Durham never threw anything away
- Prince-bishops with near-royal powers
- Nine hundred years of records
- One of Britain’s most continuous archives
- Cathedral, castle and river
How Durham grew
The short version, in order. Pick a year.
The prince-bishops
Durham was run for centuries by bishops holding near-royal powers — their own courts, their own mint, their own administration. Running a semi-independent state required paperwork.
The prince-bishops, and an archive that never stopped
Durham was run for centuries by prince-bishops who held near-royal powers over the county — their own courts, their own mint, their own administration. Running a semi-independent state required paperwork, and Durham kept it.
The result is one of the most continuous archives in Britain, held alongside the cathedral and the castle on their loop of the Wear, covering nine hundred years of land, law, trade and dispute in one place.
Archives are unglamorous and irreplaceable. A great deal of what we know about ordinary English life survives because somewhere like Durham simply never threw anything away.
What that means if you trade in Durham
Durham is small, dominated by the university, and surrounded by former mining communities with quite different economies and expectations.
A business here typically serves both the city and the county, and being clear about which is which saves a great deal of wasted travel.
What Durham businesses ask us for
City or county
Durham city and the Durham coalfield towns are different markets. Say which you serve.
Term time
The population changes substantially outside term. Plan and publish accordingly.
Access on the peninsula
The old city is steep, narrow and restricted. Knowing that is a selling point.
How well do you know Durham?
Five quick questions. Get all five right and you win a 10% off discount code for your website. Every answer is somewhere on this page, so have a read if you get stuck.
Durham quiz · 1 of 5
Who ran Durham for centuries?
Common questions
The simplest one-page site starts at £15 a month, with the website build included and nothing to pay up front. Every plan and its price is published on the pricing page before you speak to anyone.
Sign-up takes about 3 minutes and the build questionnaire about 5. Most sites are then designed and built within 21 hours, and live within days of the brief being answered.
No setup fee and no hidden extras. Your monthly plan covers the website build and hosting. Done-for-you plans have a 12-month minimum term, then you can cancel any time from your dashboard.
Yes — you can upgrade at any time as your business grows, with no need to start over.