County Durham - WikiHQ

County Durham, also called Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington.

The county has an area of and had an estimated population of in . The centre and east of the county are more densely populated than the west, and the major settlements include Hartlepool on the south-east coast, Stockton-on-Tees in the south-east, Darlington in the south, and the city of Durham in the north-centre. Stockton-on-Tees is part of the Teesside conurbation, which extends into North Yorkshire. Barnard Castle is the largest town in the west of the county. For local government purposes the county comprises the unitary authority areas of County Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, and part of Stockton-on-Tees. Durham County Council is part of the North East Combined Authority, and the councils of the other three areas are part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne was historically part of County Durham, and the part of Durham south of the River Tees was historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire.

The west of the county contains part of the North Pennines uplands, a national landscape. The hills are the source of the rivers Tees and Wear, which flow east and form the valleys of Teesdale and Weardale respectively. The east of the county is flatter, and the two rivers meander through it; the Tees forms the boundary with North Yorkshire in its lower reaches, and the Wear exits the county near Chester-le-Street in the north-east. The county's coast is characterised by tall limestone and dolomite cliffs and is a site of special scientific interest.

What is now County Durham was on the border of Roman Britain, and contains survivals of this era at sites such as Binchester Roman Fort. In the Anglo-Saxon period the region was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. In 995 the city of Durham was founded by monks seeking a place safe from Viking raids to house the relics of St Cuthbert. Durham Cathedral was rebuilt after the Norman Conquest, and together with Durham Castle is now a World Heritage Site. By the late Middle Ages the county was governed semi-independently by the bishops of Durham and was also a buffer zone between England and Scotland. County Durham became heavily industrialised in the nineteenth century, when many collieries opened on the Durham coalfield. The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, opened in 1825. Most collieries closed during the last quarter of the twentieth century, but the county's coal mining heritage is remembered in the annual Durham Miners' Gala.

Toponymy

The ceremonial county is officially named Durham, but the county has long been commonly known as County Durham and it is the only English county name prefixed with "County" in common usage (a practice common in Ireland). Its unusual naming (for an English shire) is explained to some extent by the relationship with the Bishops of Durham, who for centuries governed Durham as a county palatine (the County Palatine of Durham) outside the usual structure of county administration in England.

Early attestations of the county name include Dunelmensischira (Durhamshire) from c. 1100 and Comitatus Dunelmensis (County Durham) from 1344.

The situation regarding the formal name in modern local government is less clear:

The 2009 structural change legislation created the present unitary council (that covers a large part – but not all – of the ceremonial county) refers to "the county of County Durham" and names the new unitary district "County Durham" too.
A later amendment to that legislation refers to the "county of Durham" and the amendment allows for the unitary council to name itself "The Durham Council".
The council retains the name as Durham County Council. With either option, the name does not include County Durham.
The former postal county was named "County Durham" to distinguish it from the post town of Durham.

History

Anglian Kingdom of Bernicia

Around 547 CE, an Angle named Ida founded the kingdom of Bernicia after spotting the defensive potential of a large rock at Bamburgh, upon which many a fortification was thenceforth built. Ida was able to forge, hold and consolidate the kingdom; although the native British tried to take back their land, the Angles triumphed and the kingdom endured.

Kingdom of Northumbria

In 604 CE, Ida's grandson Æthelfrith forcibly merged Bernicia (ruled from Bamburgh) and Deira (ruled from York, which was known as Eforwic at the time) to create the Kingdom of Northumbria. In time, the realm was expanded, primarily through warfare and conquest; at its height, the kingdom stretched from the River Humber (from which the kingdom drew its name) to the Forth. Eventually, factional fighting and the rejuvenated strength of neighbouring kingdoms, most notably Mercia, led to Northumbria's decline.

City of Durham founded

In 995 CE, St Cuthbert's community, who had been transporting Cuthbert's remains around, partly in an attempt to avoid them falling into the hands of Viking raiders, settled at Dunholm (Durham) on a site that was defensively favourable due to the horseshoe-like course of the River Wear. St Cuthbert's remains were placed in a shrine in the White Church, which was originally a wooden structure but was eventually fortified into a stone building.

