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Darlington
Darlo town centre.JPG
Darlington town centre
Darlington is located in County Durham
Darlington
Darlington
Area 19.73 km2 (7.62 sq mi)
Population 92,363 (2011 census)
• Density 4,680.81/km2 (12,123.2/sq mi) (Town)
OS grid reference NZ289147
• London 219 mi (352 km) south
Unitary authority
  • Darlington
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DARLINGTON
Postcode district DL1, DL2, DL3
Dialling code 01325
Police Durham
Fire County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance North East
EU Parliament North East England
UK Parliament
  • Darlington
List of places
UK
England
County Durham
54°31′37″N 1°33′09″W / 54.5270°N 1.5526°W / 54.5270; -1.5526

Darlington is a large market town in County Durham, England. The Borough of Darlington is governed from the town. In 2011, the town had a population of 92,363 and the larger Borough of Darlington‘s population was recorded as 105,564.

The unitary authority is a constituent member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The borough, therefore, is part of the Tees Valley mayoralty. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows along south of the town.

In the 19th century, Darlington underwent substantial industrial development, spurred by the establishment there of the world's first permanent steam-locomotive-powered passenger railway: the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Much of the vision (and financing) behind the railway's creation was provided by local Quaker families in the Georgian and Victorian eras.

History

Darlington. - geograph.org.uk - 68200
St Cuthbert's Church

Early history

Darlington started life as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. The name Darlington derives from the Anglo-Saxon Dearthington, which seemingly meant 'the settlement of Deornoth's people', but by Norman times the name had changed to Derlinton. During the 17th and 18th centuries the town was generally known by the name of Darnton.

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.

Visiting during the 18th century, Daniel Defoe noted that the town was eminent for "good bleaching of linen, so that I have known cloth brought from Scotland to be bleached here". However he also disparaged the town, writing that it had "nothing remarkable but dirt" (the roads would typically be unpaved at the time).

The Durham Ox came from Darlington.

19th-century industry

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Russian Crimean War Cannon from Sevastopol in South Park

During the early 19th century, Darlington remained a small market town. As the century progressed, powerful Quaker families such as the Pease and Backhouse families were prominent employers and philanthropists in the area. Darlington's most famous landmark, the clock tower, was a gift to the town by the industrialist Joseph Pease in 1864. The clock's face was produced by T. Cooke & Sons of York, and the tower bells were cast by John Warner & Sons of nearby Norton-on-Tees. These bells were in fact the sister bells to those which are inside the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, the most famous of which is called Big Ben. The Darlington Mechanics Institute was opened in 1854 by Elizabeth Pease Nichol, who had made the largest donation towards its building costs. The 91-acre South Park was redeveloped into its current form in 1853, with financial backing from the Backhouse family. Alfred Waterhouse, responsible for London's Natural History Museum and Manchester Town Hall, designed the Grade II listed Victorian Market Hall in 1860, and also the Backhouse's Bank building, now a branch of Barclays, in 1864, the latter taking three years to complete. George Gordon Hoskins was responsible for much of the town's architecture in this period, such as The King's Hotel. The Darlington Free Library was built with funding from Edward Pease, and opened in 1885 when the Council accepted the gift of the purpose built, fully stocked library and agreed to run it in perpetuity.

Railways

Darlington is known for its associations with the birth of the modern railway. This is celebrated in the town at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum. On the 27th of September 1825 George Stephenson's engine Locomotion No.1 ushered in the modern railway age when it it travelled between Shildon and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which from its outset was designed for passengers and goods, to a standard gauge on a permanent main line with branches and powered by steam locomotives.

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. The engineering firm of William and Alfred Kitching also manufactured locomotives in the 19th century. The town developed to have three significant works; the largest of these was the main line Darlington Works, whose main works were known as the North Road Shops which opened in 1863 and closed in 1966. Another was Robert Stephenson & Co. (colloquially: "Stivvies"), who moved to Darlington from Newcastle upon Tyne in 1902, became Robert Stephensons & Hawthorns in 1937, were absorbed by English Electric around 1960, and closed by 1964. The third was Faverdale Wagon Works, established in 1923 and closed in 1962, which in the 1950s was a UK pioneer in the application of mass-production techniques to the manufacture of railway goods wagons.

