County Durham is a ceremonial county in North East England, between the Tyne and the Tees. It covers 2,676 km2 (1,033 sq mi) and had about 867,000 residents at the 2021 census. Durham is the county town; Darlington is the largest single settlement.
Four unitary authorities cover the ceremonial county: Durham County Council, Darlington, Hartlepool, and the part of Stockton-on-Tees borough that lies north of the River Tees.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | North East England |
| Area | 2,676 km2 (1,033 sq mi) |
| Population (2021 census) | About 867,000 |
| County town | Durham |
| Largest settlement | Darlington |
| Councils | Durham County Council, Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees |
| Highest point | Burnhope Seat, 747 m (2,451 ft) |
| Postcode areas | DH, DL, SR, TS and part of NE |
Towns and Villages in County Durham
The four authorities that make up ceremonial County Durham hold 449 named towns, villages and hamlets on record. The list below gives 307 of them, grouped by authority and alphabetical within each group.
County Durham (Durham County Council) (190 of 332 listed)
- Allensford
- Annfield Plain
- Aukside
- Barnard Castle
- Barningham
- Bearpark
- Belmont
- Billy Row
- Binchester
- Bishop Auckland
- Bishop Middleham
- Blackhall Colliery
- Boldron
- Bowbank
- Bowburn
- Bowlees
- Brancepeth
- Brandon
- Brignall
- Broadwood
- Brotherlee
- Burnopfield
- Burtree Ford
- Butterwick
- Byers Green
- Cassop
- Castle Eden
- Castleside
- Chester-le-Street
- Chilton
- Clough Dene
- Cockfield
- Consett
- Copley
- Coppy
- Cornforth
- Cornsay
- Cotherstone
- Coundon
- Coundon Grange
- Cowshill
- Coxhoe
- Crawleyside
- Crook
- Croxdale
- Daisy Hill
- Deaf Hill
- Dipton
- Durham
- Easington
- East Blackdene
- East Hedleyhope
- East Howle
- Eastgate
- Ebchester
- Edmondsley
- Eggleston
- Eldon
- Elstob
- Esh
- Evenwood
- Ferryhill
- Fir Tree
- Fishburn
- Forest-in-Teesdale
- Framwellgate Moor
- Frosterley
- Gainford
- Grange Villa
- Great Lumley
- Greta Bridge
- Harwood
- Haswell
- Hawthorn
- Heatherycleugh
- Helmington Row
- Hett
- High Etherley
- High Grange
- High Hesleden
- High Pittington
- Hilton
- Holmside
- Horden
- Howden-le-Wear
- Hummerbeck
- Hunstanworth
- Hunwick
- Hutton Henry
- Ingleton
- Inkerman
- Iveston
- Kelloe
- Killhope
- Kinninvie
- Kirk Merrington
- Laithkirk
- Lanchester
- Langdon Beck
- Langton
- Leadgate
- Leasingthorne
- Lendings
- Lintzford
- Little Newsham
- Lonton
- Low Etherley
- Low Lands
- Low Westwood
- Maiden Law
- Malton
- Medomsley
- Mickleton
- Middle Side
- Middleton in Teesdale
- Middridge
- Morton Tinmouth
- Muggleswick
- Murton
- Neville’s Cross ED
- New Shildon
- Newfield
- Newton Aycliffe
- North Bitchburn
- Northgrain
- Oakenshaw
- Old Quarrington
- Ouston
- Pelton
- Pelton Fell
- Peterlee
- Pickering Nook
- Plawsworth
- Preston-le-Skerne
- Quarrington Hill
- Raby
- Roddymoor
- Romaldkirk
- Rowley
- Rushyford
- Sacriston
- Satley
- Seaham
- Sedgefield
- Shadforth
- Sherburn
- Sherburn Hill
- Shildon
- Shincliffe
- Shotton
- Snaisgill
- South Hetton
- South Moor
- Spennymoor
- Staindrop
- Stainton Grove
- Stanhope
- Stanley
- Station Town
- Sunnybrow
- Tanfield
- Tantobie
- Thinford
- Thornley
- Thringarth
- Toft Hill
- Tow Law
- Town Kelloe
- Trimdon
- Trimdon Grange
- Trimdon Station
- Urpeth
- Ushaw Moor
- Waldridge
- Waterhouses
- West Auckland
- West Butsfield
- West Pelton
- West Rainton
- Wheatley Hill
- White-le-Head
- Whorlton
- Willington
- Wingate
- Winston
- Witton Gilbert
- Witton le Wear
- Wolsingham
- Woodhouses
- Woodside
Darlington (48 of 48 listed)
- Albert Hill
- Archdeacon Newton
- Bank Top
- Barmpton
- Bishopton
- Brafferton
- Carlbury
- Coatham Mundeville
- Cockerton
- Darlington
- Denton
- Drinkfield
- Faverdale
- Firth Moor
- Great Burdon
- Great Stainton
- Harrogate Hill
- Harrowgate Hill
- Haughton le Skerne
- Heighington
- High Beaumont Hill
- High Coniscliffe
- Hope Town
- Houghton Bank
- Houghton-le-Side
- Hummersknott
- Hurworth
- Killerby
- Little Stainton
- Low Coniscliffe
- Low Dinsdale
- Merrybent
- Middleton One Row
- Middleton St George
- Neasham
- Newton Ketton
- Oak Tree
- Pierremont
- Red Hall
- Redworth
- Rise Carr
- Sadberge
- School Aycliffe
- Sockburn
- Summerhouse
- Walworth
- Whessoe
- Whinfield
Hartlepool (23 of 23 listed)
- Bellevue
- Brierton
- Croft on Heugh
- Dalton Piercy
- Dyke House
- Elwick
- Embleton
- Foggy Furze
- Graythorp
- Greatham
- Hart
- Hartlepool
- High Throston
- Longhill
- Low Throston
- Middleton
- Newton Bewley
- Old Town
- Owton Manor
- Rift House
- Seaton Carew
- Stranton
- West Hartlepool
Stockton-on-Tees, north of the river (46 of 46 listed)
- Aislaby
- Billingham
- Bishopsgarth
- Broom Hill
- Carlton
- Castlelevington
- Cowpen Bewley
- Eaglescliffe
- Elm Tree
- Elton
- Gilpin Brown
- Grangefield
- Grindon
- Hardwick
