Darlington is a large and historic market town and county in North East England with a population of around 92,363 according to 2011 census. It is located on the Skerne River, known as the tributary of the Tees River. The town lies on the south Durham which is close to the Tees River, also serves as a border between the Yorkshire and Durham. The two main rivers pass through the town: Skerne River and Tees River. The neighbouring towns surround the town are Stockton, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland.
The local historical Christian group and Religious Society of Friends Quaker families played the crucial role in the development of the town in the Georgian and Victorian period. The World’s first steam locomotive passenger railway ‘Stockton and Darlington Railway’ was introduced by Quaker. The town is also known as Darlo. The town is surrounded by several suburbs include Harrowgate Village, Firthmoor and Skerne Park, Faverdale and the West Park. The twin towns of the Darlington are Amiens in France and Mulheim an der Ruhr in Germany.
History
The early settlement of the town traced its root back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It has been suggested that the town derived its name from the Saxon Dearthington meaning the settlement of the people of the Deornoth. The name of the town replaced by new name Derlinton during the Norman era. It is also known as Darnton in 17th and 18th century. The most important English church ‘St Cuthbert Church’ is built in the city in 1183 and listed as Grade I building, while the oldest church St Andrew was established in 1125 around the Haughton area of Darlington.
Darlington continued to grow as a small market town by the early 19th century. The Backhouse and Pease families, the strong Quaker families were significant employers of the town. The industrialist Joseph Pease constructed the clock tower, the famous landmark of the town in 1864. The face of the clock and tower bells were produced by T. Cooke and Sons and John Warner and Sons respectively. The tower bells of the clock tower are considered as sister bells placed inside the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament, also known as Big Ben in London.
The town is also recognised for its corporation with the modern railway and this event is celebrated at Railway Centre and Museum of the Darlington. The town became the significant centre for manufacturing of railways in the 18th century. In 1825, Locomotion No 1 engine of George Stephenson was designed for passengers and goods and travelled between Stockton-On-Tees and Shildon via Darlington. The Hopetown Carriage Works was established in the town for supplying locomotives to the Darlington Railway. The three major works were developed in the town including Darlington Works, Faverdale Wagon Works and Robert Stephenson & Company.
The bridge building and engineering also played a significant role in the growth of the town. The headquarter of the large engineering firm Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company is also located in the town and built Sydney Harbour Bridge, Tyne Bridge and the Humber Bridge. The town is home to the leading engine building firms and industrial headquarters of AMEC.
Economy
The town is home to the largest private sector employer EE (Everything Everywhere) British mobile network operator and provided job to more than 2500 people. Other major employer of the town are Student Loans Company hired more than 100 people. Large engineering firms are based in the town such as Cleveland Bridge, Cummins, AMEC and Argos. Many modern and developing industries are also growing in the town including information technology. Recently, the town is also ranked one of the economically important places in England by BT Group and to accomplish superfast broadband rollout project, BT group have installed underground fibre-optic cables.
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