CHURCHES
The church of ST. NICHOLAS
stands on the north side of the
market-place, but was entirely
rebuilt in the style of the 14th century in 1857–8.
It consists of a short chancel, nave with north
and south aisles, and tower at the west end of
the south aisle forming the porch, surmounted
by a tall stone spire. A few carved stones from
the old church are preserved in Durham Castle
and a modern 'Norman' window inserted before
1857 is now at Edmundbyers.
The building pulled down in 1857 consisted
of chancel, nave with north and south aisles,
and a tower in the same position as at present.
Sir Stephen Glynne, who visited the church in
1825, described it as 'a large structure displaying some marks of antiquity although the barbarous hand of innovation has swept nearly all
before it.' (fn. 1)
The nave arcades consisted of pointed arches,
three on the north side and two of greater span
on the south. The chancel had aisles on either
side, the arcade on the north being apparently
of 12th-century date, but that on the south
was similar to the arches in the nave. Surtees
states that the north aisle extended 'the whole
length of the nave and chancel. It is divided
from the nave by two low octagonal pillars supporting blunt pointed arches, and from the
chancel by a low round column with a fluted
capital supporting round arches of unequal
height and span. The south aisle is separated
from the chancel by a small pillar and pointed
arch, and from the nave by one slender and
octagonal column supporting wide pointed
arches.' (fn. 2) The chancel arch was wide and blunt,
springing from corbels of human heads. (fn. 3) At
the beginning of the 19th century the south
front of the building was almost entirely concealed by the market-piazza. The tower had
been a good deal altered, and finished with a
straight parapet. The outward northern wall
(was) of great height and strength, supported
by square buttresses and was considered as a
portion of the defensive line of the city on the
north, sweeping exactly in line with the curtain
wall of Nevill's Place and Claypath Gate. (fn. 4)
There were two galleries, one for the children
of the Bluecoat School at the west end, erected
in 1721 by Sir John Eden, bart., and the other
between two of the pillars of the north aisle,
erected in 1729 by the Cordwainers' Company. (fn. 5)
In 1768 the south front of the tower was chiselled
over and a large east window inserted in the
chancel, and in 1803 the interior was restored,
the north gallery taken down, the wainscot
removed from behind the altar and the pews
and paving renewed. (fn. 6) An old stone pulpit
resting on a small stone pillar was removed
about the same time. Another gallery extending
nearly the whole length of the north aisle was
erected in 1826. An organ loft, which had
succeeded the rood loft, had been taken down
in 1684 and replaced by the Ten Commandments
and the Royal Arms which remained till
1806. (fn. 7)
There is a ring of six bells, five of which from
the old church are dated 1687 and bear the
stamp of James Bartlett, of Whitechapel. They
all bear an inscription which, with slight variations, chiefly in the division of the lines, reads
FVNDATVR DEI GLORIÆ REGNO AVGVSTISSIMI
IACOBI SECVNDI NATHANIELE : : EPISE ROBERT
DELAVAL ARM: PRÆTORE RALPH TROTTER ROB:
ROBSON CH WARDENS 1687. The treble was cast
by John Warner & Sons, of London, in 1889,
when the other bells were rehung. (fn. 8)
The plate consists of a chalice and cover
paten of 1665 with the maker's initials IR,
inscribed 'Calix Benedictionis Sci Nicholai
Dunelm 1665' (fn. 9) ; a chalice and cover of 1685
with the maker's initials IY, and the arms of
Fenwick impaling Hall, the chalice inscribed
'The gift of Mary Fenwick Widd. of Mr. Wm.
Fenwick of Newton Ganes desceased and the
only daughter and Heir of Alderman John Hall
Vintner; for the Communion Service of St.
Nicholas Durham'; (fn. 10) two flagons of 1685 with
the arms of Clark impaling Hall, inscribed 'Given
to ye Parish of St. Nicholas in the Cittie of
Durham by Mrs. Ann Clark Widdow, Sister to
John Hall Esq. one of ye Aldermen of ye said
Cittie 1686'; a paten of 1708, with the maker's
mark CH; and two almsdishes of 1771 Edinburgh make, inscribed 'The gift of Thomas
Wilkinson Esq. (of Old Elvet) for the Communion Service of the Parish Church of St.