Once the City of Durham had been founded, the Bishops of Durham gradually acquired the lands that would become County Durham. Bishop Aldhun began this process by procuring land in the Tees and Wear valleys, including Norton, Stockton, Escomb and Aucklandshire in 1018. In 1031, King Canute gave Staindrop to the Bishops. This territory continued to expand, and was eventually given the status of a liberty. Under the control of the Bishops of Durham, the land had various names: the "Liberty of Durham", "Liberty of St Cuthbert's Land" "the lands of St Cuthbert between Tyne and Tees" or "the Liberty of Haliwerfolc" (holy Wear folk).

The bishops' special jurisdiction rested on claims that King Ecgfrith of Northumbria had granted a substantial territory to St Cuthbert on his election to the see of Lindisfarne in 684. In about 883 a cathedral housing the saint's remains was established at Chester-le-Street and Guthfrith, King of York granted the community of St Cuthbert the area between the Tyne and the Wear, before the community reached its final destination in 995, in Durham.

Following the Norman invasion, the administrative machinery of government extended only slowly into northern England. Northumberland's first recorded Sheriff was Gilebert from 1076 until 1080 and a 12th-century record records Durham regarded as within the shire. However the bishops disputed the authority of the sheriff of Northumberland and his officials, despite the second sheriff for example being the reputed slayer of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots. The crown regarded Durham as falling within Northumberland until the late thirteenth century.

County Palatine of Durham

Matters regarding the bishopric of Durham came to a head in 1293 when the bishop and his steward failed to attend proceedings of quo warranto held by the justices of Northumberland. The bishop's case went before parliament, where he stated that Durham lay outside the bounds of any English shire and that "from time immemorial it had been widely known that the sheriff of Northumberland was not sheriff of Durham nor entered within that liberty as sheriff. . . nor made there proclamations or attachments". The arguments appear to have prevailed, as by the fourteenth century Durham was accepted as a liberty which received royal mandates direct. In effect it was a private shire, with the bishop appointing his own sheriff. The county palatinate also had a number of liberties: the Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire and Norhamshire exclaves within Northumberland, and the Craikshire exclave within the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1831 the county covered an area of and had a population of 253,910. These exclaves were included as part of the county for parliamentary electoral purposes until 1832, and for judicial and local-government purposes until the coming into force of the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, which merged most remaining exclaves with their surrounding county. The boundaries of the county proper remained in use for administrative and ceremonial purposes until the Local Government Act 1972.

Early English and Norman period

Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror appointed Copsig as Earl of Northumbria, thereby bringing what would become County Durham under Copsig's control. Copsig was, just a few weeks later, killed in Newburn. Having already being previously offended by the appointment of a non-Northumbrian as Bishop of Durham in 1042, the people of the region became increasingly rebellious. Because William's main focus during the harrying was on Yorkshire, The best remains of the Norman period include Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, and several parish churches, such as St Laurence Church in Pittington. The Early English period has left the eastern portion of the cathedral, the churches of Darlington, Hartlepool, and St Andrew, Auckland, Sedgefield, and portions of a few other churches.

Palatinate

Until the 15th century, the most important administrative officer in the Palatinate was the steward. Other officers included the sheriff, the coroners, the Chamberlain and the chancellor. The palatine exchequer originated in the 12th century. The palatine assembly represented the whole county, and dealt chiefly with fiscal questions. The bishop's council, consisting of the clergy, the sheriff and the barons, regulated judicial affairs, and later produced the Chancery and the courts of Admiralty and Marshalsea.

thumb|The entrance to [[Durham Castle, the bishops' palace until 1832 when it moved to Auckland Castle]]

The prior of Durham ranked first among the bishop's barons. He had his own court, and almost exclusive jurisdiction over his men. A UNESCO site describes the role of the bishops in Durham, the "buffer state between England and Scotland":

<blockquote>From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England's northern frontier.</blockquote>

A report states that the Bishops also had the authority to appoint judges and barons and to offer pardons.

