THERE does not appear to be much controversy surrounding the current proposals to turn one of Durham’s most distinctive and domineering buildings into a luxury hotel.
Perhaps this is a little strange as the Old Shire Hall, in Old Elvet, has polarised opinion ever since it was built in 1895. It was designed to be the headquarters of the newlyformed Durham County Council, and some people thought that placing a large office block on top of old houses ruined the residential nature of the street.
Other people took exception to its appearance, rather than its function.
Its features, including a grand copper green dome and striking red brick facade with terracotta details, made it stand out from the surrounding 18th Century townhouses.
Its art deco touches – daring and probably controversial for its day – mean that it was ahead of its time although, curiously, the name of the architect who designed it does not seem to have been recorded.
And there would have been mutterings about the size of the Old Shire Hall, which dwarfed its Georgian neighbours.
This photograph from 1962 shows the red brick facade and copper green dome of Old Shire Hall. The parking sign reads “No Lights Required”, and surely someone will be able to tell us about the two-tone van, GBR 174
Despite its monumental nature, though, it was very soon too small for the growing council bureaucracy.
County councils were formed in 1888 and Durham ruled everywhere between the Tees and the Tyne, including Stockton, Darlington, Hartlepool and Gateshead.
By 1905, a large extension was needed – if the current plans go ahead, this will be demolished.
Over the following decades, the council continued to grow, taking over many of the townhouses on Old Elvet, until the 1960s when it had outgrown the lot of them. In 1963, it moved to a purpose-built headquarters at Aykley Head, leaving the Old Shire Hall as a footnote in municipal history – from 1909 it had been the base of Britain’s first Labour-controlled county council, which was the first indication of how 20th Century politics were going to be different from those that had gone before.
However, it quickly found a new use as the administrative headquarters of Durham University, a role which it played until late 2012, when the university also moved to a new purpose-built home.
Despite the controversy of its early days, the presence of the Old Shire Hall has helped preserve Old Elvet better than, say, New Elvet next door. For a start, when it was designed, it protected the unsual width of the street, which was where Durham’s horse market was held.
Interior photos of The Old Shire Hall in Durham City, where plans are afoot for a hotel
Its occupation by the council and university has enabled the street to resist some of the commerical pressures that have marred other streets. For example, New Elvet has had many of its original 18th Century buildings demolished; some of them were replaced by modern buildings, but some of them were so wantonly destroyed in the 1970s that they had to be rebuilt. Therefore, even though they look Georgian, they aren’t.
Durham University’s involvement has also led to the archaeological discoveries of medieval dwellings at the site of the modern Elvet Riverside lecture rooms, on New Elvet.
So now what was in 1895 regarded as a horribly modern imposition is now a Grade II-listed building that is respected for its distinctiveness.
In 2008, it was sold for £4.2m, and its conversion into a 43-bedroomed luxury hotel will help preserve it for future generations to enjoy.
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