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Darlington

Did You Know?

Let’s look at some of the famous people from Darlington, the town where we offer easy storage. Duncan Bannatyne from Dragons Den and Bannatyne Gyms lives in Darlington, and this is where the company office for the business is too. 

George Allison who was a football manager in the 1930s and footballer Garry Williamson Barnes are both from Darlington too. So are footballers Tom Craddock, Harry Dobinson, Neil Maddison and James Morrison.

You may remember Zoe Birkett, a runner-up from Pop Idol? She was from Darlington as well. As is Sandra Bowman the Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer from the 1980s and Geoffrey Waites the GB International swimmer that took part in the 200m Backstroke at the 1964 Olympics.

The children’s author Aidan Chambers and publisher of the Everyman’s Library series J M Dent are also from Darlington. Fashion Designer Giles Deacon also has strong links to our town. 

We also have a lot of actors from the town . These include John E Ewbank who was also a writer and comedian as well as an actor. Actress Ruth Gemmell is from Darlington too, as is actor Richard Hurndall and Actor and television producer Glenn Hugill.

Poets Ian Hamilton and Ralph Hodgson are from this town. Michael Lee, the hard rock drummer from Little Angels. Thin Lizzy, The Cult and Page and Plant are also from Darlington.

Darlington is respected for its history, for example, Elizabeth Esteve-Coll is the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Not only is she from Darlington, but she is also the first woman to head a national arts institution. Katherine Routledge is from Darlington too. She is an archaeologist and an anthropologist.

Many people don’t realise just how steeped in railway history Darlington is. For example, did you know that the world’s first steam-powered passenger train journey began in the town ? This took place on 27th September 1825. 

In 2015, Darlington was selected as the 7th best place to live in the UK. This decision was made based on the low house prices and rental fees, low unemployment rates, mobile phone signal and high-speed internet. 

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 and there are still many Viking place-names in its vicinity.

In AD 1003 ‘Dearthington’ as it was then called, was given by Styr, an Anglo-Dane, described as the ‘son of Ulphus’, to the Community of St Cuthbert at Durham. He did so with the permission of King Æthelred and Darlington became the centre of an important Anglo-Saxon estate.

Darlington’s name derives from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Dearthington’, which apparently means the estate of someone called Deornoth. It is perhaps one of the most unsatisfying explanations for such a prominent town.