There were ten palatinate barons in the 12th century, most importantly the Hyltons of Hylton Castle, the Bulmers of Brancepeth, the Conyers of Sockburne, the Hansards of Evenwood, and the Lumleys of Lumley Castle. The Nevilles owned large estates in the county. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby rebuilt Raby Castle, their principal seat, in 1377.

Edward I's quo warranto proceedings of 1293 showed twelve lords enjoying more or less extensive franchises under the bishop. The repeated efforts of the Crown to check the powers of the palatinate bishops culminated in 1536 in the Jurisdiction in Liberties Act 1535, which deprived the bishop of the power to pardon offences against the law or to appoint judicial officers. Moreover, indictments and legal processes were in future to run in the name of the king, and offences to be described as against the peace of the king, rather than that of the bishop. In 1596 restrictions were imposed on the powers of the chancery, and in 1646 the palatinate was formally abolished. It was revived, however, after the Restoration, and continued with much the same power until 5 July 1836, when the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 19) provided that the palatine jurisdiction should in future be vested in the Crown.

thumb|168x168px|Hand-drawn map of Durham by Christopher Saxton in 1576

Wars

During the 15th-century Wars of the Roses, Henry VI passed through Durham. On the outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642 Durham inclined to support the cause of Parliament, and in 1640 the high sheriff of the palatinate guaranteed to supply the Scottish army with provisions during their stay in the county. In 1642 the Earl of Newcastle formed the western counties into an association for the King's service, but in 1644 the palatinate was again overrun by a Scottish army, and after the Battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644) fell entirely into the hands of Parliament.

Parliamentary representation and secular powers

In 1614, a bill was introduced in Parliament for securing representation to the county and city of Durham and the borough of Barnard Castle. The bishop strongly opposed the proposal as an infringement of his palatinate rights, and the county was first summoned to return members to Parliament in 1654. After the Restoration of 1660 the county and city returned two members each. In the wake of the Reform Act 1832 the county returned two members for two divisions, and the boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland acquired representation. The bishops lost their secular powers in 1836. The boroughs of Darlington, Stockton and Hartlepool returned one member each from 1868 until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

Geography

Urban

The historic county excludes the village of Startforth, the ceremonial county excludes the city of Sunderland and the non-metropolitan county excludes the town of Stockton-on-Tees. The ceremonial county includes the non-metropolitan county with the addition of the boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, and Stockton-on-Tees.

Geology

County Durham is underlain by Carboniferous rocks in the west. Permian and Triassic strata overlie these older rocks in the east. These sedimentary sequences have been cut by igneous dykes and sills.

The county contains a sizeable area of the North Pennines, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, primarily west of Tow Law and Barnard Castle. The highest point (county top) of historic County Durham is the trig point (not the summit) of Burnhope Seat, height , between Weardale and Teesdale on the border with historic Cumberland in the far west of the county. The local government reorganisation of 1974 placed the higher Mickle Fell south of Teesdale (the county top of Yorkshire) within the administrative borders of Durham (where it remains within the ceremonial county). However, it is not generally recognised as the highest point in Durham.

The two main dales of County Durham (Teesdale and Weardale) and the surrounding fells, many of which exceed in height, are excellent hillwalking country, although not nearly as popular as the nearby Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks. The scenery is rugged and remote, and the high fells have a landscape typical of the Pennines with extensive areas of tussock grass and blanket peat bog in the west, with heather moorland on the lower slopes descending to the east.

Climate

The following climate figures were gathered at the Durham weather station between 1981 and 2010:

Governance

Local

Since 2009, County Durham has comprised the unitary authority areas of County Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, and the part of Stockton-on-Tees that is north of the River Tees. The councils of the four areas are unitary authorities, meaning they combine the functions of a non-metropolitan county council and a non-metropolitan district council in order to provide most local government services in their area. These include education, libraries, roads, social care, waste, environment, and housing.

The county is partially parished. The city of Durham is the most populous settlement in the county to have a parish. Multiple parishes are styled as having town councils: Billingham (in Stockton Borough), Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Chilton, Ferryhill, Great Aycliffe, Newton Aycliffe, Greater Willington, Peterlee, Seaham, Sedgefield, Shildon, Spennymoor, Stanley and Tow Law.

