Anglian Kingdom of Bernicia Around 547 CE, an Angle named
Ida founded the kingdom of Bernicia after spotting the defensive potential of a large rock at Bamburgh, upon which many a fortification was thenceforth built. Ida was able to forge, hold and consolidate the kingdom; although the native British tried to take back their land, the Angles triumphed and the kingdom endured.
Kingdom of Northumbria In 604 CE, Ida's grandson
Æthelfrith forcibly merged Bernicia (ruled from
Bamburgh) and Deira (ruled from
York, which was known as
Eforwic at the time) to create the
Kingdom of Northumbria. In time, the realm was expanded, primarily through warfare and conquest; at its height, the kingdom stretched from the River Humber (from which the kingdom drew its name) to the Forth. Eventually, factional fighting and the rejuvenated strength of neighbouring kingdoms, most notably Mercia, led to Northumbria's decline.
City of Durham founded In 995 CE, St Cuthbert's community, who had been transporting Cuthbert's remains around, partly in an attempt to avoid them falling into the hands of Viking raiders, settled at Dunholm (Durham) on a site that was defensively favourable due to the horseshoe-like course of the River Wear. St Cuthbert's remains were placed in a shrine in the White Church, which was originally a wooden structure but was eventually fortified into a stone building. Once the City of Durham had been founded, the Bishops of Durham gradually acquired the lands that would become County Durham. Bishop Aldhun began this process by procuring land in the Tees and Wear valleys, including Norton, Stockton, Escomb and Aucklandshire in 1018. In 1031,
King Canute gave Staindrop to the Bishops. This territory continued to expand, and was eventually given the status of a
liberty. Under the control of the Bishops of Durham, the land had various names: the "Liberty of Durham", "Liberty of St Cuthbert's Land" "the lands of St Cuthbert between Tyne and Tees" or "the Liberty of Haliwerfolc" (holy
Wear folk). The bishops' special jurisdiction rested on claims that King
Ecgfrith of Northumbria had granted a substantial territory to
St Cuthbert on his election to the
see of
Lindisfarne in 684. In about 883 a cathedral housing the saint's remains was established at
Chester-le-Street and
Guthfrith, King of York granted the community of St Cuthbert the area between the
Tyne and the
Wear, before the community reached its final destination in 995, in Durham. Following the
Norman invasion, the administrative machinery of government extended only slowly into northern England. Northumberland's first recorded
Sheriff was Gilebert from 1076 until 1080 and a 12th-century record records Durham regarded as within the shire. However the bishops disputed the authority of the sheriff of Northumberland and his officials, despite the second sheriff for example being the reputed slayer of
Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots. The crown regarded Durham as falling within Northumberland until the late thirteenth century.
County Palatine of Durham Matters regarding the bishopric of Durham came to a head in 1293 when the bishop and his steward failed to attend proceedings of
quo warranto held by the justices of Northumberland. The bishop's case went before parliament, where he stated that Durham lay outside the bounds of any English shire and that
"from time immemorial it had been widely known that the sheriff of Northumberland was not sheriff of Durham nor entered within that liberty as sheriff. . . nor made there proclamations or attachments". The arguments appear to have prevailed, as by the fourteenth century Durham was accepted as a liberty which received royal mandates direct. In effect it was a private shire, with the bishop appointing his own sheriff. The county palatinate also had a number of
liberties: the
Bedlingtonshire,
Islandshire and
Norhamshire exclaves within Northumberland, and the
Craikshire exclave within the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1831 the county covered an area of and had a population of 253,910. These exclaves were included as part of the county for parliamentary electoral purposes until 1832, and for judicial and local-government purposes until the coming into force of the
Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, which merged most remaining exclaves with their surrounding county. The boundaries of the county proper remained in use for administrative and ceremonial purposes until the
Local Government Act 1972.
Early English and Norman period Following the Battle of Hastings,
William the Conqueror appointed Copsig as Earl of Northumbria, thereby bringing what would become County Durham under Copsig's control. Copsig was, just a few weeks later, killed in Newburn. Having already being previously offended by the appointment of a non-Northumbrian as Bishop of Durham in 1042, the people of the region became increasingly rebellious. Because William's main focus during the harrying was on Yorkshire, The best remains of the Norman period include
Durham Cathedral and
Durham Castle, and several parish churches, such as St Laurence Church in
Pittington. The
Early English period has left the eastern portion of the cathedral, the churches of Darlington, Hartlepool, and St Andrew, Auckland, Sedgefield, and portions of a few other churches.
Palatinate Until the 15th century, the most important administrative officer in the
Palatinate was the
steward. Other officers included the sheriff, the coroners, the
Chamberlain and the
chancellor. The palatine exchequer originated in the 12th century. The palatine assembly represented the whole county, and dealt chiefly with fiscal questions. The bishop's council, consisting of the clergy, the sheriff and the
barons, regulated judicial affairs, and later produced the
Chancery and the courts of
Admiralty and
Marshalsea. , the bishops' palace until 1832 when it moved to Auckland Castle The
prior of Durham ranked first among the bishop's barons. He had his own court, and almost exclusive jurisdiction over his men. A UNESCO site describes the role of the bishops in Durham, the "buffer state between England and Scotland": From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England's northern frontier. A report states that the Bishops also had the authority to appoint judges and barons and to offer pardons. There were ten palatinate barons in the 12th century, most importantly the
Hyltons of
Hylton Castle, the Bulmers of
Brancepeth, the Conyers of Sockburne, the Hansards of Evenwood, and the
Lumleys of
Lumley Castle. The Nevilles owned large estates in the county.
John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby rebuilt
Raby Castle, their principal seat, in 1377.
Edward I's
quo warranto proceedings of 1293 showed twelve lords enjoying more or less extensive franchises under the bishop. The repeated efforts of
the Crown to check the powers of the palatinate bishops culminated in 1536 in the
Jurisdiction in Liberties Act 1535, which deprived the bishop of the power to pardon offences against the law or to appoint judicial officers. Moreover, indictments and legal processes were in future to run in the name of the king, and offences to be described as against the peace of the king, rather than that of the bishop. In 1596 restrictions were imposed on the powers of the chancery, and in 1646 the palatinate was formally abolished. It was revived, however, after the
Restoration, and continued with much the same power until 5 July 1836, when the
Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 (
6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 19) provided that the palatine jurisdiction should in future be vested in the Crown.
Wars During the 15th-century
Wars of the Roses,
Henry VI passed through Durham. On the outbreak of the
Great Rebellion in 1642 Durham inclined to support the cause of
Parliament, and in 1640 the high sheriff of the palatinate guaranteed to supply the Scottish army with provisions during their stay in the county. In 1642 the
Earl of Newcastle formed the western counties into an association for the King's service, but in 1644 the palatinate was again overrun by a Scottish army, and after the
Battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644) fell entirely into the hands of Parliament.
Parliamentary representation and secular powers In 1614, a
bill was introduced in Parliament for securing representation to the county and city of Durham and the borough of
Barnard Castle. The bishop strongly opposed the proposal as an infringement of his palatinate rights, and the county was first summoned to return members to Parliament in 1654. After the Restoration of 1660 the county and city returned two members each. In the wake of the
Reform Act 1832 the county returned two members for two divisions, and the boroughs of
Gateshead,
South Shields and
Sunderland acquired representation. The bishops lost their secular powers in 1836. The boroughs of Darlington, Stockton and
Hartlepool returned one member each from 1868 until the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. ==Geography==