Beacon will burn brightly over historic city

The 19-feet-tall structure was commissioned and funded by Durham City’s Freemen and designed and created by Brian Russell – one of the country’s top artistic blacksmiths at his 200-year-old forge in Teesdale.

The freemen’s gift is the centrepiece of a wider Durham County Council supported project of improved footpaths and public access to the immediate

area around the site of the beacon on Jubilee Hill.

Monday evening’s ceremony was attended by the city’s mayor and local dignitories, and was led by the Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Sue Snowdon, who performed the firing ceremony.

John Booth, Chairman of the Wardens of the freemen’s centuries old eight craft guilds, said the project had been inspired last year to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

He said: “We hope our gift will be seen as a fitting and lasting tribute to Her Majesty, a legacy of the freemen and the outstanding skill of a local man.

"We hope too it will be accepted as a reflection of the quality and value of so many thousands of the craftsmen whose lives and work played such a key role in the shaping the city’s history and development across more than 600 years.”

Cllr Joan Nicholson, vice chair of the council, said: “The beacon was designed and created by a local blacksmith, showcasing the craftsmanship

and talent we have across the county and the rich heritage of County Durham.

“I am sure it will be enjoyed by many in the years to come.”

Future decisions on firing up the beacon to mark national events falls to the City of Durham Parish Council – which already plans to light up the sky after the King’s Coronation on May 6 and is actively considering a repeat for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June next year.

Durham City-born Mr Russell, now 70 and recently sworn-in as a freeman of the city, was awarded a fine arts degree by Sunderland College of Art before moving into his forge in Little Newsham near Staindrop in 1974.