The ceremonial county itself has only a minor administrative function, being the area to which the Lord Lieutenant of Durham is appointed; the shrieval county has the same boundaries and is the area to which the High Sheriff of Durham is appointed.

History

thumb|A map of England in 1971, including County Durham, showing the administrative boundaries before the Local Government Act 1972.

The Local Government Act 1888 reformed English local government by creating administrative counties, county boroughs, and elected county councils and county borough councils to govern them. County boroughs largely consisted of those settlements with a population over 50,000, and administrative counties covered smaller towns and rural areas. Under the Act, County Durham was reconstituted as an administrative county and Gateshead, South Shields, and Sunderland became county boroughs. West Hartlepool became a county borough in 1902, and Darlington in 1915. In 1967, the county borough of Middlesbrough, which was part of County of York, North Riding, was abolished and replaced with the larger county borough of Teesside, which included Stockton-on-Tees and adjacent areas.

The Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect in 1974, reformed English local government again. It introduced metropolitan counties, which covered the largest urban areas, and non-metropolitan counties elsewhere. Both types of county were divided into districts, with local government functions divided between a county council and district councils. The north-east of Durham, including Gateshead, South Shields, and Sunderland, became part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. The south-east, including West Hartlepool and Teesside, became part of the non-metropolitan county of Cleveland. The remaining parts of the former administrative county, together with Darlington and the Startforth Rural District from the North Riding of Yorkshire (which comprised southern Teesdale and the area to the south), became part of the new non-metropolitan county of Durham.

From 1974 until 1996, the non-metropolitan county contained eight non-metropolitan districts, with the provision of local government services divided between Lancashire County Council and the district councils. The districts were Chester-le-Street, Derwentside, Darlington, Durham, Easington, Sedgefield, Teesdale, and Wear Valley. In 1996, Darlington became a unitary authority area. In the same year, Cleveland was abolished and its former districts became unitary authority areas. Hartlepool and the part of Stockton-on-Tees south of the River Tees became part of County Durham for ceremonial purposes. In 2009, the remaining seven districts of County Durham were abolished and Durham County Council was reconstituted as a unitary authority.

Parliament

The county boundaries used for parliamentary constituencies were originally those used between 1974 and 1996, consisting of the County Durham district and the Darlington Borough, until boundary changes in 2024. This area elects eight Members of Parliament. County Durham itself elects six of them, and as of the 2024 general election, all of these MPs are Labour. The rest of the ceremonial county is included in the Cleveland parliamentary constituency area.

{| class=wikitable

! colspan="6" | 2024 General Election Results in County Durham

!Party

!Votes

!Change from 2019

!Seats

!Change from 2019

|Labour

|104,518

|43.7

| 3.3%

| 3

|Reform UK

|54,168

|22.6

| 14.2%

|Conservative

|48,348

|20.2

| 20.4%

| 4

|Liberal Democrats

|15,538

|6.5

|0.5%

|Greens

|12,747

|5.3

| 2.3%

|Others

|3,848

|1.6

|Total

|239,167

|100.0

| 6

Emergency services

The police and fire services operate according to the 1974-96 ceremonial county boundaries:

Durham Constabulary, Ron Hogg was first elected the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner for the force on 15 November 2012, and held the position until his death in office in 2019.
Cleveland Police
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, it is under supervision of a combined fire authority consisting of 25 local councillors: 21 from Durham County Council and 4 from Darlington Borough Council.
Cleveland Fire Brigade.

The North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust cover North East England and are responsible for providing ambulance services for the NHS. Northumbria Ambulance Service and County Durham Ambulance Service (following historic county borders) merged on 1 April 1999 to become the North East service. In 2005 the area was adapted to the modern North East England regional extent.

Air ambulance services are provided by the Great North Air Ambulance. The charity operates three bases, including one in Eaglescliffe.

Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team, are based at Sniperly Farm in Durham City and respond to search and rescue incidents in the county.

