Preserving and promoting the history of ice sports in Durham

For over 50 years, Durham Ice Rink was more than a building. It was a gathering place, a proving-ground, a home. Families, friendships, and futures were made here both on the ice and in the stands. When it closed for good in 1996, it felt like something irreplaceable was lost. But it didn’t vanish completely. It’s in the stories still told, and the memories stored away in lofts.

The ice in Durham may have melted long ago, but ask anyone who was there, and you’ll see it in their face. We had something special here.

durham ice rink timeline

Focus on:

the 40s & 50s

Durham Ice Rink first opened in 1940 and quickly became a wartime escape, playing host to a Royal Canadian Air Force ice hockey league and sowing the seeds of success for Durham’s skaters and puck-chasers. Completely rebuilt in 1946, the rink became a focal point for the city. Through the late '40s and early '50s, it was the place to skate, socialise, and see the North East’s first sparks of ice sports culture take hold.

For the next few weeks we’ll be adding more about this period in the ice rink’s history - much of which has rarely been seen, or written about before.

Currently happening:

A ‘lost spaces’ cultural exhibition by Lewis Hobson, featuring a display forming the next phase of The Durham Ice Rink Project

The ice rink exhibition element focuses one of the founder members of the Durham Wasps - George Thompson - to tell his story in the context of the early years of the ice rink, including a number of artefacts including an original early 1950s Durham Wasps team jacket, plaques and an original scrapbook from 1947/48.

Blank Slate is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 April to 27 April (10am to 6pm) in Prince Bishops Place, High Street, Durham City.

George Thompson

A Hetton farmer, and founding Wasp, George Thompson brought speed skating flair to the Durham Wasps and played an instrumental role in shaping ice hockey’s early success at Durham across their first seven seasons.

READ GEORGE'S STORY