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County Durham Town & Village Information

 

Framwellgate Moor, County Durham - OAKLET Property Management & Letting Agent

Framwellgate Moor is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated to the north of Durham, and is adjacent to Pity Me and Newton Hall.

 

It is the location of New College Durham, the major further education establishment of the city. In addition, it is the location of Framwellgate School Durham which is a large and successful comprehensive school, science college and sixth form centre.

The civil parish is based on the village of Framwellgate Moor and also includes neighbouring Pity Me and Brasside.

 

Framwellgate Moor is now a suburb to the north of Durham City, but was once an area of open land to the west of the River Wear. The river was a focus for some of the earliest occupation in this area. A large number of Mesolithic flint tools have been found at Union Hall and Frankland Wood. These early settlers would not have been farmers- they would have moved across the landscape hunting wild animals, gathering wild plants and fishing from the rivers.

 

Despite these very early remains, we have little other evidence of prehistoric occupation around Framwellgate Moor. It is almost certain that during the Neolithic and Bronze Age this area became increasingly settled. The first farmers would have cleared the land of trees to make simple fields in which crops could be grown. Sadly, no remains of this period have been found. They often leave only very slight traces, most of which have probably been destroyed by the construction of the housing that now covers much of the area.

 

This lack of archaeological evidence is also apparent for the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. It is thought that Cades Road, an important Roman road from Roman East Durham leading up to Newcastle and The Wall, passed through the area. There were probably small settlements in the area, but none of these have been discovered. There place-name evidence suggests that there may have been some Anglo-Saxon occupation. Framwell probably comes from the Old English for 'strong spring', and Gate is the Old Norse word gata, meaning street. So Framwellgate means literally 'the street to Framwell'. This suggests that there must have been some kind of Anglo-Saxon or Viking settlements nearby.

 

In the medieval period the area was an agricultural area, and probably supplied much of the food for Durham City. The so-called 'moor' was probably used to graze cattle, both those farmed locally, and as a place to rest cattle from further away being brought into the city to sell at the market. Crops were also grown, and the corn was probably ground at the watermill recorded in the area.

The area was certainly seen as distinct from the city of Durham, unlike today. Monks from the abbey in Durham even used nearby Finchale Priory as a kind of 'holiday home'. It was suggested that the remains of a building excavated in 1953 may have been the traces of the original house and chapel of Saint Godric, but it is now thought to be an 18th century farmhouse.

 

Framwellgate Moor saw its biggest period of development in the 19th and early 20th century with the growth of the coal mining industry. Four coal mines were built in this area: Frankland, Dryburn, Framwellgate and Brasside Collieries.

 

The main colliery was Framwellgate Colliery, often known as the Old Pit. A row of cottages called Old Pit Terrace still mark its site, along the road on the western edge of Newton Hall Housing Estate. It was worked from 1838 and 1924, and was built by the Northern Coal Mining Company. Sadly, all these mines have now closed down, and much of the area has become built over with modern housing

 

Interative Map

Landlords & Tenants can access the Interactive Map of County Durham by clicking on the map to the right, Simply double click on area you wish to zoom in.

This useful map will be of particular use to landlords who are looking purchase property in County Durham, you can use the features on the interactive map to assess the neighbourhood and general layout as part of your research before a purchasing and investing in a particular area.

Tenants will also find the interactive map of County Durham very useful when looking to move to a new neighbourhood, town or village in County Durham. Checking the general layout or the property and searching distance to amenities such as schools, shops, and commuting distance to place of work.