Durham, Market Place c.1955
Photo ref: D71054
Made in Britain logo

Photo ref: D71054
Photo of Durham, Market Place c.1955

More about this scene

This is a photograph of the busy Market Place with lots of cars, no horses and no Neptune! The pant was demolished in 1923, and Neptune was moved to a life of solitude in Wharton Park. Fortunately, he was returned to his rightful place in the Market Square in 1991. The Prudential Assurance building and Market Tavern are still evident, but note the modern building on the right of Londonderry's statue. The Market Place today is virtually a pedestrian precinct. There is no longer a policeman sitting in a peculiar box controlling the traffic from the Market Place with a closed-circuit television monitor (bottom right), and drivers now have to pay a charge to drive through the square into Saddler Street.

Memories of Durham, Market Place c1955

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. These memories are of Durham, Market Place c.1955

Sparked a Memory for you?

If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?

The market place is at the very centre of Durham City, and on the left of the picture can be seen the City Hall, where we not only had the Saturday night "hop", but also took exams. On the right is Doggatts Store where if I remember right, we had to buy our gowns, college blazers and scarves and squares ("mortarboards").