To commemorate the town's contribution to the railways, David Mach's 1997 work "Train" is located alongside the A66, close to the original Stockton–Darlington railway. It is a life-size brick sculpture of a steaming locomotive emerging from a tunnel, made from 185,000 "Accrington Nori" bricks. The work had a budget of £760,000.

For 19 years, the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust built a 50th member of the long withdrawn LNER Peppercorn Class A1 engine, called 'Tornado' and numbered 60163, from scratch in the 1853 former Stockton and Darlington Railway Carriage Works at Hopetown. Many of the original fleet had been built at Darlington locomotive works in the late 1940s.

Engineering

Darlington has long been a centre for engineering, particularly bridge building. Bridges built in Darlington are found as far away as the River Nile and the River Amazon. The large engineering firm Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company still has its headquarters in the town. The firm built the Tyne Bridge, Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge and the Humber Bridge, as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. One of the leading engine building firms, Cummins, has major premises in Darlington, and it houses the industrial headquarters of AMEC. The engineering companies Darlington Forge Company (cl.1967) and Whessoe also originated in Darlington.

Other

In 1870, The Northern Echo newspaper was launched. It is based in Priestgate and is a long-standing part of life in the North East. Although a regional paper, it is a full-bodied newspaper in its own right and includes national and international news in its scope, as well as having a well-maintained website and active social media presence. William Thomas Stead was a notable editor of The Northern Echo who died in 1912 on the Titanic. Opposite The Northern Echo building is The William Stead public house, restaurant and beer garden.

Recent history

In 1939, Darlington had the most cinema seats per head of population in the United Kingdom. The town centre has undergone a full refurbishment entitled The Pedestrian Heart, which has seen the majority of the town centre pedestrianised. Initially, the project received criticism surrounding changes to public transport, and removal of Victorian features along High Row. There is now growing evidence, however, that the now-completed changes are meeting with local approval. Then in 2014, the town saw the revamp of one of its old cinemas, The Majestic, into a soft play centre and theatre.

In August 2008 the King's Hotel in the town centre was devastated by fire, severely damaging the roof and 100 bedrooms. Several shops, including Woolworths, were damaged and had to close for weeks afterwards. No one was killed in the blaze. The hotel was carefully restored to its former glory and re-opened in 2012.

Geography

Darlington - geograph.org.uk - 52377
Darlington in 2004

Darlington is located in south Durham close to the River Tees which acts as the border between Durham and Yorkshire. Both the River Tees and River Skerne pass through the town, the River Skerne later joining the River Tees which then flows through Teesside and into the North Sea.

Darlington railway station lies on the East Coast Main Line. There are also local services from the historic North Road railway station and associated Darlington Railway Centre and Museum.

Neighbouring towns include Newton Aycliffe, Stockton and Bishop Auckland.

Suburbs

There are several suburbs of Darlington. In the north are Harrowgate Hill, Harrowgate Village, Coatham Mundeville and Beaumont Hill and to the north-east are Whinfield and Haughton Le Skerne. To the east is the suburb of Eastbourne and Red Hall with Firthmoor and Skerne Park to the south. Situated in the west end are Hummersknott, Mowden and Blackwell. Finally, to the north-west are Branksome, Cockerton, Faverdale, The Denes, West Park, High Grange and Pierremont which is associated with the notable Henry Pease (MP).

Twin towns

Darlington is twinned with:

Culture

Darlington has been subject to increasing amounts of inward investment in recent years with the completion of large scale local council sponsored schemes such as the 2007 Town Centre Pedestrian Heart Project worth 10 million pounds, which saw most of Darlington Town Centre modernised with an emphasis on fewer vehicles in the centre and roads pedestrianised completely. The town is also received further investment worth 170 million pounds with the creation of Central Park, a new industrial, residential, cultural and education park which includes hundreds of new affordable homes, Darlington College Campus, Teesside University Darlington Campus, luxury office space, retail units and a new local centre. The Central Park construction site stretches from the current Darlington College campus on Haughton road to the Darlington Railway station entrance at Yarm Road.

Furthermore, the local council, regional development agency and government departments are consulting about investing in an upgrade of Darlington's A66 Eastern Bypass to dual carriageway to improve congestion and journey times, as well as to prevent the tees valley region from suffering due to the road currently being single track passing Darlington which is essentially the gateway to the tees valley region.

