Palace Green
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palace Green is a small area of grass in the centre of Durham in the United Kingdom, flanked by Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. The Cathedral and Castle together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, although Palace Green itself is not a part.
It is situated atop the narrow, high peninsula formed by a sharp bend in the River Wear. The Cathedral is on the southern side, facing the Castle across the Green on the north side. To the west are Durham University buildings including the law, theology and history departments, with the music department and a small branch of the library to the east.
Palace Green is accessed by two cobbled streets called Owengate (formerly Queen Street) and Dun Cow Lane, the latter named after the bovine protagonist of Durham's founding legend, in which a holy cow accompanying a religious group fleeing persecution chose to lie down where Durham now stands, thus deciding where the band should settle and found the Cathedral.
In summer, Palace Green is sometimes used by students of Durham University as a croquet lawn on permission from the groundsman of University College Durham.