Nicholas in the City of Durham. Oct. 11th,
1841.' There are also two plated cups 'Presented to St. Nicholas Church Durham by G.W.
1858.'
The register of baptisms and burials begins
in 1540 and that of marriages in 1561. The
first volume, which ends in 1602, is a transcript
made in 1635. (fn. 11)
The church of ST. MARY-LE-BOW stands
on the east side of the North Bailey, on a very
ancient site, but dates only from the 17th century. It consists of chancel with organ chamber
on the north side, aisleless nave and engaged
west tower forming a porch and slightly projecting in front of the face of the main wall.
It derives its name from the 'bow' or arch of
the old tower which was thrown across the
street, resting on a pier on the opposite side. (fn. 12)
This tower fell down on 29 August 1637, in
its fall destroying a great portion of the west
end of the church. In the following December
the parishioners resolved to take down and rebuild the whole structure, (fn. 13) but nothing seems
to have been done immediately, and during the
entire period of the Civil War the church was
abandoned and the churchyard used as a common
way. The building lay in ruins till 1685, when,
after ineffectual attempts by the parishioners to
raise sufficient money for the restoration, the
aid of the bishop (Lord Crewe) and the Dean
and Chapter was sought and the church entirely
rebuilt. The tower was added in 1702, and
the fittings of the chancel date from a few years
later, the altar rails 1705, the screen 1707, and
the wainscoting 1731. The west gallery and
vestry were erected in 1741. The tower was
repaired in 1827, and in 1875 the whole building
was restored and the organ chamber built, oak
benches at the same time taking the place of
the old pews. (fn. 14)
The walls are of rubble masonry and the roofs
are leaded and of flat pitch behind embattled
parapets. All the windows are modern, generally of two or three lights with transoms and
perpendicular tracery. The parapets are all
modern restorations.
The chancel measures internally 34 ft. by
21 ft., and has a five-light east window with
perpendicular tracery and two similar windows
each of two lights on the south side and one on
the north. The west end of the north wall is
open to the organ chamber by a modern arch.
The roof is a boarded one of four bays and the
floor is level with that of the nave. The chancel
arch is a lofty flat four-centred one, the full
width of the chancel, dying into the walls at
the springing, and the screen is of dark oak with
three divisions on each side of the middle
opening. The design is of mixed Renaissance
and Gothic character, with cornice and long
top panels and tracery in the heads of the
openings. On the south side of the screen
within the chancel are three stalls with carved
standards of Renaissance type, and on the north
side a pew. The altar rails consist of turned
oak balusters and the wainscoting is of a rather
plain classic type. The upper part of the walls
is plastered. The general effect of the chancel
with its lofty roof, tall Gothic windows, and dark
oak fittings is one of much dignity.
The nave is 56 ft. long by 27 ft. wide and of
the same height as the chancel. It is divided
externally by buttresses into three unequal bays
and has three windows on each side of three and
two lights, similar in character to those in the
chancel. The walls are panelled to the height
of the window sills with 18th-century oak
wainscot, and the gallery, which is 16 ft. in
depth, has a good panelled oak front. It
is approached by a staircase on the north side
of the tower. The nave roof is a flat boarded
one of six bays, and the walls are plastered
above the panelling. There are diagonal buttresses at the angles of both chancel and nave.
The tower measures externally 14 ft. by
13 ft. 6 in. above the roof, but is wider at the
bottom where it forms a west porch, the outer
wall on this side being 5 ft. thick. The west
doorway is round-headed and above, in the
second stage, is a round-headed classic window
enclosed within a pointed hood mould, possibly part of the older building. The embattled parapet of the west wall is carried
along the face of the tower at the second stage,
from which the belfry rises above the roof.