All of the investment in recent years and planned investment with large scale public sector support makes Darlington the most invested in Borough in the Tees Valley region, with Stockton a close second. The Civic Theatre is a popular arts venue in the town, hosting a mix of musicals, dramas, plays and pantomimes. The smaller but well-used Arts Centre, founded in 1982, featured smaller events, film screenings and more experimental material; however this closed in 2012.

Darlington is well known within the North of England as being tolerant of diverse lifestyles as it was the first town in England to allow same-sex civil ceremonies in 2001. The town thus has a small gay scene developed over a number of years by the local LGBT community, hosting a weekly Gay Night held every Monday night supported by over 7 venues in Darlington town centre. The scene has grown to become a beacon of LGBT entertainment in the region, and particularly the Tees Valley with the support of the local LGBT support charity Gay Advice Darlington/Durham (GADD), Darlington Gay Scene Collective (DGSC) as well as a large selection of local bars and clubs. The town hosts an annual Gay Pride Festival which comprises a series of celebrations of local LGBT culture and acceptance held at venues across the town.

The Rhythm'n'Brews festival is a music and real ale festival normally held in early autumn, with many rock, blues and jazz acts playing at various venues around Darlington.

The Forum Music Centre, opened in 2004, hosts regular live music events, from Ska and Punk to Indie and Classic Rock. It also runs a popular comedy club. As well as live music, the facility houses a state of the art recording studio and several rehearsal rooms. The Carmel Rhythm Club, at Carmel College in the Hummersknott end of town, is another music venue. A charitable organisation for the Carmel PTA (Parents and Teachers Association) attracts many large bands in the genre of rhythm and blues.

Darlington town centre has built a strong focus on independent shopping, and offers a more varied shopping experience than in many other UK towns and cities which have a higher concentration of national and international chains. Grange Road has a number of "designer" stores, Duke Street houses art galleries and restaurants and between the two is Skinnergate, which holds the greatest variety of original stores.

Darlington Dog Show was a championship event from 1969. It was usually held in September on the showground in South Park; but it has now moved to Ripon.

Football teams in the town are Darlington, a team in the Football Conference, and Darlington Railway Athletic, a team in the Northern League. The rugby teams are Darlington Mowden Park R.F.C., who were promoted as champions from National League Three in 2011-12 and played in National League 2 in 2012-13, and Darlington RFC. Cricket clubs are Darlington Cricket Club and Darlington Railway Athletic Cricket Club. The Darlington 10K road run is held every August, and attracts several thousand competitors. The Dolphin Centre, which provides a wide range of sporting facilities, was opened by Roger Bannister in 1982. It received a £5m refurbishment in 2006 and was later officially opened by Redcar athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Darlington Library, an impressive Grade II listed building situated in Crown Street, was a gift to the town from Edward Pease (1834–1880), a leading Darlington Quaker. He left £10,000 in his will to build a free library in Darlington or for other educational purposes. The people of Darlington voted to adopt the Free Libraries Act, and the town's first free library was officially opened on 23 October 1885 by his daughter, Lady Lymington. The building now houses the Central Lending Department, Reference Library and Centre for Local Studies.

The Jamia Mosque and Islamic Society of Darlington is located in the North Lodge Terrace area of the town, an area with a high proportion of ethnic minority residents.

Darlington Memorial Hospital is on Hollyhurst Road, in the corridor between Woodland Road and The Denes.

Transport

Air

Teesside International Airport is five miles (eight kilometres) east of Darlington town centre and serves County Durham and North Yorkshire. The airport was known as Durham Tees Valley Airport, 2004 until mid-2019. It has flights to a few domestic locations across the UK and international flights to locations across Europe. Many private or General Aviation Flights use the airport. Weston Aviation are there for that purpose. The airport has a Fire Training Centre that trains many airport firefighters from all over the UK.

The next-nearest large airports are Newcastle (42 miles (68 kilometres)) and Leeds Bradford (62 miles (100 kilometres)).

Rail

Darlington Train station - cropped pic of train to Saltburn
Darlington Station, Top Bank

Local services run from North Road railway station, the town's original station. Darlington railway station lies on the East Coast Main Line and has regular services to London Kings Cross, Leeds City, Edinburgh Waverley, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport and Newcastle.

Darlington railway station also serves as the mainline interchange for Middlesbrough station, which itself has few intercity services. Darlington also has access to the Tees Valley Line connecting all the main settlements along the River Tees, and runs from Bishop Auckland to Saltburn via Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough among many other smaller settlements.

