Discover

'County Durham' is a county in north-east England. It can be used to refer to 4 different entities:

★ the historic County of Durham

★ the administrative county of Durham

★ the ceremonial county of Durham

★ the non-metropolitan county of Durham
Its county town is Durham.
It is a county of contrasts: the remote and sparsely populated dales and moors of the Pennines characterise the interior, while nearer the coast the county is highly urbanised, and was once dominated by the coal mining industry.
The form of the county name is unique in England. Many counties are named after their principal town, and the expected form here would be ''Durhamshire''. The reason it is called County Durham is that it did not become a Shire/County until after the language of government was changed from Anglo-Saxon to Norman French in 1066. Previous to that it was a semi-independent Bishopric[1].
Durham County Council promotes the non-metropolitan county for tourism purposes as "The Land of the Prince Bishops" in reference to the former palatine jurisdiction of the bishops.^[1]
According to a marketing campaign by the charity Plantlife, County Durham's county flower is the Spring Gentian.

Contents

Definitions

1.Historic County

2.Administrative county

3.Non-metropolitan county

4.Ceremonial county

History

Settlements

Places of interest

External links

References

Definitions

1.Historic County

This boundary includes a main body covering the watershed of the Pennines in the west, the River Tees in the south, the North Sea in the east and the Rivers Tyne and Derwent in the north. The county several had a number of exclaves: Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire and Norhamshire within Northumberland, and Craikshire within the North Riding of Yorkshire. The historic boundaries were used for parlaimentary purposes until 1832, and for judicial and local government purposes until the coming into force of the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, which merged most remaining exclaves with their surrounding county.

2.Administrative county

In 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888 England and Wales was divided into administrative counties and county boroughs. Administrative counties, governed by an elected county council, were based on the historic boundaries, less larger towns which became self-governing as county boroughs.
In 1889 the administrative county of Durham consisted of the historic county less the county boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland. The boundary with the North Riding of Yorkshire was adjusted: that part of the town of Barnard Castle historically in Yorkshire was added to County Durham, while the portion of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in Durham was ceded to the North Riding. For all non-administrative purposes, such as lieutenancy, the County of Durham comprised the administrative county and associated county boroughs.
Over its existence, the administrative county lost territory, both to the existing county boroughs, and also due to the creation of county boroughs at West Hartlepool in 1902 and Darlington in 1915. In 1967 the borough of Hartlepool was removed from the administrative county when it merged with West Hartlepool to form a new county borough of Hartlepool, and in 1968 Billingham was included within the boundaries of the county borough of Teesside, associated with the North Riding.
The administrative county was abolished in 1974.

3.Non-metropolitan county

In 1974, with the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, the adminstrative county (and the Durham County Council that governed it) were abolished. The Act created three new non-metropolitan/metropolitan counties to act as government administration areas in its place: ''the non-metropolitan countiy of Durham'', and the ''metropolitan counties'' of ''Tyne and Wear'' (containing the boroughs of Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside) and ''Cleveland'' (containing the boroughs of Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees).^[2] The new non-metropolitan county of Durham also covered the former area of Startforth Rural District, a part of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire, and south of the historical boundary of the River Tees.
It was established as a two-tier structure of non-metropolitan county. A new County Council was created to govern the non-metropolitan county (and termed ''Durham County Council''), with more local districts (governed by a district council). In 1997 the district of Darlington was removed from the non-metropolitan county of Durham and awarded Unitary Authority status. There are currently seven local government districts in the county. They are:

★ The 'City of Durham', including Durham city and the surrounding areas.

★ 'Easington', including Seaham and the new town of Peterlee.

★ 'Sedgefield', including Spennymoor and Newton Aycliffe.

★ 'Teesdale', including Barnard Castle and the villages of Teesdale, including the former area of Startforth Rural District.

★ 'Wear Valley', including Bishop Auckland, Crook, and Willington, and the villages along Weardale.

★ 'Derwentside', including Consett and Stanley.

