A POPULAR programme of local history courses starts next month.

They are taught by Dr Dorothy Hamilton, who has been teaching local history in and around Durham since 1992. In Durham, there will be a short course about the Durham that might have been if plans drawn up in the 1940s had gone ahead.

It will focus on town planner Thomas Sharp, of Bishop Auckland, and his ideas of townscape, who did a lot to save Durham's historic character. The course runs on two Tuesday afternoons at the Shakespeare Hall In North Road, Durham City, from February 4.

A new course this year will be an introduction to the history of Chester-le-Street, from Roman times to the present day.

This course takes place in Chester-le-Street Parish Centre, in Church Chare, on Tuesday mornings from February 25. Course fees range from £9 to £59 depending on the number of sessions, and whether people qualify for a concessionary place.

For further information, and a copy of the courses programme, call 0191-373 9252.