A FREE history talk by a Durham University Fellow will explain the survival of a long-standing County Durham family.

The Salvin family came to Croxdale by the marriage in 1402 of Gerard Salvin from Yorkshire, to Agnes Wharton, heiress of Croxdale and the family have remained in the area ever since, with their descendants still living in Croxdale Hall to this day.

In the latest in its programme of Third Thursday Talks, Durham County Record Office will host a lecture by Dr Margaret Harvey, on ‘Recusancy and Conformity: The Salvins of Croxdale, 1500-1663.

Dr Harvey, an Honorary Fellow (Late Medieval History) in the university’s department of history and a member of the university’s Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Her talk will explore how the family preserved their estate near Sunderland Bridge and what methods they used to survive when many other similar families did not.

Dawn Layland, education and outreach archivist, said: “The Salvins are always assumed to have been continuously staunch Catholics. In fact, after the Northern Rebellion of 1569, the heads of the family nearly always conformed, and it was their wives who refused to comply with the Anglican church.

“We’re delighted that Dr Harvey will be joining us to explain more about the family’s past in what is set to be a fascinating talk.”

The event, on Thursday May 16, from 12.30pm to 1.15pm, is free to attend but donations are welcome.

Places must be booked in advance from www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk or by calling 03000 267 619.