IN the 19th century, suburbs developed north, east and west of Durham City, but the land to the south around Mount Oswald remained open countryside.

Beyond the southern tip of Durham's river peninsula, country lanes, woodland and a few scattered houses typified the scenery until the late 20th century.

The most significant feature of the 19th century landscape was a country road (now the A177) that headed into the city from Farewell Hall Farm, near the Cock o' the North roundabout.

The Cock o' the North, which was demolished three years ago, did not come into being until the 20th century, but there was a pub at Farewell Hall called the Durham Ox in the early 19th century.

The site of the Cock o' the North is now a housing development.

However, these developments are relatively small and there is still little in the way of suburban development on the land south of the city.

Along the A177 from Mount Oswald, north of the roundabout, to Mount Joy on the outskirts of Elvet, there is still much attractive open scenery, now interspersed with modern developments of a distinctly educational nature.

Since the end of the Second World War, this whole area has come to be dominated by the colleges and departments of Durham University.

However, the first educational establishment that we encounter as we proceed north from Farewell Hall is not a university building, but Durham High School for Girls.

Founded in 1884, this was initially located at number 33 Claypath, but it moved in about 1910 to premises at Leazes House, in Gilesgate. It was not until 1968 that it moved to the present purpose-built buildings near Farewell Hall.

Between the high school and Mount Oswald, the A177 takes on the peculiar name of Money Slack, a name originally designated to a marshy area in the vicinity of nearby Blaids Wood, on the east side of the road. Slack was an old word for marsh, but why money?

Unfortunately, the explanation eludes me, but perhaps coins were found there many years ago.

Mount Oswald stands in parkland on the west side of Money Slack, and is one of the most impressive mansions in Durham. Initially called Oswald House, it was originally a small villa, built in about 1800 for a London merchant called John Richardby. The architect is unknown, but the house was named from its location in the St Oswald's parish of Elvet.

In 1806, Richardby sold the property to Thomas Wilkinson, of Brancepeth, a onetime mayor and alderman of Durham, but the house did not develop into a palatial mansion until after 1828, when Thomas sold it to his cousin, the Rev Percival Spearman Wilkinson, of Belmont.

Mr Wilkinson, who had been a curate of Ainderby Steeple, in North Yorkshire, employed Phillip Wyatt, the architect of Wynyard Hall, to convert the villa into Mount Oswald mansion.

Mount Oswald's architectural style has often been attributed to the Durham city architect Ignatius Bonomi, who built Croxdale's Burn Hall for the Salvin family, but records confirm it was Wyatt.

In fact, Wilkinson may have had good reasons for overlooking Bonomi in favour of Wyatt.

Wyatt had built Wynyard for the Marquis of Londonderry and, like the marquis, Wilkinson was a staunch Tory.

Bonomi, on the other hand, was the preferred architect for the rival Whig statesman Lord Lambton, so party politics may have played a part in the choice of architect.

Although Thomas Wilkinson had sold the house to his cousin Percival in 1828, Thomas seems to have owned additional land on the opposite side of the A177, just north of Mount Oswald.

There, his son George built a mansion that was, like the precursor of Mount Oswald, rather confusingly called Oswald House.

The architect and date of the second Oswald House is unknown, but George was certainly in residence there by 1838. George's son, another George Wilkinson, was born in this house and went on to become the Bishop of Truro and St Andrews.

When George senior accidentally shot himself dead in 1866, Bishop George sold the property to his sibling, Thomas Chandler Wilkinson.

Later in the century, Oswald House was occupied by a coal owner called Robinson Ferens, a JP who was connected with the firm of Ferens and Love. In 1916, the house served as a hospital but, during the 1920s, 30s and 40s it was home to Mr CJ Sadler, a member of a wellknown family of North-East industrialists.

Unfortunately, Oswald House suffered severe fire damage in 1960 and was subsequently demolished. Since the early 1970s, Durham University's Collingwood College has occupied the site.

Meanwhile, back at Mount Oswald, the Rev Percival Wilkinson fathered eight children, and died - no doubt from exhaustion - in 1875.

His son, a JP called Percival Spearman Wilkinson, succeeded him to the property, but, in the 1890s, it seems to have passed into the hands of North Brancepeth Colliery Company. By 1898, it was leased to Capt John Edwin Rogerson (1868-1925) son of John Rogerson, of Croxdale.

Rogerson was a master of the North Durham Foxhounds, a JP, Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Durham and a director of the Weardale Steel Coal and Coke Company, among other industrial concerns.

After Rogerson's departure, Mount Oswald's long association with golf started in 1928 when it became the home of Durham City Golf Club. The club was established in 1887, but was initially located at Pinnock Hill (Pinker Knowle).

This site is to the east, beyond Durham's crematorium, halfway between Mount Oswald and Houghall. Following its move from this site, the club was based at Mount Oswald until 1974, when it officially moved to Littleburn, near Meadowfield.

However, Mount Oswald's owners, North of England Estates, continue to operate the stately golf course on the Mount Oswald site. The golf course has been the subject of much controversy lately and the city council recently rejected a £150m plan by Banks Developments for the construction of 750,000 sq ft of office space and 30 executive homes on the golf course. The development company is expected to appeal, but for the time being the scenery south of the city retains much of its open countryside, save for the occasional university college.