The belfry windows are modern openings of two
lights with tracery in the heads, and the walls
terminate in an embattled parapet. On the
south side is a vice to the roof of the nave at
the south-west corner. The tower arch is a lofty
segmental one of two chamfered orders 16 ft. 6 in.
in width, the belfry stage contracting above.
The font dates from 1875, but has an old
cover probably of early 18th-century date. An
organ was purchased in 1789 from the executors
of the rector of Houghton-le-Spring (fn. 15) and formerly stood in the west gallery.
The tower contains one bell cast by G. Dalton,
of York, in 1759. (fn. 16)
The plate consists of a chalice of 1570–1 with
an interlacing band of leaf ornament; two plates
of 1688 with the maker's mark FG above a
mullet, probably for Francis Garthorne, both
inscribed 'Ecclesiae Ball' Boreal' Dunelm
E: K: dedit A° 1689' (fn. 17) ; a flagon of 1696,
with the arms of Spearman, inscribed 'Deo et
Ecclesiæ Stæ Mariæ 1' Bow in Ballivo Boreali
Dunelm. Submissa oblata Ao. Dom. 1703. Ex
dono Johannis Spearman generosi Parochiani
ejusdem Parochiæ'; another flagon of the same
date, and a covered cup made at Newcastle in
1748, both inscribed 'The Gift of Eliz. daughter
of Wm. Aubone Esqr. and Relict of Wm.
Featherstonhalgh Esqr. to her grandchild Mary
Wilkinson & given to Bow Church by Mary
Wilkinson her Mother Anno Dom. 1734,' and
bearing the arms of Featherstonhalgh. (fn. 18)
The registers begin in 1571.
There is a small burial ground on the north
side of the church, but the original churchyard
no doubt extended to the south and west. (fn. 19)
The church of ST. MARY THE LESS stands
in a retired situation on the west side of the
South Bailey, and consists of chancel and nave
under separate roofs, with a bell turret containing
two bells over the west gable. The chancel
measures internally 26 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 6 in.,
and the nave 35 ft. by 20 ft. 6 in., the total
internal length being 64 ft. 6 in. The church is
of 12th-century date, but was almost entirely
rebuilt in 1846–7 in the 'Norman' style, very
few of its ancient architectural features being
preserved, though it follows more or less the
old design. The only original window which
has been preserved is a small round-headed
opening at the west end of the south wall of
the chancel, now in the position of a low side
window, but it was formerly at the west end
of the nave. The modern windows, including
that at the east end, are all large round-headed
openings of 'Norman' type. The walling is
of rubble with quoins and ashlar dressings, and
the roofs are covered with slates overhanging
at the eaves. The south doorway is slightly
advanced in front of the main wall, its gable
giving it the appearance of a shallow porch.
The whole of the work on the north side of the
building, being little seen, is of a very plain
description, the jambs and heads of the windows
being of brick, and there is a small brick vestry
on the north side of the chancel. The building
had lost many of its original features some years
prior to the rebuilding, Sir Stephen Glynne, who
visited it in 1825, stating that it had been 'lately
modernised and the windows altered from the
original form.' (fn. 20) The chancel arch is 9 ft. wide
and is of two orders to the nave and square to
the chancel. It was originally quite plain, but
the inner order was carved at the rebuilding
with the cheveron ornament and the outer with
an indented moulding. Some panelling at the
east end of the chancel may be of late 16th-century date, but the rest of the fittings, including the chancel screen, are modern. The font
also is modern. A mediaeval grave slab with
cross and sword is built into the south wall of
the chancel and over the vestry doorway in the
north wall is a large stone, formerly at St.
Giles's, (fn. 21) on which, enclosed in a vesica, is
carved in low relief a representation of Our
Lord in judgment. The corners are occupied
by the evangelistic symbols. 'In 1743 there
remained in the large south window a coat in
stained glass, argent on a chief azure three
escallops or.' (fn. 22) There are some 12th-century
stones with cheveron and star ornament in the
churchyard on the north side of the building.