Demography

Population

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Local authority

!2011 census

|–

|Ceremonial county

|853,213

|District of County Durham

|513,242

|Borough of Stockton-on-Tees (north Tees)

|136,079

|Borough of Darlington

|105,564

|Borough of Hartlepool

|92,028

The Office for National Statistics estimated in 2016 that the Durham County Council area had a population of 522,100, the Borough of Darlington a population of 105,600, the Borough of Hartlepool a population of 92,800, and the part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham (the other part being in North Yorkshire) a population of 137,300. This gives the total estimated population of the ceremonial county at 857,800.

Employment

The proportion of the population working in agriculture fell from around 6% in 1851 to 1% in 1951; currently less than 1% of the population work in agriculture. <br />12px The five largest settlements which were historically in County Durham, but now lie outside the modern county boundaries, as of the 2021 UK census.  – Orange. <br />12px Urban settlements across current and historic County Durham which have been earmarked as locations for new towns, or a large planned population increase.  – Green.

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| ldxD = 0

| ldyD = 0

| label1 = Darlington

| mark-coord1 =

| mark-title1 = Darlington

| label-pos1 = bottom

| label2 = Hartlepool

| mark-coord2 =

| mark-title2 = Hartlepool

| label-pos2 = top

| label3 = Stockton-on-Tees

| mark-coord3 =

| mark-title3 = Stockton-on-Tees

| label-pos3 = right

| label4 = Durham (Binchester)

| mark-coord4 =

| mark-title4 = Durham

| label-pos4 = left

| label5 = Stanley

| mark-coord5 =

| mark-title5 = Stanley

| label-pos5 = left

| label6 = Sunderland

| shape-color6 = orange

| mark-coord6 =

| mark-title6 = Sunderland

| label-pos6 = right

| label7 = Gateshead

| shape-color7 = orange

| mark-coord7 =

| mark-title7 = Gateshead

| label-pos7 = left

| label8 = South Shields

| shape-color8 = orange

| mark-coord8 =

| mark-title8 = South Shields

| label-pos8 = right

| label9 = Washington

| shape-color9 = orange

| mark-coord9 =

| mark-title9 = Washington

| label-pos9 = bottom

| label10 = Jarrow

| shape-color10 = orange

| mark-coord10 =

| mark-title10 = Jarrow

| label-pos10 = bottom

| label11 = Seaham

| shape-color11 = green

| mark-coord11 =

| mark-title11 = Seaham

| label-pos11 = right

| label12 = Wynyard

| shape-color12 = green

| mark-coord12 =

| mark-title12 = Wynyard

| label-pos12 = left

| label13 = Howden/Howdenshire

| shape-color13 = green

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| mark-title13 = Howden

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County Durham has a mostly rural character, especially in the west. Small population centres scatter between Durham, Crook, Bishop Auckland, Shildon, Newton Aycliffe, Sedgefield and Peterlee. These places were populated by the draw of collieries during the Industrial Revolution. The south east side of the county Between Hartlepool and Darlington form part of Teesside with settlements on the south side of the river. While the north east part of the county (on the border with Tyne and Wear) forms part of Tyneside and Wearside.

Changes

Former non-metropolitan county

thumb|400px|Population over time of the current remit of Durham County Council between 1801 and 2001

{| class="wikitable floatright"

!Year!!Population!!!!Year!!Population!!!!Year!!Population

! 1801

|rowspan="7" |

! 1871

|rowspan="7" |

! 1941

! 1811

! 1821

! 1831

! 1841

! 1851

! 1861

| colspan="8" style="text-align:center;font-size:100%;"|Source: A Vision of Britain through Time.

At the 2001 Census, Easington and Derwentside districts had the highest proportion (around 99%) in the county council area of resident population who were born in the UK. 13.2% of the county council area's residents rate their health as not good, the highest proportion in England.

96.6% of County Durham's residents are White British, with other white groups making up a further 1.6% of the population. Around 77% of the county's population are Christian whilst 22% have no religion, and around 1% come from other religious communities. These figures exclude around 6% of the population who did not wish to state their religion.

As at 2001, Chester-le-Street district has the lowest number of available jobs per working-age resident (0.38%).

