Place:Elvet, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Elvet is an area of the city of Durham, in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the opposite side of the River Wear from Durham Cathedral and forms the southeastern part of central Durham. Elvet is currently unparished. Historically, the word 'elvet' is a word meaning 'swan' or 'swan-stream' from the Old English elfetu or ilfetu. The public house 'The Swan and Three Cygnets' on Elvet Bridge, is a reminder of the historical name given to this part of Durham City.

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's Crown Court (Court Lane), County Court (New Elvet) and Magistrates' Court (Old Elvet).

A 19th century description

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Elvet from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"ELVET, a township in [Durham] St. Oswald parish, Durham; partly within Durham city, and divided into Elvet borough and Elvet barony. Acres of the whole: 3,800. Real property of [Elvet] borough: £4,260; of [Elvet] barony: £11,480, of which £1,880 are in mines. Population of the whole: 4,140. Houses: 544. Maiden Castle, at Elvet, occupies a peculiarly shaped steep hill 100 feet high, over-hanging the Wear at Hill-tower, opposite Pellalo-wood. See Durham."

The barony section of Elvet is the more rural part of the parish.

Elvet was absorbed into the City of Durham in 1916.

Research Tips

• County Durham Archives. Durham County Record Office is located on the Lower Ground Floor of County Hall, the administrative headquarters of Durham County Council, in Durham City.
• Northumberland and Durham FHS covers both Northumberland and the northern part of County Durham. The Family History Society have a research centre in Percy House in central Newcastle upon Tyne (full address on website), open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.
• The Cleveland, North Yorkshire & South Durham Family History Society covers the southern part of County Durham as well as the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire on the south side of the River Tees. Their homepage includes a map to show the society's coverage. (Once again, full address and other details on the website)
• Further information from GENUKI
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1832 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time. This map includes the boundaries of the various Wards (or "hundreds") in existence at that time.
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1900 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1944 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, particularly helpful in large towns and cities.
• Unfortunately, the Victoria County History for Durham is limited in its coverage. It only includes the cathedral city of Durham, including an account of the cathedral itself. Also covers Stockton Ward in the south-east of the county (bordering North Yorkshire) including Hartlepool and Stockton on Tees.