Derek Dodds – författare

Stretching almost 40 miles between the rivers Derwent, Tyne and Tees, and contained roughly by the Pennines to the west and the North Sea on the east, County Durham has retained a unique sense of identity and independence. For many centuries it was indeed a place apart, a territorial buffer against invading Scots. A sense of belonging and collective pride was born there and continued afterwards in the close-knit communities of the region’s more recent industrial past. Encompassing three great rivers, the Tyne, Wear and Tees, it has a landscape of great contrast and variety, a dramatic coastline, rugged moorland, dales and fells and the historic city of Durham. As well as age-old churches and castles, industrial monuments and museums, historic towns and villages, the region boasts world-class art and architecture and has a lively cultural scene.50 Gems of County Durham explores the many places and their history that make this part of the country so special, including natural features, towns and villages, buildings and places of historical interest. Alongside justly famous attractions, others will be relatively unknown, but all have an interesting story to tell.

In the space of just 200 years Hebburn has been transformed from a small fishing hamlet into a modern town of 20,000 inhabitants. The driving force in this expansion was of course the development of industry, in particular coal mining and shipbuilding. Indeed, these two industries, and the arrival of the railway in 1872, meant that Hebburn thrived in the nineteenth century. During the twentieth century, Hebburn's fortunes were in the hands of modern engineering companies. Like many of its neighbours the town has suffered from the ups and downs of the economy, but it also benefited from slum clearance and new amenities in the post-war era. Despite its varying fortunes, Hebburn retains its pride and community spirit, as demonstrated in this fascinating collection of archive and modern photographs.

Durham City is a remarkable place, a priceless historical gem and, deservedly, a World Heritage Site. Over 1,000 years Durham’s great beauty and history has inspired many architectural descriptions and guides. This book follows in their footsteps but then takes a different path. Wandering through the cathedral’s darkened cloisters, the city’s narrow medieval streets and the river’s winding pathways, Secret City of Durham is one man’s view of this famed peninsula – an occasionally quirky tour through history that looks beyond the iconic architecture and behind the fascinating jumble of city buildings. The author peels back their façades to reveal the bewildering changes and on the way points out the lesser-known facts and characters associated with them. What points the way to Durham Cathedral and St Cuthbert’s tomb and where can it be found? Who lived in Windy Gap? Why St Mary-the-’Less’? Secret City of Durham answers these fascinating questions and many more in a modern pilgrimage through the city.

Hebburn History Tour is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this South Tyneside town. This is an exciting guided walk around the well-known places of the 200-year-old town and explains what they meant to local people throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and watch the changing face of Hebburn as Derek Dodds guides us through its streets.

This illustrated history portrays one of England’s finest counties. It provides a nostalgic look at Durham’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites.The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts.Once a region of mining and heavy industry, the county borders the rivers Tyne and Wear to the north-east, Northumberland to the north, Cumbria to the west and North Yorkshire to the south and, historically, included Gateshead and Sunderland. Today, one of the main industries is tourism, thanks to the cathedral city of Durham – a remarkable place, a priceless historical gem and, deservedly, a World Heritage Site. Historic England: Durham shows the county as it once was, from Durham City’s narrow medieval streets to the industrial landscapes of South Tyneside and Wearside. This book will help you discover the remarkable history of this proud region.

The historic city of Durham attracts many visitors each year. They are drawn to its iconic buildings, particularly the great Norman cathedral and castle as well as the surrounding and relatively unspoilt medieval town. In this tour of the famed city, fifty of these wonderful structures will be showcased. It features the most renowned buildings of course but then goes beyond the ancient town core to describe Durham’s flourishing university campus as well as bridges, chapels, theatres and pubs and more recent (and more controversial) architectural adventures. All of them – ancient and modern – help to tell Durham’s extraordinary story. Added together they make up what has aptly been called ‘The Durham difference’.Durham City in 50 Buildings explores the history of this fascinating city through a selection of its most interesting buildings and structures, including lesser-known buildings tucked away, showing the changes that have taken place over the years. The book will appeal to all those who live in Durham or visit the city, or who have an interest in the area.