Book explores County Durham’s rich seam of history and legend

By North East Life on October 28th 2011

Durham: Fact, Fable and a Procession of Princes by Martin Dufferweil

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ocal history books can sometimes be a tad dry. Occasionally, the word Sahara is the description that springs most readily to mind.

But amateur historian Martin Dufferweil has bucked this turgid trend by giving his tales of Durham fact and fable a generous seasoning of very peppery narrative.

With chapters like ‘A sword and a serpent’, ‘Death on Flambard’s Bridge’ and ‘Mad, bad and dangerous’, you know from page one that this is not going to be a bland, flavourless read.

Drawing on the rich history, lore and legend of the original lands of County Durham between the rivers Tyne and Tees, and ignoring modern political boundaries imposed in the 20th Century, Martin combines fact and fable to tell a purposefully broad history.

‘I have tried to produce a work about the history and legends of the city and county which is written by a non-historian for the benefit of other non-historians,’ he explained. ‘There is nothing here for the academic.

‘I hope the finished product is both informative and entertaining, but with much more left for the interested reader to discover elsewhere.’

This is Martin’s second book, following on from and adding extra depth to his previous work, Durham: Over a Thousand Years of History and Legend.

Once again, he supports his writing with his own photographs

and, if a minor quibble is allowed, these are the book’s weakest link. An unfortunate lack of sharpness and gloomy reproduction means they are little more than dark shadows amid the author’s colourful tales.

But it is the words that matter most. And, thankfully, the author utilises all his skills to ensure Durham’s rich history is given a suitably showy setting.

National figures like William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart and William ‘Braveheart’ Wallace all make

an appearance in this brisk jaunt through time, which takes in religious and

political reform, civil war and a notorious murder case in which the killers were convicted following the testimony of the ghostly victim.

It is an account with broad appeal, written with the general reader in mind

at all times. And, even better than that, the word ‘Sahara’ never springs to mind for a moment. n

Local history books can sometimes be a tad dry. Occasionally, the word Sahara is the description that springs most readily to mind.

But amateur historian Martin Dufferwiel has bucked this turgid trend by giving his tales of Durham fact and fable a generous seasoning of very peppery narrative.

With chapters like ‘A sword and a serpent’, ‘Death on Flambard’s Bridge’ and ‘Mad, bad and dangerous’, you know from page one that this is not going to be a bland, flavourless read.

‘I hope the finished product is both informative and entertaining, but with much more left for the interested reader to discover elsewhere.’This is Martin’s second book, following on from and adding extra depth to his previous work, Durham: Over a Thousand Years of History and Legend.

Once again, he supports his writing with his own photographs and, if a minor quibble is allowed, these are the book’s weakest link. An unfortunate lack of sharpness and gloomy reproduction means they are little more than dark shadows amid the author’s colourful tales.But it is the words that matter most.

And, thankfully, the author utilises all his skills to ensure Durham’s rich history is given a suitably showy setting.

National figures like William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart and William ‘Braveheart’ Wallace all makean appearance in this brisk jaunt through time, which takes in religious and political reform, civil war and a notorious murder case in which the killers were convicted following the testimony of the ghostly victim.

It is an account with broad appeal, written with the general reader in mindat all times. And, even better than that, the word ‘Sahara’ never springs to mind for a moment.

The print version of this article appeared in the November 2011 issue of North East Life

We can deliver a copy direct to your door – order online here

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Members Comments

Comment by: crystal 28 October 2011 - 10:00

Where can we buy this book ? it sounds really interesting. :)

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Comment by: Vijay 28 October 2011 - 10:09

I would imagine it's available in Durham and it's immediate vicinity rather than everywhere, although it is on amazon if you can't find it locally

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