Darlington Leasing

Did You Know?

Darlington began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on the River Skerne,  a northern tributary of the Tees. Later the town seems to have come under the influence of the Danes as there are still many place-names of Viking origin in its vicinity.

Darlington has a historic market area in the town centre. Built in 1183, the Grade I listed St Cuthbert's Church is one of the most important early English churches in the north of England. However the oldest church in the town happens to be that of St Andrew's Church built around 1125 and presides in the Haughton area of Darlington.

The name Darlington derives from the Anglo-Saxon Dearthington, which seemingly meant ‘the settlement of Deornoth’s people’. There was also a variation ‘Dearnington’ 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 Dirt.

Since Norman times Darlington has been a borough and the site of an important market and was arguably the capital of southern County Durham though for administrative purposes it is no longer located within that county today.

In the seventeenth century Darlington became noted for its woollen and linen industry and as a popular place of residence for members of the Quaker faith. Quakers soon formed an influential and wealthy community in the town by the 1800s.

The town later became an important centre for railway manufacturing. An early railway works was the Hopetown Carriage Works (est.1853) which supplied carriages and locomotives to the Stockton and Darlington Railway. .

Electricity was first generated in Darlington in 1900. The horse drawn trams in the town were replaced by electric ones in 1903. However they in turn were replaced by buses in 1926.

In the 18th century Darlington became famous for the manufacture of linen. It was noted for making towels and tablecloths. Meanwhile the first newspaper in the town was founded in 1772. The first bank opened in 1774.

In United Kingdom, the most cinema seats per head were seen in Darlington in 1939. The Majestic was one of the old cinemas in in the town.