Elvet

Elvet is an area of the city of Durham, in County Durham, England. It is situated on the opposite side of the River Wear from Durham Cathedral and forms the south-eastern part of central Durham.

Name
The name Elvet is recorded as Aelfetee in circa 800 AD and in the 12th century as Aeluete and Eluete. It is thought to be Old English in origin, containing the element elfitu ("a swan") + either ēa ("a river") or ēg ("an island"), giving the name a meaning of "swan stream" or "swan island". The Swan and Three Cygnets, a public house on Elvet Bridge, is a reminder of the historical name given to this part of the city.

Other attempts at the etymology of Elvet include identification with the epithet Elfed in the name of Madog, a hero in Y Gododdin.

History
Elvet grew up from two medieval settlements based around Old Elvet and St Oswald's Church and includes Church Street, Hallgarth Street, Whinney Hill and much of Durham University's science site and the Roman Catholic chaplaincy at St Cuthbert's Church. Elvet is home to Durham Prison and Durham Crown Court centre (Court Lane), County Court centre (New Elvet) and magistrates' court (Old Elvet). The Crown Court centre was originally built for the Durham Assizes and is a grade II* listed building.

Elvet was formerly a township in the parish of St Oswald, in 1866 Elvet became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1916 the parish was abolished to form Durham. In 1911 the parish had a population of 3934.

Hallgarth Street
Elvet House, a former Crown building (c. 1951) in Hallgarth Street, is currently the base for Durham's Jobcentre Plus, Crown Prosecution Service, Driving Standards Agency and Tribunals Service. The County Court vacated its purpose-built 1960's annex to Elvet House in October 2008 to relocate alongside the magistrates' court.

The former priory farm included the former granary called the Tithe Barn, which is grade II* listed; and two former barns, other buildings and a wall which are grade II listed. The Tithe Barn has been dated between 1446 and 1449.

Hallgarth House, which is number 77, is grade II listed. The Victoria, formerly the Victoria Hotel, an inn which is number 86, is grade II listed.

Numbers 18, 21 to 32, 54 to 56, 58, 59, 67, 68, 69, 70, 73 and 75 are grade II listed.

Church Street
Oswald Court is off Church Street. A fire ball is reported to have fallen there during a thunderstorm on 13 July 1884.

New Elvet
Dunelm House, a grade II listed building, is located on New Elvet.

Old Elvet
Shire Hall, a grade II listed building, is located on Old Elvet. Ustinov College operates three student residences (houses 29, 34 and 38) on Old Elvet; The Swan is unnumbered but located immediately beside 38.

The local Masonic Lodge (Universities Lodge 2352) is at 36. The Masonic Hall was built in 1869. The architect was T C Ebdy.

The Royal County Hotel is a grade II listed building. It has a staircase traditionally said to have been taken from Lochleven Castle. Number 32, which has been used as an Adult Education Centre, is a grade II listed building.

Elvet Methodist Church was begun in 1902.

Number 34 is a grade II listed building. It has been used as the Graduate Society Offices. Elizabeth Milbanke and John Bacchus Dykes lived there at different times.

The Dun Cow, a pub which is number 37, is a grade II listed building.

Numbers 1, 5, 6, 14, 15, 15A, 17, 18, 19, 19½, 20, 25, 26, 26A, 27, 28, 30, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, 53, 54, 55 and 55A are grade II listed buildings. Numbers are 47, 48 and 49 are grade II* listed buildings.

Whinney Hill
Whinney Hill is a street on a hill of the same name in the Elvet area, that name being derived from the whin (gorse) shrub that grows there in profusion. The street runs north–south from Durham Prison and the Durham City Cricket Grounds, on the banks of the River Wear, to the roundabout on the Stockton-on-Tees road near the Durham University science site. The lower site of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School was located on it until September 2009 when the school's sites merged.

Durham's third passenger railway station, Durham Elvet, opened in 1893 at the north end of Whinney Hill, closing in 1954. Its site is now occupied by Durham Magistrates' Court and the university's Parson's Field buildings.