Books by Derek Dodds

Durham City is a remarkable place, a priceless historical gem and, deservedly, a World Heritage Site. Over 1,000 years Durham's great beauty and history has inspired many architectural descriptions and guides. This book follows in their footsteps but then takes a different path. Wandering through the cathedral's darkened cloisters, the city's narrow medieval streets and the river's winding pathways, Secret City of Durham is one man's view of this famed peninsula - an occasionally quirky tour through history that looks beyond the iconic architecture and behind the fascinating jumble of city buildings. The author peels back their facades to reveal the bewildering changes and on the way points out the lesser-known facts and characters associated with them. What points the way to Durham Cathedral and St Cuthbert's tomb and where can it be found? Who lived in Windy Gap? Why St Mary-the-'Less'? Secret City of Durham answers these fascinating questions and many more in a modern pilgrimage through the city.

In the space of just 200 years Hebburn has been transformed from a small fishing hamlet into a modern town of 20,000 inhabitants. The driving force in this expansion was of course the development of industry, in particular coal mining and shipbuilding. Indeed, these two industries, and the arrival of the railway in 1872, meant that Hebburn thrived in the nineteenth century. During the twentieth century, Hebburn's fortunes were in the hands of modern engineering companies. Like many of its neighbours the town has suffered from the ups and downs of the economy, but it also benefited from slum clearance and new amenities in the post-war era. Despite its varying fortunes, Hebburn retains its pride and community spirit, as demonstrated in this fascinating collection of archive and modern photographs.