1900s

Since the Local Government Act 1972 historic county boundaries now lie within other administrative counties. These include:

{| class="wikitable" border:0; text-align:left; line-height:150%;"

! scope="row" | Tyne and Wear

|South Tyneside, City of Sunderland and metropolitan borough of Gateshead

|administratively removed in 1974

! scope="row" | North Riding of Yorkshire

|Small number of settlements south of the Tees, such as Startforth,

|administratively added to county control in 1974.

! scope="row" | Cleveland county

|Hartlepool borough

|administratively removed from historic county control in 1974, added to ceremonial county control in 1996.

! scope="row" | Cleveland county

|Stockton-on-Tees (North Tees) borough

|Two previous separate administrative partial removals from historic county control in 1968 and 1974, added to ceremonial county control in 1996.

1800s

Throughout the 1800s exclaves, of the historic county, each were given back to surrounding shires and lands they were closer associated with:

{| class="wikitable" style=" border:0; text-align:left; line-height:150%;"

! scope="row" | East Riding of Yorkshire

| Howdenshire

! scope="row" | North Riding of Yorkshire (now North Yorkshire)

| Allertonshire

! scope="row" | Northumberland

| Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire (included Berwick-upon-Tweed)

Economy

Economic output

The chart and table summarise unadjusted gross value added (GVA) in millions of pounds sterling for County Durham across 3 industries at current basic prices from 1995 to 2004.

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan=2 | !! colspan=3 | Gross Value Added (GVA) (£m)

! 1995 !! 2000 !! 2004

| Agriculture, hunting and forestry || align="center" | 45 || align="center" | 33 || align="center" | 48

| Industry, including energy and construction || align="center" | 1,751 || align="center" | 1,827 || align="center" | 1,784

| Service activities || align="center" | 2,282 || align="center" | 2,869 || align="center" | 3,455

| Total || align="center" | 4,078 || align="center" | 4,729 || align="center" | 5,288

| UK || align="center" | 640,416 || align="center" | 840,979 || align="center" | 1,044,165

Businesses

Phileas Fogg snacks are made by the United Biscuits subsidiary KP Snacks in Consett on the Number One Industrial Estate. Nearby CAV Aerospace make ice protection systems for aircraft. Thomas Swan, an international chemicals company, is in Crookhall. The Explorer Group, who own Elddis, make caravans at Delves. The LG Philips Displays cathode-ray tube factory at Carrville, Durham was the second largest employer in the north east after Nissan, before the company went bankrupt in 2006. Northumbrian Water is in Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor. Esh Group is a large construction company based south of Durham in Bowburn. Schmitz Cargobull UK is the UK's biggest trailer manufacturer, notably for refrigerated trailers, and is based at Harelaw near the Pontop Pike mast.

thumb|Flymos are made in [[Newton Aycliffe]]

Black & Decker and Electrolux had large factories at Spennymoor, but moved production overseas. Thorn Lighting of the Zumtobel Lighting Group are on the Green Lane Industrial Estate at Spennymoor. Since 2007 RF Micro Devices (RFMD) have made electronic wafers on the Heighington Lane Business Park at Newton Aycliffe, on the site formerly owned by Fujitsu. Slightly to the north, TKA Tallent make automotive axles and chassis components. Husqvarna-Flymo, formerly owned by Electrolux, are on the Aycliffe Industrial Estate, where the world's first hover mower was built in 1965. In West Auckland, Potters Europe make road reflectors. GlaxoSmithKline has a site at Barnard Castle that makes pharmaceuticals.

NSK make ball bearings on the North West Industrial Estate at Peterlee, and GWA Group subsidiary Gliderol UK build garage doors. Mecaplast Group UK produce automotive components on the Low Hills Industrial Estate in Easington Village near Peterlee. Reckitt Benckiser make cough syrup and indigestion remedies at Shotton, near Peterlee until 2014. Walkers Crisps have a site north of Peterlee.

