Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for DARLINGTON

DARLINGTON, a town, a township, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a ward in Durham. The town stands on a declivity, at the river Skerne, adjacent to the York and Newcastle railway, near the boundary with Yorkshire, 18½ miles by road, and 23¼ by railway S of Durham; and is connected by railways eastward with Stockton-on-Tees, westward with the W of England, and north-westward with Bishop-Auckland. It dates from remote times; figures in the history of St. Cuthbert; and had long a residence of the Bishops of Durham, which was built about 1162, and in which the Princess Margaret lodged, in 1504, on her way to Scotland. It consists mainly of streets branching from a spacious central square; has recently undergone much improvement; and now includes a new town N of the old. A covered market, on a fine plan, was erected in 1864. A drinking fountain, in granite and bronze, was erected in 1859. St. Cuthbert's church was erected about 1160 by Bishop Pudsey; is a spacious cruciform structure, partly Norman and early English, with a central steeple 180 feet high; was formerly collegiate, with four chantries; and has carved stone stalls, and highly-finished western door. A subscription of upwards of £3, 300 was raised in 1862 for restoring it. There are also Holy Trinity, St. Paul's, and St. John's churches; the last with a tower, and built in 1853. An Independent chapel, at a cost of£2, 500, was built in 1862; a U. Presbyterian chapel, at a cost of £3, 600, in 1869; and each has a tower and spire. The Roman Catholics have two chapels and two nunneries. There are also chapels for Baptists, Quakers, Wesleyans, Free Methodists, and Primitive Methodists. The new cemetery, about a mile from the town, was opened in 1858. A grammar-school, founded in the time of Elizabeth, has £247 from endowment; a blue coat school has £42; and other charities have £118. The workhouse was reconstructed from the Bishop's palace, which had fallen into neglect. There is a literary and scientific institution, with a large room for lectures. There is also a mechanics' hall, with a lecture-room. Public baths were erected in 1850; and a public park, comprising about 23 acres, was opened in 1853. The town has a head post office, ‡ two railway stations with telegraph, three banking-offices, and three chief inns; is a parliamentary borough by the act of 1867, a seat of sessions, and a polling-place; and publishes four weekly newspapers. A weekly market is held on Monday; and fairs on the first Monday of March, Easter Monday, Whit-Monday, the second Monday after Whit-Monday, 23 Nov., and the second Monday after 23 Nov. There are worsted mills, mousseline-de-laine works, cotton factories, tanneries, iron-works, optical glass manufactures, and locomotive engine establishments; and much trade is done in connexion with railway transit, and through contiguity with the mining districts of South Durham, West Durham and Cleveland. The famous bull "Comet" was sold here for £1, 050. The town gives the title of Earl to the Duke of Cleveland; and it sends one member to parliament. Pop. in 1851, 11, 228; in 1861, 15, 781. Houses, 2, 683.

The township contains also the hamlet of Oxneyfield. Acres, 3, 569. Real property, £243, 073; of which £186, 642 are in railways, £429 in quarries, £830 in iron-works, and £828 in gas-works. Pop., 15, 789. Houses, 2, 685. The parish contains likewise the townships of Blackwell, Cockerton, and Archdeacon-Newton. Acres, 7, 856. Real property, £251, 874. Pop., 16, 762. Houses, 2, 875. The property is much subdivided. Blackwell is the seat of R. H. Allan, Esq. Bushell Hill commands a view to York minster. A medicinal spring is in the vicinity of the town; and salt springs are at Hell Kettles. St. Cuthbert's, Trinity. and St. John's livings are vicarages, and St. Paul's is a p. curacy, in the diocese of Durham. Value of St. C., £220; of T., £310; * of St. J., £300; * of St. P., £200. Patron of St. C., the Duke of Cleveland; of T., the Archdeacon of Durham; of St. J. and St. P., alternately the Crown and the Bishop.—The sub-district contains the parishes of Coniscliffe, Hurworth, Middleton-St. George, and Low Dinsdale, and the townships of Darlington, Blackwell, Pierse-Bridge, and Sockburn, electorally in Durham; also the parishes of Manfield, Cleasby, Barton, and Croft, and the townships of Eryholme, Girsby, and Over Dinsdale, electorally in N. R. Yorkshire. Acres, 35, 207. Pop., 21, 167. Houses, 3, 817. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Aycliffe, containing the parishes of Heighington and Houghton-le-Skerne, and the townships of Cockerton, Archdeacon-Newton, Denton, Summerhouse, Houghton-le-Side, Great Aycliffe, and Brafferton, all electorally in Durham. Acres, 62, 952. Poor-rates in 1862, £10, 377. Pop. in 1841, 21, 487; in 1861, 26, 122. Houses, 4, 862. Marriages in 1860, 224; births, 939, -of which 65 were illegitimate; deaths, 560, -of which 200 were at ages under 5 years, and 18 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 2, 226; births, 7, 912; deaths, 4, 787. The places of worship in 1851 were 19 of the Church of England, with 7, 704 sittings; 1 of Independents, with 440 s.; 1 of Baptists, with 351 s.; 19 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 3, 889 s.; 3 of the Wesleyan Association, with 200 s.; 4 of Primitive Methodists, with 720 s.; and 1 of Roman Catholics, with 100 s. The schools were 27 public day schools, with 2, 364 scholars; 49 private day schools, with 1, 346 s.; 40 Sunday schools, with 3, 410 s.; and 2 evening schools for adults, with 23 s.-The ward commences 2 miles east of the town; goes northward to the vicinity of Durham; is bounded along the south and the south-west by the river Tees; and extends westward to the boundaries with Westmoreland and Cumberland. Acres, 278, 251. Pop., 113, 167. Houses, 21, 379.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a township, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a ward"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Darlington CP/AP       Darlington SubD       Darlington RegD/PLU       County Durham AncC
Place: Darlington

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