Brutalist and beautiful: 8 great old pictures of Durham city

The bus station in North Road in March 1974. The cast iron structure was built in 1927 for the British Electric Traction Company and was demolished in January 1976

This picture was taken in June 1964 to show the contrast in architectural styles in South Bailey where the St Cuthbert's Society's 17th Century headquarters was being extended towards the Water Gate. "Contrast," said the caption beneath the picture. "The old, well-mannered St Cuthbert's and its vulgar neighbour." 

A fabulous view of the County Police Communications Tower being built, on July 6, 1968. The 162ft (49.4 metres) mast was designed by architect Ove Arup, who also created the Kingsgate Bridge and the Dunelm House students' union, was described as "a beautiful Brutalist sculpture in concrete", and the police were so proud of it that when Prince Charles visited in 1978, he was given a silver model of it. However, in 2017 Durham Police were given permission to dismantle the mast so that housing could be built on the site on condition that they re-erected it, but in October the police applied for permission to destroy the mast because it had been damaged when it was taken down. Will they be allowed?

The 1960s radio mast at Durham Police headquarters standing as a landmark at Aykley Heads. Objecting to the police plans to destroy the dismantled mast, the Twentieth Century Society spoke of "the power of the mast to act as a placemaking focal point for the community, potentially even a symbol of local pride", while the City of Durham Trust said it was one of the city’s few 20th Century assets, and that it was "a terrific statement on Durham’s engagement in cutting edge technology" in Harold Wilson's "white heat" era

A terrific tangle of scaffolding on the Wear in April 1963 as the high-level Kingsgate bridge, designed by Ove Arup, begins to take shape

The City Courier service struggling to get up Saddler Street in July 1984 due to a fruit and potato wagon from Sunderland getting stuck on the pavement outside the Buffalo Head pub

A game of cricket outside Cosin's Hall on Palace Green in August 1965

Now, children, gather around, for a lesson in history. This picture is from May 1976, so it gives a glimpse at how lives were lived less than 50 years ago. The chap on the right in the dark suit and funny hat is a policeman - once upon a time you used to be able to see policemen out on their beat, walking the streets. He is going into a branch of a bank. Amazingly, in the days before you moved money about on your phone, most towns had five, six or more bank buildings into which people could pop to talk to someone - this one is the National Westminster Bank. In their pockets, people often carried what they called "cash" so that they could pay for goods with paper notes and metal coins. Next to him is a man with a strange dangly thing hanging from his neck. That is called a tie, a curious 20th Century affectation now seen only on politicians and newsreaders. In his top pocket he has a handkerchief and his trousers are flared, as was the Seventies style, and he is reading a broadsheet newspaper. Yes, in the days before the news was beamed into our pockets, people bought these unwieldy items that were far too big to fold properly from a newstand in the street - you can see a newstand on the left of the picture, with piles of newspapers folded on top of it and people huddled round to hand over their few pennies of "cash" in return for the headlines that were already hours out of date. Haven't we come on a long way in 47 years?

READ MORE: DURHAM IN 10 GREAT OLD PICTURES