The plate (fn. 23) consists of a chalice and paten of
1702 made by Eli Bilton, of Newcastle, both
inscribed 'Ecclesia Sanctæ Mariæ Ballivi
Austral Dunelm. Ex dono Cuthberti (fn. 24) Bowes
Sen. 1702'; a flagon of 1711 made by Jonathan
French, of Newcastle, with the same inscription; (fn. 25) a paten on three feet without marks,
inscribed 'Eccles. B. Mar. in Ball. Austral
Dunelm A.D. M.DCCC.XXIX,' and scratched
on the back 'Pro eleemos colligend: used the
first time on Whitsunday 7 June 1829'; and
a 17th-century almsdish, probably originally in
use for secular purposes, given by the Rev. E.
Shipperdson, M.A., in 1848 and bearing his
arms. (fn. 26) There is also a set of two chalices, two
patens, a flagon and almsdish given in 1889 under
the will of Robert Henry Allan of Blackwell
Hall, Darlington.
The registers begin in 1559.
ADVOWSONS
The church of ST. NICHOLAS, a rectory originally in
the gift (fn. 27) of the Bishop of
Durham, was annexed in 1443 by Bishop Robert
Neville (fn. 28) to the Hospital of Kepier, and served
from that time to the Dissolution by a stipendiary chaplain since there was no endowed
vicarage. (fn. 29) The impropriate rectory of St.
Nicholas, with other property of Kepier Hospital, was sold (fn. 30) by the Crown in 1553 to John
Cockburn, lord of Ormeston, who conveyed to
John Heath, Esq. Elizabeth, daughter and heir
of John Heath, married in 1642 John, son of
Sir Thomas Tempest, of the Isle. After this
date the advowson followed the descent of Old
Durham (q.v.), and thus descended to the
Marquess of Londonderry. The church was
served by a titular 'Curate-in-Charge' with a
very small stipend. His inefficient services were
supplemented by the endowment of a 'Lectureship' by the Corporation in about 1700, which
was of substantial value, and was held by various
learned persons. In 1854 when Corporations
became disqualified by law from holding such
patronage, the Corporation sold their rights to
the Rev. Edward Davison, the then vicar, and
he in turn to the Rev. G. T. Fox, who at that
time held both curacy and lectureship. The
Rev. G. T. Fox presented it to the living. Subsequently in 1893 Lord Londonderry sold the
patronage of the augmented living to the Rev.
H. E. Fox, nephew of the Rev. G. T. Fox, who
vested the living in five trustees. They in turn
passed it to the Church Pastoral-Aid Society. (fn. 31)
The original endowments of the rectory of St.
Nicholas were considerable, the glebe lying in
Old Durham. In 1268 Geoffrey de Helme, rector of St. Nicholas, received licence (fn. 32) from the
Prior of Durham for an oratory within his court
of Old Durham, and before the appropriation
to Kepier Hospital a manor court (fn. 33) was held by
the rector for his tenants. In 1522 a messuage (fn. 34)
and land in Smallies, in Wolsingham parish, was
vested in trustees to the use of the 'chirchwarke
and ornamentes' of the parish of St. Nicholas.
The Chantry of Our Lady was founded (fn. 35) by
Reginald the merchant before 1250 for one
chaplain and one light at the Altar of the
B.V. Mary, and was further augmented in 1299
by Hugh de Queringdon, who provided for a
second chaplain. The gild hall (fn. 36) in the market
place belonged to this chantry, and in the
15th century at least was rented to the gild of
St. Nicholas. (fn. 37) The gross value (fn. 38) of the Chantry
of Our Lady at the Dissolution was £4 14s., and
the net value less reprises £4 9s. 3d., and of the
second Chantry of Our Lady £4 1s. 1d. gross and
£3 18s. 8½d. less reprises.
The Chantry of the Holy Trinity in the
church of St. Nicholas existed in the 14th
century, if not before, as the 'mansio cantarie
Sancte Trinitatis' is mentioned (fn. 39) in 1400. The
clear annual value (fn. 40) at the Dissolution, less reprises, was £7 1s. 4d., the gross value £7 3s. 10d.
The Chantry of St. John the Baptist and St.