Darlington railway station boasts a large Victorian clock tower which, in the relatively low rise town centre, can be seen throughout large areas of the town.

Roads

Darlington is well connected to the North East's major trunk route, the A1(M), which bypasses the town to the west. It was completed in 1965, replacing the Great North Road route which is now known as the A167. The town is served by three closely-spaced junctions of the A1(M): Junctions 57 A66(M), 58 A68, and 59 A167. Junction 59 is the access exit for Darlington Motorway Services (Newton Park), with an onsite filling station, hotel and restaurant. Darlington is also close to other major trunk routes, including the A66 trans-Pennine route connecting Darlington to Stockton and the A19.

The £5.9 million five miles (eight kilometres) A66 Darlington Eastern Bypass opened on 25 November 1985. The Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor, linking the Central Park regeneration zone (Haughton Road) and Darlington town centre to a new roundabout on the A66, was opened in the summer of 2008.

Bus

Arriva Optare Solo buses in Darlington 5 May 2009 pic 1
Arriva buses in Darlington

Bus transport in the town is provided by Arriva North East. Darlington lost out on considerable public receipts when the municipal bus operator Darlington Transport Company was placed into administration during an attempted privatisation, due to continuing financial difficulties and the Darlington Bus War.

Stagecoach used to operate in the town (since the Bus War) until 2007, when they sold their operations to Arriva. Arriva therefore became the main bus operator. Arriva services connect Darlington to neighbouring towns such as Durham, Bishop Auckland, Richmond, Stockton, and Middlesbrough.

There is also two smaller independent operators that run services in the town, which are called Dales & District and Scarlet Band.

Pavement

Darlington was chosen by the Department for Transport as one of three national Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns (together with Peterborough and Worcester) in 2004 and delivering a three-year research and marketing programme to promote sustainable travel choices under the brand name 'Local Motion'. It was also chosen as one of six cycling demonstration towns in October 2005, receiving £3 million worth of funding from the government and local council money.

2007 Town Centre Pedestrian Heart Project worth 10 million pounds, saw most of Darlington Town Centre modernised with an emphasis on vehicles less common in the centre and roads pedestrianised completely.

The money has also been spent over the course of three years on other improvements to cycling facilities and routes, and linking the town to the national cycle route network. Darlington is the only place to win both sustainable travel and cycling demonstration town status.

Economy

The trend of regional gross value added of Darlington at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by the Office for National Statistics, with figures in £ millions.

Year Regional Gross Value Added Agriculture Industry Services
1995 1,115 8 377 729
2000 1,192 6 417 768
2003 1,538 6 561 971

Darlington was un-industrial throughout the 20th century, with finance and manufacturing as the main elements of its economy.

Service Sector

A major employer in the area is the English division of the Student Loans Company, Student Finance England, who are based at Lingfield Point and employ over 1,000 people. Other large service sector companies with offices in the town include Darlington Building Society. Darlington Borough Council announced the neighbouring site for the DL1 complex, previously a car park for Darlington Town Hall, was also to be redeveloped to house riverside office space for the Department for Education in an effort to safeguard Darlington jobs. This was officially opened on 19 March 2015. The National Safeguarding Authority has a national office in the town. Amazon operates a warehouse facility, which opened in early 2020, employing 1,300 full-time staff, one of the town’s biggest employers.

Telecommunication

EE are the largest private sector employers in the town, hiring 2,500 people. The company took over its operations from one of its predecessors, Orange Mobile. The international telecommunications company BT Group recently announced Darlington as one of the economically important locations in England to have BT fibre-optic cables installed underground as part of the company's BT Infinity superfast broadband rollout project. BT Group cites their decision to include Darlington in the national rollour of multi-provider fibre optic (cable) broadband as necessary due to the towns relatively large amount of IT demanding firms and future plans for developments including space for high-tech firms. Darlington Borough Council, residents and local businesses praised the decision by BT Group and it is hoped the investment will attract enterprise to the town, potentially creating employment for residents and boosting the economy.

Morton Park

The Morton Park area of Darlington is currently undergoing a partial redevelopment, with areas of unused waste land being redeveloped into modern industrial and office space. Companies based in Morton Park and the surrounding area are Infoserve Ltd and vehicle rental company Northgate Vehicle Hire. Morrisons at Morton Park opened in August 1995.

Other commercial spaces in Darlington include North Road Industrial Estate, which includes a Morrisons supermarket; Cleveland Trading Estate and Faverdale Industrial Estate. The council depot on Central Park is also to be redeveloped into commercial space.

