A short documentary that tells the story of Durham City’s ice rink from its opening in 1940 to its closure in 1996 is now available to watch online!
Affectionately called Riverside Rink, Durham Ice rink was open from 1940 until 1996. In 1940, the rink was under a marquee. The building most of us remember was built in 1946. The stands were famously build out of coffin wood to save money!
In the 1990’s, the building housed a bowling alley before being demolished in 2013. The passport office currently stands on the site.
In 2025 a short documentary, “The Riverside Rink” was made, telling the story of the rink and its users.
The rink was home to one of the most important teams in British ice hockey history: The Durham Wasps, but also hosted many other events and socials.
The film was made by CYAN CIC, who held a series of exhibitions over 2025 discovering the history of the rink.
The short film was made possible as part of Durham City Place Lab, an Into the Light project – County Durham’s place-based creative collaboration designed to cultivate talent, widen access to creative education, enhance the skills of the cultural workforce and break down barriers to working in the creative industries. For more information see Into the Light – Culture Durham
You can now watch the full film below:
Were you a visitor of the rink? Or do you remember it as a bowling alley? There are many people in Durham who will have been to birthday parties through the 90’s in the building!
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