district’ of ‘City of Durham’ that extends further than the city. Its population is around 87,656. The area is around 186.68 square kilometers. Durham’s unparished area’s population is around 29,091 and that of built-up area is around 42,939.
Durham Areas
Durham has its setting on the peninsula formed by the ‘River Wear’. The peninsula’s base contains the ‘market square’. Regular markets are hosted by it. It is a home to an indoor market as well. This market operates on a permanent basis. The streets surrounding the square and the square itself are amongst the most significant shopping and commercial areas of Durham. The market square leads to Bailey, wherein Palace Green is situated. The ownership of bailey rests with cathedral and University.
The market square has three roads coming out of it. The first one is the saddler street. It heads towards the Southeastern direction, thereby covering Elvet Bridge, Prebends Bridge, and The Bailey. Elvet Bridge further extends to the city’s Elvet area, South, and Durham Prison. Prebends Bridge can be accessed from Bailey. It leads to the southern area of Durham. Silver Street heads towards west, covering North Road and Framwellgate Bridge. This area is the 2nd largest shopping centre of Durham. Here onwards, the spreading of city into the Crossgate, Framwelgate, and ‘Neville’s Crossand viaduct districts’ takes place. Further from viaduct lie outlying districts such as Neville’s Cross and Framwellgate Moor. If one tries to head towards North from market place, Clay path is seen. This road gets curved back to east. Dragonville, Gilesgate Moor, and Gilesgate lie beyond this road.
Elvet Bridge
The construction of this bridge got completed in 1160. This was during Bishop Hugh de Puiset’s rule. The reason behind its construction was the urbanization going on in the place called ‘Elvet borough’ then. The repairing of Elvet Bridge was carried out extensively between 1495 and 1501 under the reign of Bishop Fox. The further repairing was done in 1601. It was badly damaged by the flood that broke out in 1771.
The medieval period marked the protection of Elvet Bridge by towers and a gate. Many buildings got constructed on the bridge. This was inclusive of 2 chapels. They stood on both the ends. One of them was then replaced by ‘House of Correction’. The other chapel has been survived, sustaining all the vagaries of nature. It is visible in a proper manner if seen from riverbanks to south. There are seven spans of the Elvet Bridge. The length of the longest one is around 6-10 m.