Durham Gazetteer

Around the time of the crusades (in some accounts) in the area around the river Wear, there is a tale told about a fearsome dragon, which terrorised the area and was dispatched with cunning by a brave warrior. Read More »

Legend has it that at some time in the middle ages the Bishop Auckland area was the haunt of a huge, ferocious brawn (or boar), which terrorised this part of the Wear valley in much the same way as the Lambton worm at Chester le Street. Read More »

Sockburn village now comprises of a ruined church, a farmhouse and a mansion called Sockburn Hall (built in 1834) all positioned within a loop in the River Tees known locally as Sockburn Peninsula. Sockburn has an amazing secret history though, as it is a place where bishops were crowned, a dragon was killed and some of our greatest writers fell in love. Read More »

According to Arthur L Hayward's 'Lives of the most remarkable criminals: Who have been Condemned and Executed for Murder, the Highway, Housebreaking, Street Robberies, Coining or other offences' (1735), the ghost of Ann Walker named her murderer in the early 17th century.

An Account of the Conviction and Execution of Mr. WALKER, and MARK SHARP, for the Murder of ANN WALKER Read More »