- Hartburn
- Haverton Hill
- High Clarence
- High Leven
- Ingleby Barwick
- Kirklevington
- Long Newton
- Maltby
- Mount Pleasant
- Newham Grange
- Newsham
- Newtown
- Norton
- Oxbridge
- Port Clarence
- Portrack
- Preston-on-Tees
- Primrose Hill
- Ragworth
- Redmarshall
- Roseworth
- Roundhill Village
- St Ann’s Hill
- Stillington
- Stockton Grange
- Stockton-on-Tees
- The Rings
- Thornaby-on-Tees
- Thorpe Thewles
- Wolviston
- Wynyard
- Yarm
Geography
The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, Cumbria to the west, and North Yorkshire to the south. The North Sea forms the eastern edge.
The west is North Pennine moorland rising to Burnhope Seat at 747 m. Two dales cut through it: Weardale, carrying the River Wear, and Teesdale, carrying the Tees past High Force, England’s largest waterfall by volume.
The land falls east into a coalfield plateau of former pit villages. Beyond it the magnesian limestone coast runs in tall cliffs and wooded denes from Seaham to Hartlepool. The Wear loops almost right round the peninsula on which Durham Cathedral and Castle stand.
Demographics
At the 2021 census the Durham County Council area had 521,447 residents, Darlington 108,210 and Hartlepool 92,575. Stockton-on-Tees borough had 197,032, of whom roughly three in five live on the Durham side of the river.
Population is concentrated in the east and south-east. The old coalfield towns run in a belt from Chester-le-Street through Stanley, Consett, Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland. The Pennine dales behind them are among the emptiest ground in England.
After Darlington, the largest towns are Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, Chester-le-Street, Billingham, Stanley, Consett, Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Auckland, Seaham and Peterlee.
Economy and Local Life
The deep coal mines that defined the county have all gone, the last at Wearmouth closing in 1993. Services, health and education now employ most people, with Durham University a major anchor.
Manufacturing survives in strength on Teesside and in the south. Hitachi builds trains at Newton Aycliffe, and chemicals and process industries work at Billingham and Seal Sands. Hartlepool has a nuclear power station and offshore fabrication yards.
The Durham Miners’ Gala still fills the city on the second Saturday in July, more than thirty years after the last pit closed. Market days include Durham on Saturdays and Barnard Castle on Wednesdays.
History
Monks carrying the relics of St Cuthbert founded Durham in 995. From the Norman conquest until 1836 the Bishops of Durham ruled the area as a county palatine. They held powers over courts, coinage and armies that no other English bishop had.
The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825 as the world’s first public steam-hauled railway. Coal, iron and shipbuilding then reshaped the county. Consett steelworks and hundreds of collieries drew in workers and built the pit villages that still fill the map.
Deindustrialisation from the 1960s onward closed nearly all of it. Peterlee and Newton Aycliffe were built as new towns to rehouse and re-employ mining families.
Getting There
The A1(M) runs the length of the county past Durham and Darlington. The A19 serves the coast and Teesside, the A66 crosses west to Cumbria over Stainmore, and the A68 climbs to the Scottish border.
Darlington and Durham are both stops on the East Coast Main Line, roughly two and a half to three hours from London King’s Cross. The Tees Valley Line runs Bishop Auckland to Darlington, Middlesbrough and Saltburn, and the Durham Coast Line links Hartlepool and Seaham to Sunderland and Newcastle.
Teesside International Airport sits between Darlington and Stockton. Newcastle International is the larger option, about 30 miles north of Durham.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of County Durham?
About 867,000 across the ceremonial county at the 2021 census. The Durham County Council area alone had 521,447.
What is the largest town in County Durham?
Darlington, with about 92,000 people. Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees follow. Durham itself is smaller but is the county town and cathedral city.
How many villages are there in County Durham?
Gazetteers record about 449 named towns, villages and hamlets across the four authorities.
Which councils cover County Durham?
Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council for the area north of the Tees.
Is Durham a city or a county?
Both. Durham is a cathedral city of about 48,000 people and also the name of the county around it.
What are the postcodes for County Durham?
DH covers Durham and Chester-le-Street, DL covers Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle, TS covers Hartlepool and Stockton, and SR covers Seaham and the north-east coast.