Former electricity substation, Merryoaks, Durham City: archaeological building recording (OASIS ID: archaeol3-355311)
Linda Bosveld, 2019. https://doi.org/10.5284/1056677. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Archaeological Services Durham University unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Primary contact
Archaeological Services Durham University
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
England
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 3579
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1056677
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
The project
This report presents the results of an archaeological recording project conducted in advance of proposed alteration work at a former electricity substation at Merryoaks, Durham City. A photographic and drawn survey has been carried out.
The works were commissioned by Marie Wall and conducted by Archaeological Services Durham University.
The building
The former electrical substation beside the A167 Darlington Road at Merryoaks has been recorded. This is a utilitarian brick and concrete structure that is typical of its period and function. The substation was built at an unknown date between 1897 and 1919 by a private local electrical company and its capacity was doubled before the Second World War. This entailed the addition of four ground-floor rooms on the east side, the extension of the lower ground-floor room on the west, and the construction of a new first-floor room. The substation went out of use pre2000s and Northern Powergrid, the current supply organisation, holds no records of it. All electrical equipment has been removed. The building has been subject to vandalism and some crude alterations have been made in recent times. One of these, an unsupported opening in the wall between rooms [2] and [3], could pose a threat to the stability of part of the building in the future.
