Gilesgate
Encyclopedia
Gilesgate is a place in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated east of the centre of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

.

Gilesgate was originally the main street in a settlement associated with the Hospital of St Giles
Kepier Hospital
Kepier Hospital was a medieval hospital at Kepier, Durham, England.-Founding at Gilesgate:...

 which was sited by the existing St Giles Church
St Giles Church, Durham
St. Giles Church is a grade I listed parish church in Gilesgate, Durham, England.The church was constructed as the hospital chapel of the Hospital of St Giles and was dedicated in on St Barbara's Day, June 1112 by Bishop Flambard to "the honour of God and St Giles"...

. The street was divided in the 1960s by the construction of the A690 and the demolition of a number of houses, pubs and shops at the foot of Gilesgate Bank to construct a roundabout. East of Gilesgate itself was Gilesgate Moor. During the 19th century, housing extended along the Sherburn and Sunderland Roads and the colliery village of New Durham was built within the parish. Additional housing was constructed along the Sherburn Road in the 1930s, including the Sherburn Road Estate, built to house residents from the slums of Framwelgate
Framwelgate
Framwelgate is an area of Durham, County Durham, England. It is adjoined by Crossgate, North End, Framwellgate Moor and the River Wear....

. Following the Second World War, a further council housing estate was constructed north of the Sunderland Road with the streets taking the names of war leaders and local recipients of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

. In modern usage Gilesgate can refer to the street, the smaller area (partly following old council boundaries) consisting of the street above the roundabout and the Sunderland Road estate, Gilesgate Moor and High Grange Estate.

Modern Gilesgate

The areas closest to the city have proved popular with students at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

. This is helped by the location of the College of St Hild and St Bede
College of St Hild and St Bede
The College of St Hild and St Bede, commonly known as Hild Bede, is a college of Durham University in England. It is the University's second largest collegiate body, with over 1000 students. The co-educational college was formed in 1975 following the merger of two much older single-sex...

, and the education department on the edge of Gilesgate.

There are shops sited around Gilesgate and a number of pubs, including The Woodman and the New Durham Club.

The historic parish church of St Giles
St Giles Church, Durham
St. Giles Church is a grade I listed parish church in Gilesgate, Durham, England.The church was constructed as the hospital chapel of the Hospital of St Giles and was dedicated in on St Barbara's Day, June 1112 by Bishop Flambard to "the honour of God and St Giles"...

 is a grade I listed building, with the Roman Catholic church of St Joseph located on Mill Lane. Local primary schools include Gilesgate, Laurel Avenue, St Hilds (Church of England) and St Joseph's (Roman Catholic). Secondary education for most of Gilesgate is provided at Durham Gilesgate Sports College. Durham Gilesgate Sports College is also part of Durham Gilesgate Sixth Form Centre Located in The Sands in the centre of Durham. It has also recently had the addition of a retail park containing shops such as KFC, B and Q, Currys and PC World which is known as Durham Retail Park.

In 2004 'Soccarena' was opened, providing eight 6-a-side soccer pitches for aspiring footballers of all ages. The facility operates a number of different league formats, using the top divisions (Premiership) and lower divisions (Championship) for each night of the week.

Gilesgate Moor

Gilesgate Moor is part of Gilesgate. It is also part of the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Belmont. It formerly had a post office and a cinema.
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