Coniscliffe, Co Durham

"Coniscliffe Road"

"The parish of Coniscliffe, which comprises the townships of High Coniscliffe and Low Coniscliffe, is bounded on the north by Heighington, on the west by Gainford, on the south by the River Tees, and on the east by Darlington. The village is beautifully situated along the brink of a long ridge of limestone rock, half a mile from the Tees, and on its north bank. The limestone has been wrought to the very walls of the churchyard, and the vicarage stands almost on the extreme edge of the precipice, which here forms a perpendicular cliff. Coniscliffe is four and a half miles west of Darlington, and about a mile east from Piercebridge." [From History, Topography and Directory of Durham, Whellan, London, 1894]

Darlington

"Darlington Centre"

Darlington began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on the River Skerne which is a northern tributary of the Tees. The town was later taken by the Danes and there are still many place names of Viking origin in its vicinity. Since Norman times Darlington has been a borough and the site of an important market and today it is arguably the `capital' of southern County Durham with its population of over eighty thousand much greater than that of Durham City. However, Darlington is no longer officially part of the County of Durham except in historical terms. Darlington's name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Dearthington, which meant `the settlement of Deornoth's people'

but by Norman times its name had changed to Derlinton.  Confusion does not end here however, because during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the town was generally known by the name of `Darnton' or somewhat less politely as Darnton i' the Dirtor.  This unfortunate name was probably due to the once unpaved streets of the town.  It is certainly not a good description of Darlington today. There are parks and leafy subburbs and the very centre of the town is now largely of a Victorian and twentieth century nature.

"St Cuthberts Church"	St Cuthbert's, the "bonny church" is still one of the most admirable features of Darlington. Built in the twelfth century by Hugh Pudsey, Prince-Bishop of Durham, it is sometimes referred to as the `Lady of the North'. It is one of the largest churches in the region. The picture to the left is taken from an old postcard.

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