The street of Gilesgate is a continuation of Claypath, which leaves the market place on Durham's peninsula by a route that does not require the crossing of the River Wear.

Claypath and Gilesgate are built on a long climbing ridge that overlooks the valley of the looping river to the north and south of the road.

At the top of the hill, in Gilesgate Moor, Gilesgate splits in two. Here, at the road junction with Sherburn Road and Sunderland Road, stood an ancient feature called Maiden's Arbour.

According to one theory, it was a signal station associated with the neighbouring Roman site called Old Durham, or the nearby ancient fort of Maiden Castle.

Another possibility is that it was also connected with a third ancient site at Pelaw Wood, near St Giles Chuch. The name Pelaw refers to a palisade fort that once stood there.

The exact origin and purpose of Maiden's Arbour is not known, but in the 1500s, an ornate marble cross was taken from this site to Durham's market place.

Some kind of enclosure existed at this point in the road until the 19th Century, and milkmaids milked their cows here.

No evidence supports the theory of a link between Maiden's Arbour and Old Durham, but Old Durham, as the name suggests, is certainly steeped in history.

It is situated near Old Durham Farm, in the fields behind Gilesgate's Sherburn Road Estate. In the early part of the 20th Century, the area was extensively quarried for its sand, and, during one such excavation in 1939, a Gilesgate man called Jack Hay discovered some broken Roman tiles.

The area was examined by archaeologists and the remains of a Roman bathhouse were discovered, associated with a mixed Roman and native British farm or villa. Unfortunately, subsequent quarrying destroyed the site and nothing remains.

In later years, Old Durham was the site of a 17th Century manor house owned by the Heath family, and was famed for its walled gardens built on a sloping terrace.

The site of the gardens, including the gazebo, has undergone careful restoration in recent years.

Until the 1920s, Old Durham and its gardens were a popular place of recreation.

It was the home of the Pineapple Inn, a pub that unfortunately lost its licence in 1926, although it continued to sell soft drinks for a time.

The Old Durham area was easily accessible from Durham by a riverside walk and at weekends, it was thronged with people attracted by activities such as putting, dancing and tennis.

It is likely that a Roman road passed close to Old Durham, but its course is difficult to trace. Sometimes called Cade's Road, it entered County Durham near Middleton St George, and continued north through the outskirts of Sedgefield, where another important Roman-native settlement was recently discovered.

It continued through Coxhoe and Bowburn before reaching Shincliffe, where it may have crossed the river near Old Durham.

Unfortunately, at this point, the course of the road is lost until it re-emerges north of the Newton Hall estate.

It forms the main street in Chester-le-Street, and eventually crosses the Tyne where Newcastle's Swing Bridge stands today.

Durham City did not exist in Roman times and the road may have bypassed the Durham peninsula altogether after crossing the Wear at Shincliffe.

In other words, it may have ignored Gilesgate and Elvet and skirted the western flank of Durham peninsula along the course of the present South Street.

On the northern side of Gilesgate, the riverside area of Kepier is one possible point at which a Roman road might have crossed the River Wear, although it would have needed to cross the ridge and street of Gilesgate to reach this point.

It is said that during the 19th Century, wooden piers associated with a Roman bridge were revealed in the river at Kepier during a hot, dry period.

Like Old Durham, Kepier is one of the most historic parts of Gilesgate, and its most significant feature is the medieval archway of the historic Kepier Hospital, now part of a farm building.

The hospital played a major role in the birth of Gilesgate. From the 1500s, the hospital and the nearby Kepier manorhouse were owned by a Londoner called John Heath, who also owned the manor of Old Durham.

Former manor house: A 19th century drawing of The White Bear In the 19th Century, the Kepier manor house became the White Bear Inn, and later the Kepier Inn.

The building's life as an inn ended in 1892 and, for a time, it served as a place of residence, until it was demolished.

We will feature more on the history of Kepier and Gilesgate in next week's Durham Memories.

Published: 18/04/2003

If you have any memories of Durham, including old photos or stories of people and places you would like to share with readers of The Northern Echo, write to David Simpson, Durham Memories, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF or email David.Simpson@nne.co.uk. All photos will be returned.