Engineering

Darlington has long been a centre for engineering, major firm within the engineering industry based in the town. Bridge building is prevalent in the town, bridges built in Darlington are found as far away as the River Nile and the River Amazon. Engineering firms include:

  • Cummins, engine builder firm, has a large scale engine building facility in the Morton Park area of Darlington.
  • AMEC‘s industrial arm is headquartered in the town
  • Darlington Forge Company originated in the town, circa 1967
  • Whessoe originated in Darlington
  • Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, a large engineering firm has its headquarters in the town. The firm built the Tyne Bridge, Tees Transporter Bridge and the Humber Bridge, as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Retail and Leisure

Darlington Market Hall
Darlington market hall
Tubwell Row, Darlington (geograph 5230683)
The Cornmill Centre

As a historic market town, a weekly outdoor market on the market square, which one of the biggest in the country. An indoor market is located underneath the town clock on Prebend Row.

They are a number of shops in the area:

  • Prebend Row also hosts the Cornmill Shopping centre
  • Grange Road and Skinnergate has a number of independent shops
  • Duke Street houses art galleries and restaurants
  • Argos, a UK retail company, have their largest warehouse distribution centre in the North of England located in Darlington. This centre is within the Faverdale Industrial Estate, North West of the town. The Argos shop is located in the town centre Sainsbury’s.
  • Magnet Group have a shop and site in the town
  • Aldi has a shop and distribution centre
  • Bannatyne Fitness Ltd is headquartered and runs a gym in Darlington.
  • House of Fraser, trading as Binns (department store), is a major retailer in the town.

In November 2012, a deal was signed between Darlington Borough Council and developer Terrace Hill for a £30 million re-development of the site of the former Feethams bus depot. The development includes a new multiplex cinema run by Vue Cinemas to serve Darlington and the wider South Durham area, as the area currently has no multiplex cinema. The development has an 80 bedroom Premier Inn hotel, and various food and drink venues including Prezzo, Bella Italia and Hungry Horse. The proposal had an expected completion date of late 2014, though this did overrun with completion early 2016.

Hospital

Darlington Memorial Hospital main floors
Darlington memorial hospital

Darlington Memorial Hospital is on Hollyhurst Road, in the corridor between Woodland Road and The Denes.

Sport

Football

Association

The town is home to Darlington Football Club which play at Blackwell Meadows and play in National League North. Darlington Railway Athletic F.C., plays in the Wearside League Division One and play at Brinkburn Road.

Darlington FC is a phoenix club, it was formerly Darlington 1883 FC until the club reclaimed its name. The club is known as The Quakers because of the contributions made to the town by men such as Edward and Joseph Pease, members of the Religious Society of Friends. Before the 2012 administration, played at the 25,000 capacity Darlington Arena (after 120 years at the Feethams ground) when it opened on Neasham Road in 2003. In the 2010–11 season Darlington won the FA Trophy however they were relegated from the Football League, into the then Football Conference. Administration caused Darlington to play home games at Heritage Park in Bishop Auckland and relegation by four divisions to Division One of the Northern Football League, of which the club was one of the founders of in 1889, for the 2012–13 season. It moved back to Darlington from the 2016/17 season with a long term groundshare arrangement with Darlington RFC at Blackwell Meadows. Darlington's first home game at Blackwell Meadows (a 3–2 home win against Halifax Town) took place on 26 December 2016. In the subsequent season, the club was allowed to change back to its current name.

Rugby union

Darlington arena 001
The Northern Echo Arena, home of Darlington Mowden Park R.F.C.

Darlington has two Rugby Union clubs Darlington Mowden RFC and Darlington RFC. Darlington Mowden Park play in National League 1, the third tier of English rugby union. The club own and play at the Darlington Arena, which played a role in the 2015 Rugby World Cup as hosts to the New Zealand national team. Darlington RFC play at Blackwell Meadows in Durham/Northumberland 2.

Cricket

Cricket clubs are Darlington Cricket Club and Darlington Railway Athletic Cricket Club. Both play in the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League, Darlington CC won the league twenty times during the 20th century.

Athletics

Athletics Track, Eastbourne Leisure Centre (geograph 4429468)
Eastbourne Leisure Centre's athletics track

Darlington's leading athletics club, the Darlington Harriers, was formed in 1891 and has had a number of successful athletes wearing the club colours as well as GB vests. The club celebrated its 125th year in 2016, with anniversary games held at Eastbourne Sports Complex. The Darlington 10K road run is held every August, and attracts several thousand competitors.

