Darlington History

This is Darlington > History


Darlington began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on the River Skerne which is a northern tributary of the Tees. The town was later taken by the Danes and there are still many place names of Viking origin in its vicinity.

Since Norman times Darlington has been a borough and the site of an important market and today it is arguably the ‘capital’ of southern County Durham with its population of over one hundred thousand much greater than that of Durham City.

However, Darlington is no longer officially part of the County of Durham except in historical terms.

History


Darlington – The Early Years

Darlington began as a Saxon village. It first appeared in writing in the early 11th century when it was called Dearthingtun. Its name was probably originally Deornoth ing tun. Deaornoth was man. The word ‘ing’ meant belonging to and tun meant farm or hamlet. So it was the estate belonging to Deaornoth. St Cuthbert’s Church […]





History of Darlington

Darlington began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on the River Skerne which is a northern tributary of the Tees. The town was later taken by the Danes and there are still many place names of Viking origin in its vicinity. Since Norman times Darlington has been a borough and the site of an important market and […]





The Fire of Darlington

In 1585 Darlington suffered a disastrous fire. It started on 7 May 1585 around midday, the fire spread quickly as most houses were built of wood and had straw roofs. Unfortunately water was scarce because of a drought and people desperately used milk and beer to try and dowse the flames. In all 273 houses were […]





The name Darlington

No one can say for sure where the name ‘Darlington’ originates, its thought its made up from very small words and has changed throughout its history. We know the elements ‘ing’ and ‘ton’ are from the Anglo-Saxon period. ‘Ing’ refers to a family group and ‘ton’ is a small enclosed farm. The first recorded form […]