A county palatine In England, the jurisdiction of which was vested in the Bishop of Durham until the statute 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c 19, vested it as a separate franchise and royalty in the crown. The Jurisdiction of the Durham court of pleas was transferred to the supreme court of Judicature by the judicature act of 1873.
DURHAM
TheLaw.com Law Dictionary & Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed.