Top 10 Quirky Facts 

With a history as rich and varied as Durham's there's bound to be a quirky story here and there!

On the main door of Durham Cathedral is the Sanctuary Knocker (a replica now, the original is in the Treasures of St Cuthbert). Any fugitives who grasped the knocker were granted sanctuary for 37 days. They could then either face their accusers or be given safe conduct to the coast.

Charles Dickens stayed in Barnard Castle when collecting material for ‘Nicholas Nickleby’, whilst William Shaw’s Academy in Bowes, now a private house, was a model for the infamous Dotheboys Hall.

Milled mustard was invented in Durham City by a Mrs Clements and was first ground at a mill in Saddler Street in the 17^th Century. 

Durham's Cathedral and Castle World Heritage Site was one of the very 1st to be designated, along with the Taj Mahal and Palace of Versailles.

Durham Regatta dates from 1832 and is 7 years older than Henley regatta.

The Bowes Museum houses a 230-year-old musical automaton in the form of a life-size Silver Swan, which plays every day to fascinated onlookers.

In 1909 an amateur football team from West Auckland won the first World Cup, beating FC Winterthour of Switzerland.  They repeated their success in 1911, thrashing Juventus 6-1. The legend of West Auckland’s World Cup success was made into a 1982 film, ‘The Captain's Tale’, starring Dennis Waterman.

Causey Arch is the world’s oldest surviving railway bridge, built in 1725-1726 by a local stonemason. 

The Medieval kitchen at Raby Castle was still in use until 1954.

Durham University's Oriental Museum is the only museum in the north of Britain dedicated solely to the art and archaeology of the Orient - and home to an Egyptian cat's coffin.