Durham

Durham, town and district, England

Durham, town (1991 pop. 38,105) and district, county seat of Durham, NE England, on the sides of a hill nearly encircled by the Wear River. The town's small factories produce organs and carpets. Noteworthy is the castle (1072), now occupied by part of the Univ. of Durham (founded 1832). In 995 the relics of St. Cuthbert were brought to Durham (then Dunholme), and a church was built as his shrine. The present cathedral, begun on the same site in 1093, is considered the finest example of Norman architecture in the country. It contains the tomb of the Venerable Bede (d. 735).

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Durham, county, England

Durham, county (1991 pop. 589,941), 1,015 sq mi (2,629 sq km), NE England, on the North Sea between the Tees and Tyne rivers. The county seat is Durham, site of one of England's finest Norman cathedrals. The region is low-lying along the coast, rising inland to the Pennines. A large portion of the land area is devoted to agriculture. Dairy farming is common; cattle and sheep are raised. Oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, and turnips are grown. Industry is concentrated along the Tyne and the Tees. Shipbuilding (also along the Wear River) and coal mining were historically important. Electrical goods, clothing, textiles, paint, organs, and plastics are the chief products of Durham's light industry. The area was occupied by the Romans and subsequently became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. From pre-Norman times until 1836, the bishops of Durham intermittently exercised palatine powers over the county. The powers were most important during the Middle Ages.

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Durham, city, United States

Durham (dûr`ăm), city (1990 pop. 136,611), seat of Durham co., N central N.C., in the Piedmont area; inc. 1867. Once a major tobacco and textile center, Durham is a research and education center. Manufacturers include medical, computer, electronic, and telecommunications equipment; plastic, paper, and lumber products; and aircraft components. The area was settled c.1750. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered nearby to Gen. William T. Sherman during the Civil War. After the war the tobacco industry began with James B. Duke as the leading manufacturer. Economic growth was spurred with the establishment (1959) of the Research Triangle Park, in the triangular area between Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, which utilizes the concentration of university research talent in those three cities. Durham is the seat of Duke Univ., North Carolina Central Univ., and Durham Technical Community College. Of interest are the Sarah P. Duke Memorial Gardens and the Children's Nature Museum. The American Dance Festival is held in the city each summer.

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Durham

Administrative (pop., 2001: 493,470), geographic, and historic county, northeastern England. Adjacent to the North Sea coast, it includes the city of Durham. The northern part of the county is cut by the valleys of the Rivers Wear and Tees; the Tees lowlands extend across the south. Under the Romans the region was a military outpost associated with Hadrian's Wall. Durham was later incorporated into the Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. It was unimportant economically until the 19th century, when exploitation of its coalfields, now exhausted, made it a key area of industrial growth in Britain. The area is now a centre of light industry.

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Durham

 Saxon Dunholme

City (pop., 2001: district, 87,725), administrative and historic county of Durham, northeastern England. It is on a peninsula in the River Wear. This natural defensive site, fortified by William I (the Conqueror) against the Scots, became a seat of the feudal prince-bishops of Durham. Medieval Durham was a place of pilgrimage, holding the remains of St. Cuthbert in its cathedral (begun in 1093). The bishops of Durham helped establish the city as an educational centre. It is the site of the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, part of the University of Durham.