John the Evangelist was founded (fn. 41) in 1348 by
Thomas Kirkeby, rector of Whitburn. At the
Dissolution this chantry was estimated at a
clear annual value, (fn. 42) less reprises, of £5 12s. 2½d.,
the gross yearly value (fn. 43) being £6 10s. The
Chantry of St. James was founded in 1382 for
the souls of Thomas de Cockside (fn. 44) and Alice
his wife and their son Robert, and at the Dissolution its gross value was £5 18s. 10d. and its
clear value, (fn. 45) less reprises, £5 12s. 2d. The
almoner of the Priory of Durham was the patron
of each of these chantries.
Besides these chantries in St. Nicholas'
Church there were other chapels in the parish.
Two of these were situated on Elvet Bridge, both
being in the gift of the Prior and Convent of
Durham. Of these the Chapel of St. James was
founded (fn. 46) by Thomas son of Lewin, a burgess
of Durham, and his wife Emma, in the 13th
century, and endowed with burgages, lands and
rents in Durham and land at Stokeley; the
other, the Chapel of St. Andrew, (fn. 47) at the south
end of the bridge, was founded in the pontificate
of Robert de Insula by William son of Absalom.
Owing to the loss or depreciation of endowments
the chapels were usually held by the same
chaplain from about the middle of the 14th
century, and on 7 April 1344 William Syreston
was presented to the chantries, united (fn. 48)
ob
eorum exilitatem. At the Dissolution the gross
annual value of the united chapels was £4 6s. 10d.
and the net value, less reprises, £3 18s. 6d. The
relative size (fn. 49) of these two chapels is indicated
by the lead roofing, estimated at 36 sq. yds. in
the case of St. James, and 88 sq. yds. in that of
St. Andrew's. At one time, after the Reformation, a charity school was carried on in the
chancel of St. Andrew's, the remainder of the
building being used as a blacksmith's shop. (fn. 50)
Another still older chapel in the parish was that
of St. Thomas the Martyr, Claypath, which is
mentioned in 13th-century deeds. (fn. 51) Its cemetery was used for burials as late as the plague
year of 1597, as shown by entries in the parish
registers of St. Nicholas.
There were at least three gilds or fraternities
associated with the Church of St. Nicholas,
those of Our Lady, (fn. 52) St. Nicholas and Corpus
Christi. Of these the gild of Our Lady may have
been connected with the chantry of that name.
The gild of St. Nicholas certainly existed in the
first quarter of the 15th century, and as early
as 1432, if not before, the brethren were occupying the great hall of stone known as the Gild
Hall (fn. 53) in the market place, renting it from the
Chantry of Our Lady. At the Dissolution the
gross annual value of its property had evidently
largely declined (fn. 54) and the clear value, after
deducting reprises, was only 23s. Any early
importance possessed by this gild, and certainly
strongly suggested by its occupation of the
Gild Hall in the market place, had been eclipsed
in the 15th century by the rise of the gild of
Corpus Christi, to which were affiliated the
various craft gilds of the city. (fn. 55)
The gild of Corpus Christi was founded,
or rather reorganised, (fn. 56) in 1437, and its hall
was situated in Walkergate. (fn. 57) Its chief occupation was the ordering of the festivities of
Corpus Christi Day, when a great procession
of the crafts with banners and lights escorted
the Corpus Christi Shrine, finely gilt, having
'on the height thereof … a four-square
box of chrystal, wherein was inclosed the
Holy Sacrament of the Altar' from St. Nicholas'
Church to the Cathedral and back again. This
famous shrine (fn. 58) was saved by the parishioners
of St. Nicholas till 1546, when Dr. Harvey, one
of the Commissioners 'for defacing all such
ornaments in the parish churches of Durham as
were left undefaced at the former Visitation,
did call for the said shrine; and when it was
brought before him, he did tread upon it with
his feet and broke it into pieces.' At the dissolution of the gild the yearly value of its
endowments, less reprises, was returned at
£5 10s. 7½d., the gross value at £6 3s. (fn. 59)
A number of other benefactions for obits and
anniversaries also existed in the Church of St.
