Darlington is a market town in North East England. According to 2011 population counting, the city has a population of around 92,363. It is situated on the bank of Skerne River, a tributary of the Tees River. The town lies on the south Durham, near to the Tees River and serves as a border between the Yorkshire and Durham. The two main rivers pass through the town, i.e., Skerne River and Tees River. The neighbouring cities surround the city are Stockton, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland.
The local historical Christian group and Religious Society of Friends Quaker families played a pivotal role in the development of the town in the Georgian and Victorian period. Quaker introduced the World's first steam locomotive passenger railway 'Stockton and Darlington Railway'. Darlo is the other famous name of the city. Several suburbs surrounded the town include Harrowgate Village, Firthmoor and Skerne Park, Faverdale and the West Park. The twin towns of the Darlington are Amiens in France and Mulheim an der Ruhr in Germany.
History
The early settlement of the town traced its root back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It has been suggested that the city derived its name from the Saxon Dearthington meaning the settlement of the people of the Deornoth. The name of the city replaced by new name Derlinton during the Norman era. It is also known as Darnton in 17th and 18th century. The most important English church ‘St Cuthbert Church’ is built in the city in 1183 and listed as Grade I building, while the oldest church St Andrew was established in 1125 around the Haughton area of Darlington.
Darlington was a small market town by the early 19th century. The Backhouse and Pease families, the strong Quaker families, were significant employers of the city. The industrialist Joseph Pease constructed the clock tower, the famous landmark of the town in 1864. The face of the clock were produced by T. Cooke and Sons. The tower bells were casted by John Warner and Sons respectively. The tower bells of the clock tower are considered as sister bells placed inside the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament, also known as Big Ben in London.
The town is also acknowledged for its corporation with the modern railway, and this event is celebrated at Railway Centre and Museum of the Darlington. The city became the vital centre for manufacturing of rails in the 18th century. In 1825, Locomotion No. 1 engine George Stephenson was designed for passengers and goods and travelled between Stockton-On-Tees and Shildon via Darlington. The Hopetown Carriage Works was established in the town for supplying locomotives to the Darlington Railway. The three major works were developed in the city including Darlington Works, Faverdale Wagon Works and Robert Stephenson & Company.
The bridge building and engineering also played a significant role in the growth of the town. The headquarter of the large engineering firm Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company is also located in the city and built Sydney Harbor Bridge, Tyne Bridge and the Humber Bridge. The city is home to the leading engine building firms and industrial headquarters of AMEC.
Economy
The town is home to a giant private sector employer EE (Everything Everywhere) British mobile network operator and provided job to more than 2500 people. Other major employers of the town are Student Loans Company hired more than 100 people. Large engineering firms are based in the city such as Cleveland Bridge, Cummins, AMEC and Argos. Many modern and developing industries are also growing in the town including information technology. Recently, the city is also ranked one of the economically essential places in England by BT Group and to accomplish superfast broadband rollout project; BT group have installed underground fibre-optic cables.
