is a town in the north-east of
England . In 2003 it had a resident
Population of 98,210, which is the main population centre in the
Borough Of Darlington . It lies within the traditional and
Ceremonial County of
County Durham but on
1 April 1997 the Darlington Borough became a
Unitary Authority .
The town is the home of
Darlington F.C. who are currently playing in
Football League Two . It is served by
Darlington Railway Station on the
East Coast Main Line and local train services at
North Road Railway Station .
Darlington started life as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on the Skerne river. It now has an attractive historic market area in the town centre and St Cuthbert's church is one of the most important and impressive
Early English churches in the north of England.
Darlington is known for its associations with the birth of on the
Stockton And Darlington Railway in
1825 . The town later became an important centre for railway manufacturing, with three significant Works. The largest of these was the main line
Locomotive Works , known as , opened in 1863 and closed in 1966. Another was "Stivvies" (Robert Stephenson & Co), who moved to Darlington from Newcastle upon Tyne in 1902, became Robert Stephensons & Hawthorns in 1937, were absorbed by English Electric around 1960 and closed by 1964. The third was Faverdale Wagon Works, established in 1923 and closed in 1962, which in the 1950s was a UK pioneer in the application of mass-production techniques to the manufacture of railway goods wagons.
David Mach 's 'Train', a life-size brick sculpture of a steaming locomotive is located alongside the A66, close to the original Stockton-Darlington railway.
The Great North Road (now known as the
A1 ) used to run directly through the centre of Darlington. The road has since been diverted to the west side of Darlington and the original route is now the
A167 . North Road in Darlington is along the original route of the Great North Road.
The town was already large with a busy textile industry, but the introduction of iron and steel industry increased its size further.
William Thomas Stead , the eminent Victorian controversialist edited the ''Northern Echo'' for some years. His editorial chair is still preserved.
The ''Rhythm'n'Brews'' festival is a music and
Real Ale festival normally held in early autumn with many rock, blues and jazz acts playing at various venues around Darlington as well as a
CAMRA run bar at the Arts Centre. In 2006 it is due to be held from 14th to 17th September.
The Darlington festival is held every summer, and though not comparable with the Riverside Festival held in nearby Stockton-on-Tees, it is an event worth going to if you are in the area. Themes include Music, Tea Dance, Street Theatre, Thomas the Tank Engine event, Countryside Activities and much more.
The Darlington 10K road run is held every August and attracts several thousand competitors.
Darlington Dog Show has been a Championship event since 1969, and is normally held in September on the showground in South Park although in more recent years has moved to
Ripon .
- [http://www.visitdarlington.com Darlington Tourist Information]
- [http://www.drcm.org.uk Darlington Railway Centre & Museum]
- [http://www.darlington.gov.uk Darlington Borough Council]
