Sir John Duck Hospital

When you enter Christ Church through the main door and porch, into the tower, you will see an ancient bell hanging in the far corner. It came from the now-demolished ancient Duck's Hospital which was at the western end of the village, overlooking the Wear Valley.

Sir John Duck's parentage and birth, in 1634, may always remain a mystery. He is said to have come to Durham City as a butcher apprenticed to John Heslop. The story goes that he was wandering dejectedly by the banks of the Wear on day when a raven dropped a gold piece at his feet. The coin laid the foundation of Duck's fortune. He rose to the top of his trade, invested money wisely and became extremely rich. He owned collieries in Rainton and elsewhere. He owned a fine house in Rainton and another in Silver Street, Durham, which later became a cafe and ironmongery - but was demolished in 1963. Inside was a magnificent Jacobean staircase and a carved oak panel telling of his rise to fortune. On the right-hand side of the panel was a view of his mansion in Silver Street and he seemed to be pointing to another in the distance - possibly to the hospital he built and endowed at Great Lumley. He married into the Haswell estate, became Mayor of Durham in 1680 and progressed to Baronet when he became Sir John Dick of Haswell on the Hill.

In 1685, Sir John bought land at Great Lumley and, using money from his mining rights, he built a hospital, or almshouse, for the "sustenance and relief of 12 poor and impotent widows". The widows' rooms were built around a square, with a yard and a pump in the middle. They also had a small chapel, where prayers were read daily. The gates to the hospital were closed each evening to prevent admittance to outsiders and to avoid the widows getting into mischief! Sir John endowed the hospital with an annual income - £40 in 1685 - to ensure the poor widows had sufficient food and coal for heating. Sir John died on Wednesday 26th August, 1691, without issue and was buried at St. Margaret's, Durham, on 31st August 1691.

Eventually the hospital became too broken-down for the trustees to bring up to date and in March 1960 it was demolished after 274 years as an almshouse. The income was now invested in the Charity Commissioner's Common Investment fund and in 2010, 60 pensioners and needy people still benefited from Sir John Duck's generosity by the receipt of food parcels.