Nicholas at the Dissolution, and at a much
earlier date in 1366 John de Luceby died seised
of a messuage held by paying annually 4 lb. of
wax for the support of lights before the cross
there. (fn. 60)
An evening lectureship at St. Nicholas in the
patronage of the Mayor and Corporation was
founded in the late 17th century, (fn. 61) the principal
endowment being derived from a farm at
Easington.
The church of ST. MARY THE VIRGIN
in the North Bailey, or ST. MARY-LE-BOW,
belonged before the Reformation to the Prior
and Convent of Durham. The advowson of the
church then passed to the Archdeacon of
Northumberland. It was afterwards conveyed
to the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The
livings of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Mary
the Less were united by Order in Council of
14 May 1912, the Dean and Chapter presenting
twice to one presentation of the Lord Chancellor. (fn. 62) For several years after the Dissolution
no rector was regularly instituted, (fn. 63) the incumbent being styled curate or minister. Between
1637 and 1685 the church lay in ruin, though
burials still took place in the churchyard. After
the death of Richard Wakelin, minister, in 1655
there was no incumbent until Anthony Kirbon
was instituted to the rectory in 1687 after the
building of the new church, some provision for
the endowment being gradually made from
Queen Anne's Bounty and from other sources.
The early possessions of the church, which had
then long been lost, appear to have included a
parsonage house, for we hear in 1313 that the
messuage (fn. 64) of Sir William, parson of the church
of 'Nort Bailly,' and other buildings near the
North Gate were to be cleared for the building
of a barbican there. An early charter of uncertain date mentions the grant of certain land
in the North Bailey by William, son of Thomas
the chaplain, to Piers Goldsmith. It was held
of Ranulf de Fisseburn, and charged with the
provision of a lamp in the church at the morrow
mass (fn. 65) (missam matutinam) and at other times.
In 1416 John Belasis (fn. 66) desired in his last will
to be buried in the church of 'St. Mary
within the Castle' before St. Katherine's Altar,
and left lands within the bishopric of Durham
to his wife Sybil, and after her death for the
foundation of a chantry at the same altar. This
was carried out under licence from Bishop
Langley, 4 messuages and 4 acres held of the
bishop, and 17 messuages, 9 acres of meadow
and 39s. 4d. rent held of other lords forming
the endowment. (fn. 67) At the Suppression the
yearly revenue (fn. 68) of this chantry, less reprises,
was £4 17s. 9d.
There was at least one other chantry in this
church in the 15th century, that of St. Helen,
since in 1480 Thomas Hedlam, (fn. 69) a Durham
merchant, granted to William Smethirst a waste
burgage, between John Kelynghall's burgage on
one side and a lane leading to St. Helen's Well
(fontem Sancte Elene), in South Street, on the
other, charged with an annual rent of 1s. 6d.,
payable to the chaplain of St. Helen's Chantry
in the North Bailey church.
The church of ST. MARY THE LESS, in
the South Bailey, was in the patronage (fn. 70) of the
Nevills of Raby, afterwards Earls of Westmorland, till the attainder of 1569. Since then the
advowson has belonged to the Crown, the patronage being in the hands of the Lord Chancellor.
The living was united to that of St. Mary the
Virgin (q.v.). According to Surtees, (fn. 71) there was
after the year 1572 no institution to the rectory,
which was held by sequestration till 1742, 'or
rather the profits were so small that whoever
had the key of the church left him by his predecessor became minister without let or hindrance.' A 13th-century deed mentions a
'place' in the Bailey held by the chaplain (fn. 72) of
this church. In 1388 the endowment (fn. 73) included a rent of 40s. paid by Lord Nevill from
land in Crook in Brancepeth parish, and another
parcel named Aldhenland, as well as rents charged
on tenements in the Bailey. A parsonage house
existed, but apparently at this time was not
occupied by the rector, who also had the right
on three days of the week to eat at the Prior's
table. This in 1434, if not before, had been
commuted for a pension of one mark and a sable
suit at Christmas. In 1535 the rectory was
valued (fn. 74) at £4 13s. 4d.