The Battle of Neville's Cross
Neville's Cross was famously the site of a major battle between the English and Scottish armies, which took place on 17th October 1346. It was commemorated with a cross, the remains of which are located north-east of the crossroads. The following summary of the battle is taken from the website of the Battlefields Trust:
In the autumn of 1346 a Scottish army under King David II invaded England at the behest of the French king, Phillip VI. This was an attempt to divert English forces from their campaign in France, a campaign in which the English army had already won a devastating victory at Crecy. Advancing into England the Scottish army destroyed Liddle Strength, a pele tower on the border, took Lanercost Priory, then crossing the Pennines they sacked Hexham Priory before advancing towards Durham. On the night of the 16th October the Scottish army camped in the Bishop of Durham's great deer park of Beaurepaire, 2 miles north west of the city. With the king in France, the English forces in the north were commanded by Ralph de Neville, Henry Percy and the Archbishop of York. By the 16th October they had assembled an army in Auckland Park on the north east edge of Bishop Auckland, about 10 miles from the Scottish quarters. A skirmish occurred early in the morning of the 17th October when a Scottish plundering force was intercepted at Merrington, 3 miles north east of Bishop Auckland. They had stumbled upon the English army as it marched north to engage the main Scottish force. Some 200 Scottish cavalry escaped to warn of the threat, but not in time to enable them to secure the best strategic position. The English army had advanced to join the Great North Road at Sunderland Bridge and marched north to take a commanding position where the road traversed a narrow ridge, just to the west of Durham. Despite the battle being evenly balanced for a time, the Scots were out manoeuvred and gradually fled the field. Not only was their King captured and imprisoned and many men lost, but the following year the English pursued their advantage and were able to occupy almost the whole of Scotland south of the Forth and the Clyde. |
Neville's Cross in the 19th Century
This map from 1894 shows Neville's Cross as a small scattering of buildings at the south-west of Durham City. At this point the area was still very rural, with the main area of settlement being the terraced houses on Neville's Cross Bank and Cross View Terrace.
St John's Church was built was built as a Mission Church at this time, in anticipation of new houses being built alongside the railway line to the west of the city centre. The building was blessed at a service of dedication on 8th April 1896. |
Neville's Cross in the 20th Century
By the start of the 20th century the population of Neville's Cross was beginning to grow, with Neville's Cross Primary School opening in 1908. This photograph is part of the Aerofilms collection and shows the area north of Darlington Road in 1926.
The shiny new development in the centre of the photo is Neville's Cross College, which opened in 1921. It was built by Durham County Council and operated as a women-only teacher training college until 1963. It later merged with Durham Technical College to become New College Durham, but the buildings are now owned by Durham University and are home to Ustinov College. At the top left of the photo is St John's Church, with St John's Road beyond. The top of The Avenue can be seen, with The Peth running just parallel. The lone building on the south side of the road is Nursery Cottage, once the home of Lovegreen's plant nursery. |
The photos below (from left to right) show Relly Path, Alma Terrace and Neville Court. The view along Relly Path was taken in the 1970s when clearance works were under way to demolish some of the old buildings at the top of Homer Terrace. These were replaced by a row of flats. Neville Court has recently been returned to use as a private house, but was previously home to Bullen Consultants (Consulting Engineers). The photograph below shows it prior to this, when it was the offices of Northumbrian Water Ltd.
To be continued.....!