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'Chester-le-Street' (postally but incorrectly 'Chester le Street') is the main town in the Chester-le-Street district of County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located 8 miles west of Sunderland on the River Wear. The Parish Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is where the body of St Cuthbert was laid to rest for some 113 years before being transferred to Durham Cathedral, and is the site of the first translation of the Bible into English.
The current Chester-le-Street district was formed by the amalgamation in 1974 of the former Chester-le-Street Urban and Rural Districts. Chester-le-Street 'town' had long since grown outside the boundaries of the Urban District to cover large parts of the Rural District as well. In a move that was considered controversial at the time, some parts of the Rural District that contained parts of the Chester-le-Street built up area were transferred to Gateshead and Sunderland in the newly formed Tyne & Wear.
The Riverside Ground at Chester-le-Street is home to Durham County Cricket Club which became a first class county in 1992. The Riverside Ground is overlooked by Lumley Castle a fortified mansion house, which is currently used as a hotel. The castle is adjacent to Chester-le-Street golf course.

Contents

Early football

Transport

Famous residents past and present

References

External links

Early football

An early version of football was once played in the town. The game was played until 1932 between the "Upstreeters" and "Downstreeters". Play started at 1pm and finished at 6pm. To start the game, the ball was thrown from the Queen's Head hotel in the centre of the town and in one game more than 400 players took part. The centre of the street was the dividing line and the winner was the side where the ball was (Up or Down) at 6pm. The game was finally stopped in 1932, when a number of players were fined under the Highways Act for obstructing the highways and causing an annoyance to pedestrians. Football support in the town is largely divided between Sunderland and Newcastle United.

Transport

At the time of the football matches 'Front Street' was actually the A1 road from London to Edinburgh. A bypass was built in the 1950s which still exists today as the A167. This road itself was bypassed by the A1(M) motorway in the 1970s.
The northern end of Front Street used to be the start of the A6127, which is the road that would continue through Birtley, Gateshead, and eventually over the Tyne Bridge and become the A6127(M) central motorway in Newcastle upon Tyne. However since the building of the Newcastle Western Bypass many roads in this area were renumbered and Newcastle Road, which was formerly designated A1 is now unclassified.
Today car traffic is banned from the bottom part of Front Street and it is restricted to buses only.

Famous residents past and present

Famous sons of the town include former England football captain Bryan Robson as well as football manager and former England international, Colin Todd. There is a rich and diverse football heritage in the town, with current professionals including Middlesbrough's Danny Graham, Derby County's Steven Howard and Hartlepool's Michael Barron and Michael Mackay amongst others. Jock Purdon, the folk singer and poet, lived in the town for most of his life, although he was born in Scotland. Bruce Welch of pop group The Shadows was brought up in the town.

References

External links

★ Concangis Roman fort or castra

★ Parish Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert

★ Durham County Cricket Club

★ Chester-le-Street Town Football Club

★ Chester-le-Street Railway Station

★ Chester-le-Street shops

★ Chester-le-Street District Council Website

★ Red Rose Primary School