★ 'Chester-le-Street', including Sacriston.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has announced that the seven district councils and the County Council will be abolished and a new unitary authority for the whole of the existing County Council area will be created. The changes are planned to be implemented no later than 1 April 2009.^[3][4]. The successful Durham County Council bid referred to the new authority as County Durham Council.

4.Ceremonial county

In 1997, with the removal of the district of Darlington from the non-metropolitan county, it was decided that this district, along with the area south of the non-metropolitan county but north of the River Tees would be treated as a county for 'ceremonial purposes' (reflecting the southern historic and administrative county boundaries). This entity was to complement the non-metropolitan county (the principle entity of government administration).
The term "County Durham" has no strict definition. It should be noted that no government Act has ever named any entity "County Durham": this has arisen out of common usage and despite this has been, and is, widely used even within government to refer to any one of the government administrion areas defined above.

History

The 'County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge' is a County Palatine by immemorial custom, with the Bishops of Durham being princes until 1836. Until 1971 there were a series of courts in the county, and the offices of Chancellor, Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, Steward and Clerk of Halmotes, Deputy Steward, and Registrar of Halmotes. The Court of Chancery of Durham existed from the 13th century to 1971. In 1836 the separate Court of Exchequer and the Court of Admiralty were abolished. The Durham Court of Pleas survived until 1873.
Several exclaves existed in the county's history, including Bedlingtonshire, Norhamshire, Islandshire (incorporated into Northumberland in 1844), and Crayke, now in North Yorkshire.
Durham County Council was established along with all the other English county councils in 1888, taking over functions from the Quarter Sessions. Initially Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland were county boroughs outside of the administrative county of Durham - these were joined by West Hartlepool in 1902 and Darlington in 1915. Under a recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England, the borough of Stockton-on-Tees became part of the county borough of Teesside in 1968, which was associated with the North Riding of Yorkshire.
The Local Government Act 1972 abolished the county boroughs and the administrative county of Durham, creating a new non-metropolitan county of Durham on 1 April 1974. Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland formed the core of metropolitan boroughs in the new metropolitan county in Tyne and Wear, whilst Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees became part of the new non-metropolitan county of Cleveland. The former area of Startforth Rural District in the North Riding of Yorkshire, south of the River Tees, was added to Durham, becoming part of the Teesdale district.
Cleveland was abolished as part of the 1990s UK local government reform on 1 April 1996. The boroughs of Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees became unitary authorities, and part of the ceremonial county of Durham (the part of Stockton-on-Tees south of the Tees is part of the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire).
On 1 April 1997, the borough of Darlington with its population of 100,000 became a unitary authority and thus administratively separate from County Durham. It continues to share police and fire services with the areas under County Council control.

Settlements

This is a list of the main towns in County Durham. The area covered is the entire ceremonial county, hence the inclusion of towns which are no longer administered by Durham County Council.

★ Barnard Castle, Billingham, Bishop Auckland

★ Chester-le-Street, Consett

★ Darlington

★ Durham

★ Easington

★ Ferryhill

★ Hartlepool

★ Newton Aycliffe

★ Peterlee

★ Seaham

★ Sedgefield

★ Spennymoor

★ Stanley

★ Stockton-on-Tees

★ Willington

Places of interest

★ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland

★ Barnard Castle

★ Beamish Museum, in Stanley

★ Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle

★ Causey Arch, near Stanley

★ Durham Cathedral and Castle, a World Heritage Site

★ Escomb Saxon Church, near Bishop Auckland

★ Finchale Priory, near Durham city

★ Hamsterley Forest

★ Hardwick Hall Country Park near Sedgefield

★ High Force and Low Force waterfalls, on the River Tees

★ Locomotion railway museum, in Shildon

★ No Place, near Stanley

★ Pity Me

★ Raby Castle, near Staindrop

★ Tanfield Railway, in Tanfield

External links

★ Durham County Council

★ Spennymoor Local History

★ One North East guides & brochures

★ Guided Walks Programme from Durham County Council

References

1. Welcome to County Durham (Durham County Council)
2. Local Government Act, 1972
3. Durham County Council - Local Government Review in County Durham
4. Communities and Local Government - Proposals for future unitary structures: Stakeholder consultation