Culture

Mining and heavy industry

thumb|left|John Wilson Carmichael A View of Murton Colliery near Seaham, County Durham, 1843

A substantial number of colliery villages were built throughout the county in the nineteenth century to house the growing workforce, which included large numbers of migrant workers from the rest of the UK. Sometimes the migrants were brought in to augment the local workforce but, in other cases, they were brought in as strike breakers, or "blacklegs". Tens of thousands of people migrated to County Durham from Cornwall (partly due to their previous experience of tin mining) between 1815 and the outbreak of the First World War, so much so that the miners' cottages in east Durham called "Greenhill" were also known locally as "Cornwall", and Easington Colliery still has a Cornish Street. Other migrants included people from Northumberland, Cumberland, South Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Coal mining had a profound effect on trade unionism, public health and housing, as well as creating a related culture, language, folklore and sense of identity that still survives today.

The migrants also were employed in the railway, ship building, iron, steel and roadworking industries, and the pattern of migration continued, to a lesser extent, up until the 1950s and 1960s. Gateshead was once home to the fourth-largest Irish settlement in England, and significant numbers of Irish people moved to Sunderland, resulting in the city hosting numerous events on St. Patrick's Day due to the Irish heritage.

thumb|right|Durham Miners' Gala 2008

The culture of coal mining found expression in the Durham Miners' Gala, which was first held in 1871, developed around the culture of trade unionism. Coal mining continued to decline and pits closed. The 1984–1985 United Kingdom miners' strike involved many miners across the county. Today no deep-coal mines exist in the county and numbers attending the Miners' Gala decreased over the period between the end of the strike and the 21st century. However recent years have seen numbers significantly grow, and more banners return to the Gala each year as former colliery communities restore or replicate former banners to march at the Gala parade.

Art

In 1930, the Spennymoor Settlement (otherwise known as the Pitman's Academy) opened. The settlement, initially funded by the Pilgrim Trust, aimed to encourage people to be neighbourly and participate in voluntary social service. The settlement operated during the Great Depression, when unemployment was widespread and economic deprivation rife; Spennymoor was economically underprivileged. The settlement provided educational and social work, as well as hope; this included providing unemployed miners with on outlet for their creativity, a poor person's lawyer service, the town's first library and the Everyman Theatre. The output included paintings, sewing, socially-significant plays, woodwork and sculptures. Several members went on to win adult scholarships at Oxford University Part of the Auckland Project, the gallery includes the work of artists from within County Durham and beyond, including such other North-Eastern mining artists as Robert Olley, as well as contributions from outside the region. It features three permanent areas and a temporary exhibition area; the gallery's Gemini Collection includes 420 pieces of mining art.

Much of the artwork was donated, by Dr Robert McManners and Gillian Wales, for example.

In 2019, 100 years after his birth, a permanent tribute to the work of the artist Norman Stansfield Cornish MBE was opened within the Town Hall, and a Cornish Trail around the town was established to include areas of the town depicted in Cornish's artwork.

Music

As with neighbouring Northumberland, County Durham has a rich heritage of Northumbrian music, dating back from the Northumbrian Golden Age of the 7th and 8th centuries. Bede made references to harp-playing, and abundant archeological evidence has been found of wooden flutes, bone flutes, panpipes, wooden drums and lyres (a six-string form of harp). Instruments played include, in common with most folk music styles, stringed instruments such as the guitar and fiddle, but also the Northumbrian smallpipe, which is played and promoted by people including the Northumbrian Pipers' Society throughout the North East, including County Durham, with the society having an active group in Sedgefield. Contemporary folk musicians include Jez Lowe and Ged Foley.

In 2018, The Arts Council funded the Stories of Sanctuary project in the city of Durham. The project aims to assist people living in the city to share their stories about seeking sanctuary in the North East through photography, stories, poetry and music. The art is based on a history of sanctuary in Durham, from St Cuthbert's exile, through to the miners' strike of 1984, and to refugees escaping civil war in the Middle East. The music produced as part of the project includes contributions from singer-songwriter Sam Slatcher and viola player Raghad Haddad from the National Syrian Orchestra.

Other notable performers/songwriters who were born or raised in the county include Paddy McAloon, Eric Boswell, Jeremy Spencer, Alan Clark, Martin Brammer, Robert Blamire, Thomas Allen, Zoe Birkett, John O'Neill, Karen Harding and Courtney Hadwin.