Dolphin Centre

The Dolphin Centre, which provides a wide range of sporting facilities, was opened by Roger Bannister in 1982. It received a £5 million refurbishment in 2006 and was later officially opened by Redcar athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Education

Teesside University opened a Darlington campus in 2011. It offers higher education in the town to students and businesses.

The town has one further education college, Darlington. It has two sixth forms the Queen Elizabeth (a former grammar school) and Carmel.

There are multiple secondary school academies including: Carmel College, Wyvern, Haughton, Hummersknott, Hurworth School, Longfield and St Aidan's. Polam Hall is a former boarding school, presently a free school.

There are also multiple primary schools including: Federation of Abbey Schools, Mowden School, West Park School, Skerne Park primary school

Notable people

  • George Allison – football manager in 1930s
  • James Atkinson (1780–1852) – surgeon, artist and Persian scholar
  • Duncan Bannatyne – entrepreneur, residence in Darlington and company offices of Bannatyne Fitness Ltd close to Central Park regeneration area
  • Garry Williamson Barnes – footballer
  • Nick Bilton – columnist for The New York Times and bestselling author
  • Julie Bindel – journalist, columnist, political activist, lesbian and gay rights campaigner, born in Darlington
  • Zoe Birkett – singer, runner up on television show Pop Idol
  • Sandra Bowman – Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer in 1980s
  • Aidan Chambers – children's author
  • Tom Craddock – footballer
  • James Cudworth – Locomotive Superintendent for the South Eastern Railway (1845–76)
  • Alex Cunningham – MP for Stockton North
  • Giles Deacon – fashion designer
  • J. M. Dent – publisher, produced Everyman's Library series
  • Frederick Dickens – Charles Dickens' beloved scapegrace brother, buried in the West Cemetery.
  • Harry Dobinson – footballer
  • Elizabeth Esteve-Coll (née Kingdon) – Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the first woman to head a national arts institution.
  • John W. Ewbank – landscape and marine painter
  • Simon Farnaby – actor, writer and comedian
  • Don Featherstone – filmmaker
  • Ruth Gemmell – actress
  • Ian Hamilton – poet and editor
  • Ralph Hodgson – poet
  • George Gordon Hoskins – architect responsible for many of Darlington's Victorian buildings
  • Glenn Hugill – actor and television producer
  • Richard Hurndall – actor
  • Robert Anderson Jardine – vicar
  • John Kenworthy – aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer in World War I
  • Alan Kitching – typographic artist and teacher
  • Mary Lawson (1910–1940) – stage and film actress of 1920s and 1930s, born in Darlington, killed in air raid on Liverpool
  • Michael Lee – hard rock drummer (Little Angels, The Cult, Page and Plant, Thin Lizzy)
  • Neil Maddison – footballer
  • Jann Mardenborough – racing driver, Le Mans podium finisher
  • James Morrison – footballer
  • Christopher M Pattinson GB International Swimmer (1976-1980)
  • Al Pease – racing driver, only F1 driver disqualified for going too slow (1969 Canadian Grand Prix)
  • Edward Pease (1767–1858) – Quaker industrialist and railway pioneer
  • Joseph Pease (1799–1872) – Quaker industrialist and railway pioneer, first Quaker M.P.
  • Julie Rayne – singer and actress
  • Vic Reeves – comedian and author, lived in Darlington as teenager Jim Moir in 1970s
  • Katherine Routledge (née Pease) – archaeologist and anthropologist, made first scientific survey of Easter Island
  • Paul Smith OBE – former radio executive and technology entrepreneur
  • Willie Smith – "possibly the best non-specialised, all round billiard player of all time", twice winner of World Billiards Championship out of two entries
  • Sir John Summerson – architectural historian
  • Paul Swift - professional stunt and precision driver
  • Russ Swift - professional stunt and precision driver
  • Geoffrey Thwaites GB International Swimmer, 200m Backstroke at the 1964 Olympics
  • William Thomas Stead – campaigning journalist, editor of The Northern Echo, died in sinking of the RMS Titanic
  • David Varey (born 1961) – cricketer
  • Paul Walton – motoring journalist
  • Giuseppe Wilson – footballer (Lazio and Italy)

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