Main contributor: James L. Tanner
Durham Cathedral.

County Durham is a ceremonial county located in Northeast England, bordering Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. It covers an area of approximately 2,676 square kilometers (1,033 square miles) and its largest town is Darlington.[1] County Durham has a population of 533,149 based on mid-2020 population estimates.[2] The form of the county name is unique in England. Many counties are named after their principal town, and the expected form here would be Durhamshire. The reason it is called County Durham instead is that the Prince-Bishops of Durham historically exercised power in regions outside the county as well, so the inner part was named County Durham as opposed to the rest of the estate of Durham.[3]

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County Durham: landscape, industry, agriculture, and attractionsCounty Durham: landscape, industry, agriculture, and attractions

County Durham has some of the most beautiful countryside and coastal landscapes in Britain. The Durham landscape is one of enormous contrast and diversity. From its western boundary high in the summit ridges of the North Pennines, to the limestone cliffs of the North Sea coast, remote moorlands and pastoral dales give way to fertile settled farmlands.[4] It is home to a huge variety of plants and animals, and the area has a fascinating historical and geological heritage.[5] County Durham has abundant natural resources.  Beautiful stone for quarrying plus coal, lead and iron ore for mining positioned the county on the international industrial map.[6] Durham has the largest economy in the North East of England, and contributes to it being the UK lead for advanced manufacturing foreign direct investment per capita.[7] County Durham industries include digital, financial technology, health care, and space and satellite applications.[7]

The more fertile lowland landscapes of the eastern and central parts of Durham county have long supported arable or mixed farming. There is currently a strong emphasis on arable cropping predominantly of cereals (wheat and barley) and oil seed rape, combined in places with the fattening of beef cattle or sheep.[8] The North Pennines National Landscape and UNESCO Global Geopark, incorporate much of the Durham Dales. Durham Cathedral is a vast 11th century Romanesque cathedral built to house the relics of St Cuthbert. The Beamish Museum celebrates North East England life in the 1840s, 1900s and 1920s. Hardwick Park is a picturesque and leafy retreat near the city of Durham. The Durham Town Hall has been central to Durham's history since 1350.

County Durham historyCounty Durham history

The Durham Coast has been populated throughout prehistoric and Roman periods and was a centre of activity during the Mesolithic (8000 – 4000 B.C.) and Neolithic (4000 – 2000 B.C.) periods.[9] The date of the Roman invasion of England in A.D. 43 is well known, but it was a further three decades before their influence spread to the north-east and Durham became the northern border zone of the Empire. Lying to the south of the best known Roman monument in Britain, Hadrian’s Wall (built A.D. 122-128), the county itself was lightly Romanized, judged in terms of known monuments and artifacts.[10] The Early Middle Ages, between the departure of the Romans and the arrival of the Normans, saw the replacement of a British or Romano British world by an English one, through a series of invasions by Teutonic peoples from the northern shores of Germany and Scandinavia.[11] The name “Durham” comes from the Old English word for hill, “Dun” and the Norse for island, “holme”. The legend of the Dun Cow and the milkmaid also contributes to the naming of this county town and Dun Cow Lane is said to be one of the first streets in the original city.[11]

The 18th Century saw Durham developing as an industrial area, with coal mining[12] becoming a significant industry. The county also saw improvements in agriculture and infrastructure. The 19th Century was marked by the Industrial Revolution, which brought significant changes to Durham. The county saw the growth of coal mining, railways, and the development of towns. Durham University was founded in 1832, contributing to the region's educational landscape.[13]

The 20th century brought further industrialization and economic changes to County Durham. Post-World War II, Durham experienced deindustrialization, with a shift towards service industries and tourism. The county also saw the preservation of its historical sites, such as Durham Cathedral and Castle, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

County Durham parishes and unparished areasCounty Durham parishes and unparished areas

County Durham is a unitary authority: single-tier administrations with responsibility for all areas of local government.[1] There are 104 local councils in County Durham. There are 13 town councils and 91 parish councils. In addition there are 22 parish meetings where no formal local council exists. There are two sorts of parishes in an area. There are civil parishes - the first tier of local government - and ecclesiastical parishes that are centered around an Anglican church (and have a parochial church council). The boundaries for these two are not always aligned.[14]

County Durham geographyCounty Durham geography

County Durham, in North East England, has a varied geography, including upland regions, valleys, and lowlands. The Pennines in the west and the East Durham Plateau in the east are the county's two upland regions. The Pennines reach an elevation of 2,452 ft at Burnhope Seat.[1] The East Durham Plateau reaches an elevation of more than 700 ft at its southwestern edge. The county is roughly bounded by the watershed of the Pennines in the west, the River Tees in the south, the North Sea in the east and the Rivers Tyne and Derwent in the north.[15] A low upland plateau of Magnesian Limestone falls eastwards to the sea and southwards to the Tees plain and is defined in the west by a prominent escarpment. The soft Permian rocks that underlie the plateau are covered, in most places, by a thick mantle of glacial drift but outcrop on the escarpment and coast. The escarpment is deeply divided in the north forming a spur and vale landscape, which becomes less sharply defined in the south and merges with the low eastern ridges of the Pennine fringe.[16].

Researching family history in County DurhamResearching family history in County Durham

County Durham has a website that acts as a gateway to the history of County Durham and its people called The Story. The Northumberland & Durham Family History Society was founded in 1975 and has an online collection of genealogical records. The UKBMD.org Website has County Durham parish records. The Durham University Archives and Special Collections has 70,000 books published before 1850, medieval manuscripts, maps, prints and photographs.

Ethnicities in County DurhamEthnicities in County Durham

The demographic distribution of the Durham population is as follows:[17]

In the 2011 census the population of County Durham was 513,242 and is made up of approximately 51% females and 49% males. The average age of people in County Durham is 41, while the median age is higher at 42. 94.7% of people living in County Durham were born in England. Other top answers for country of birth were 1.4% Scotland, 0.4% Wales, 0.3% Northern Ireland, 0.2% Ireland, 0.2% India, 0.1% China, 0.1% United States, 0.1% South Africa, 0.1% Hong Kong . County Durham has many local family history societies.

Surnames in County DurhamSurnames in County Durham

The demographic distribution of Durham surnames is as follows:[18]

Surname Incidence Frequency
Smith 11,081 1:82
Brown 7,971 1:114
Wilson 7,227 1:126
Thompson 7,039 1:130
Robinson 6,609 1:138
Hall 5,521 1:165
Johnson 5,432 1:168
Bell 5,379 1:169
Taylor 5,262 1:173
Jones 4,840 1:188

Explore more about English CountiesExplore more about English Counties

MyHeritage.com has 351 collections that contain millions of English records that cover a huge variety of genealogical historical events that can help you find your ancestors. The MyHeritage Knowledge Base contains helpful information about genealogical research. The Legacy Family Tree Webinars website contains more than 2000 valuable genealogical webinars including over 50 webinars about English research.

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