Old Photos of Sacriston
The House on the Heugh
From the 13th century until the end of the middle ages, Sacriston's Heugh was a farm/manor house belonging to the Office of the Sacristan of the monastery at Durham Cathedral.
The Sacristan was a monk who had the responibility of providing everything necessary for the services of the Cathedral such as bread and wine, the vestment etc. He was also responsible for certain repairs to the fabric of the building.
The funds for carrying on the business in the hands of the Sacristan came principally from the estate known as the Sacristan's Heugh, it was a large farm about four miles north-west of Durham City and the manor house was built on the crest of an almost precipitous hill.
The land at times was, farmed by Bailiffs on behalf of the Sacristan and at other times it was leased out. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 the Sacristan Heugh's income remained part of the endownments of Durham Cathedral
