Durham Ice Rink: What's the Story?
Esta Abernathy
2025-04-29 03:02:52
Count answers: 6
Durham’s first rink opened in 1940, at the start of World War Two by local entrepreneur “Icy” Smith. The rink proved a huge success. It was a place where people could skate for sheer enjoyment or sit back and watch the ice shows or ice hockey and temporarily escape the worries of the war. Ice hockey was established as a regular aspect of the ice rink’s attractions in 1942, and there was a ready supply of individuals with enough talent and experience to ensure its popularity. In 1945 the war was over, and many Canadians returned home. Some remained, as did Durham’s enthusiasm for ice hockey. The rink, complete with a permanent roof, opened on the site of the original one at a cost of £64,000. One big problem had been finding wood for constructing the stands that would house the expected crowds. Wood was in short supply at the end of the war, but Smith saw there was a great surplus of wooden coffins, and bought many for use in the rink’s construction. The Durham Wasps began their life in 1946 and were established by Mike Davey of Ottawa, along with three other Canadians who made Durham their home. Ice hockey maintained a degree of popularity throughout the sixties and seventies, but it was the period from 1982 to 1992 that was the real heyday for the Durham Wasps. Sadly, ice hockey in Durham became a victim of its own successes and ambitions. The last days of the Wasps came within only a few years of their greatest era. In 1995, Sir John Hall purchased the team as part of his unfulfilled vision for a Newcastle United Sporting Club. The departure of the Wasps brought financial difficulties to the Durham rink. It closed on July 8, 1996, reopening a year later as a 20-lane bowling alley.
Sophia Carter
2025-04-27 14:56:38
Count answers: 2
Any regular visitors to Durham City will have no doubt noticed that the site of the former Ice Rink is currently being redeveloped. Then, in the early 1930s, the business was moved to Bishop’s Mill. The mill site was chosen for the ice factory as the River Wear was the ideal power source for the refrigeration machinery. So, in 1939 the idea for the Durham Ice Rink was born. After the end of the War building work on a permanent building was completed and the rink became a regular haunt for generations of Durham residents along with the Durham Wasps, Durham’s own Ice Hockey team, formed by Smith himself. Now the site is being redeveloped, for housing and offices, the ice making machinery has had to be removed to make way for the developments along with the installation of a new Hydro-electric generator.
Griffin Waelchi
2025-04-14 22:42:27
Count answers: 3
Durham's first ice rink opened in 1940. Nevertheless, the rink proved a huge success. It was a place where Durham folk could skate for sheer enjoyment, or sit back and watch the ice shows or ice hockey and temporarily escape the worries of the war. Ice hockey was established as a regular aspect of the ice rink's attractions in 1942, and there was a ready supply of individuals with enough talent and experience to ensure its popularity.
The Durham Wasps began their life in 1946 and were established by Mike Davey of Ottawa, along with three other Canadians who made Durham their home. Sadly, ice hockey in Durham became a victim of its own successes and ambitions. It closed on July 8 1996, reopening a year later as a 20-lane bowling alley. Like the ice rink, it proved to be a popular leisure attraction for the people of Durham, but the days of ice skating in Durham City are no more.
Izabella Greenholt
2025-04-14 22:40:21
Count answers: 3
Durham ice rink was a community hub, home to the hugely successful Durham Wasps ice hockey team. Located on The Sands, where the passport office currently stands, it was the vision of local entrepreneur ‘Icy’ Smith that saw the rink open in the 1940’s. It found success with the Canadian pilots stationed nearby during the war, and went on to create one of the most famous names in ice hockey; The Durham Wasps. The story ended with the team being bought out, moved to Newcastle and the rink closing shortly after.
Antonina Cartwright
2025-04-14 20:45:30
Count answers: 5
Icy purchased a row of terraced houses near the river in Freemans Place, on the site of an ancient water mill that once belonged to the Prince Bishops of Durham. Icy's riverside rink required the setting of seven miles of pipes that would lie beneath the great pad of ice to keep it cool. The pipes were in place by 1939, but when the rink finally opened on the March 6, 1940, it was somewhat exposed to the elements. There was, initially, no roof of any kind, but an enormous marquee, allegedly the largest in the world, was soon brought in to cover the rink. In 1944, a severe gale destroyed the marquee altogether, and a new ice rink with a permanent roof was an essential requirement.
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