Did You Know?

It began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on the River Skerne,  a northern tributary of the Tees. Later the town seems to have come under the influence of the Danes as there are still many place-names of Viking origin in its vicinity.

Darlington has a historic market area in the town centre. Built in 1183, the Grade I listed St Cuthbert's Church is one of the most important early English churches in the north of England. However the oldest church in the town happens to be that of St Andrew's Church built around 1125 and presides in the Haughton area of Darlington.

As a historic market town, a weekly outdoor market on the market square, which one of the biggest in the country. An indoor market is located underneath the town clock on Prebend Row.

The name Darlington derives from the Anglo-Saxon Dearthington, which seemingly meant ‘the settlement of Deornoth’s people’. There was also a variation ‘Dearnington’ but by Norman times its name had changed to Derlinton. Confusion does not end here however, because during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the town was generally known by the name of ‘Darnton’ or somewhat less politely as Darnton i’ the Dirt.

In the seventeenth century Darlington became noted for its woollen and linen industry and as a popular place of residence for members of the Quaker faith. Quakers soon formed an influential and wealthy community in the town by the 1800s.

The town later became an important centre for railway manufacturing. An early railway works was the Hopetown Carriage Works (est.1853) which supplied carriages and locomotives to the Stockton and Darlington Railway. .

Electricity was first generated in Darlington in 1900. The horse drawn trams in the town were replaced by electric ones in 1903. However they in turn were replaced by buses in 1926.

You may remember Zoe Birkett, a runner-up from Pop Idol? She was from Darlington as well. As is Sandra Bowman the Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer from the 1980s and Geoffrey Waites the GB International swimmer that took part in the 200m Backstroke at the 1964 Olympics.

The children’s author Aidan Chambers and publisher of the Everyman’s Library series J M Dent are also from the town. Fashion Designer Giles Deacon also has strong links to our town. The stunning Victorian buildings across the town are the responsibility of Darlington architect George Gordon Hoskins.

We also have a lot of actors from the town of our storage facility. These include John E Ewbank who was also a writer and comedian as well as an actor. Actress Ruth Gemmell, as is actor Richard Hurndall. Actor and television producer Glenn Hugill is from the town, as is filmmaker Don Featherstone. Singer and actress Julie Rayne along with stage and film actress from the 1920s Mary Lawson are from here too.