Durham's 'living heritage' to be celebrated as part of global celebration
All day Durham event celebrates World Heritage Day and city’s special place in the occasion. Tony Henderson reports
Forty years ago Durham Castle and Cathedral was included in the first batch of seven UK cultural sites to be awarded world heritage site status.
It was added to the new UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. Today it is number 370 and there are 1,223 sites worldwide.
Saturday (April 18) is World Heritage Day and is being celebrated along with the run up to the 40th anniversary at a Durham event with the theme of ‘Living Heritage’.
Organised by Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site Partnership and County Durham Forum for History and Heritage, the event will bring the history of Durham to life, combining entertainment with discovery to appeal to all visitors of all ages.
From 11am to 3:15pm Durham Castle is hosting ‘The People’s Story’ with a heritage fair and family activities in the Great Hall, showcasing local history societies, including the World Heritage Site Youth Ambassadors.
Visitors can enjoy free entry to the Castle, and self-guided tours of parts of the Castle including the Tunstall Chapel, Tunstall Gallery, the Norman Chapel and Senate Room, where medieval wall painting was recently discovered.
The Norman Knights of Vanguard re-enactment group will be in action in the Castle courtyard, demonstrating their swordsmanship.
Palace Green Library, the Museum of Archaeology and World Heritage Site Visitor Centre will also be open for visitors to explore.
The day’s events begin at 10am with a tour of St Margaret’s Allotments off South Street - the quarry site from which the stone for the Castle and Cathedral was taken.
A series of talks and presentations will be taking place throughout the day in the Bishop’s Dining Room of the Castle, including a reflection on the 40th anniversary of Durham being awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
Durham Cathedral and the Cathedral Museum will also be open from 10am – 4pm, with 30-minute talks from 11am, on A Treasure and a Legacy: Conservation at Durham Cathedral.
Dr Anne Allen, World Heritage Site manager, will be talking at 2:30pm on World heritage – life begins at 40 in the Bishop’s Dining Room at the castle.
She said: “The activities have been planned in response to feedback from recent public consultation. We have focused on opening the castle free of charge and co-creating an intergenerational people’s heritage programme, so everyone can experience the best of the World Heritage Site.”
For full event details go to the Visit Durham website.
World Heritage Day will showcase members of County Durham Forum for History and Heritage, the umbrella organisation which brings together the many local history, heritage and archaeology societies across the area.
From Beamish to Wheatley Hill Heritage Centre many of the around 20 groups represented at the event welcome new members and are keen to recruit a new generation of young volunteers to continue helping to preserve local and global history.
The World Heritage Site Strategic Partnership Board consists of the principal landowners (Durham Cathedral, Durham University, St John’s College and Durham County Council), together with the City of Durham Trust, Historic England and a UNESCO representative.