Flag

thumb|right|County Durham flag

County Durham has an unofficial flag, registered with the vexillological charity the Flag Institute on 21 November 2013. The flag consists of St Cuthbert's cross counterchanged with the county's blue and gold colours.

Katie, Holly and James Moffatt designed the flag and entered their design into a competition launched by campaigner Andy Strangeway, who spoke of the flag as "free, public symbol for all to use, especially on 20th March each year, which is not only County Durham Day but also St Cuthbert’s birthday” (20 March is actually the date of Cuthbert's death).

Education

University

Durham University is based in Durham city and is sometimes held to be the third oldest university in England. Teesside University has a campus in Darlington.

Colleges

thumb|Carmel College Sixth Form

Bede Sixth Form College, Billingham
Bishop Auckland College
Carmel College Sixth Form, Darlington
Darlington College
Derwentside College, Consett
Durham Sixth Form Centre, Durham
East Durham College, Durham and Peterlee
Hartlepool College of Further Education
Hartlepool Sixth Form College
New College Durham, Durham
Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington
Stockton Sixth Form College
St Bede’s Catholic Academy and Sixth Form College Lanchester

Places of interest

Apollo Pavilion, Peterlee, concrete art designed by Victor Pasmore in 1969.
The Barnard Castle, a castle the adjoining town having a Butter Market folley English Heritage Historic house Castle
Beamish Museum, Stanley, open air living museum Accessible open space Museum (charges for entry) Heritage railway
Binchester Roman Fort Museum (charges for entry)
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle Museum (charges for entry) Historic house
The Castle Eden, a castle with adjoining village which is famous for the Castle Eden Brewery.
Castle Eden Dene Nature reserve, coal mining heritage.
Causey Arch, near Stanley
Crook Hall and Gardens
Fox & Parrot Wood
Hamsterley Forest
Hardwick Hall Country Park, Sedgefield Country Park
High Force and Low Force waterfalls, on the River Tees Accessible open space
Lambton CastleCastle
North of England Lead Mining Museum, including Killhope Wheel, Cowshill Museum (charges for entry)
Locomotion railway museum, in Shildon Heritage railway Museum (free entry)
Longovicium ruin auxiliary Roman Fort, Lanchester
Raby Castle, Staindrop Castle
Seaham Hall
Sedgefield Racecourse, the town has a notable Cosin woodwork in St Edmund's Church.
Whitworth Hall, Spennymoor
Tanfield Railway Heritage railway
Ushaw College, Catholic Seminary of great religious heritage.
Weardale Railway, at Stanhope, County Durham, Wolsingham and Bishop Auckland Heritage railway

Bishop Auckland
Kynren, theme park and night show depicting British History 15px
The Auckland Castle
Gothic Revival style Bishop Auckland Town Hall Historic house
Escomb Church, near Bishop Auckland
Durham City
Durham Castle and Cathedral, a World Heritage Site Cathedral Castle
Durham Light Infantry Museum, Aykley Heads Museum (charges for entry)
Durham University Oriental Museum, Asian artefacts and information.
Finchale Priory English Heritage
Darlington Borough
Head of Steam
South Park, Darlington
Rockcliffe Hall, Hurworth
Darlington Market Hall
Hartlepool Borough
Ward Jackson Park Accessible open space
National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool
Heugh Battery Museum
Hartlepool Art Gallery
Stockton-on-Tees Borough
Preston Hall and Preston Park, museum Historic house
Ropner ParkAccessible open space
Stockton Globe Theatre
Stockton ARC Theatre
Tees Barrage International White Water Course

Toponymy

History

Anglian Kingdom of Bernicia

Kingdom of Northumbria

City of Durham founded

County Palatine of Durham

Early English and Norman period

Palatinate

Wars

Parliamentary representation and secular powers

Geography

Urban

Geology

Climate

Governance

Local

History

Parliament

Emergency services

Demography

Population

Employment

Changes

Former non-metropolitan county

1900s

1800s

Economy

Economic output

Businesses

Culture

Mining and heavy industry

Art

Music

Flag

Education

University

Colleges

Places of interest

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links