DARLINGTON, a large and populous town, of remote origin. It is a borough by prescription, and is situated on the side of a hill, at the foot of which flows the river Skern, over which there is a stone bridge of three arches. The town has a very respectable appearance, and consists of several streets, branching from an extensive square, where the market is held, which is well supplied on Mondays with corn and provisions, and a large shew of cattle on the first Monday in March. The principal fairs are on Easter Monday, Whit-Monday, a fortnight after Whit-Monday, and November 10, for horses, horned cattle, and sheep ; on the 13th for hogs, and on the second Monday after Old Martinmas day, a general fair is held ; besides these there is a market for cattle and sheep every fortnight, on Monday.

The Town Hall, a handsome square building, occupies the centre of the Market-place. This building contains extensive apartments, some of which are used for a Subscription Library, News Rooms, and Justice Meetings; adjoining which are erected spacious shambles.

On the south-east angle of the Market-place is the Church, a noble Gothic structure, built by Bishop Hugh Pudsey, about the year 1160; it is in the form of a cross, with a lofty spire rising from the centre. The arches of the nave and aisle are irregular and lofty, but the disposition of the pews and galleries greatly disfigure the whole of the interior view. The west door is however highly finished with archings and pilasters, cylindrical and octagonal interchangeably. The church was formerly collegiate, and had a dean and four prebendaries, previous to its dissolution in the reign of Edward VI. This venerable fabric is now (1822) undergoing a thorough repair, both on the outside, where the hand of time has made considerable devastation, particularly upon the more ornamental parts of the structure, and in the interior; but no steps have been taken to remove the unsightly gallery which so encumbers and disfigures one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture that is to be met with in this country.

On the margin of the river are the remains of a Palace, formerly the residence of the bishops of Durham, which having become very ruinous, was repaired by Bishop Cosin, since which it has been entirely neglected, and is at present in a dilapidated state ; it is now farmed by the bishop’s housekeeper, (who holds it by patent for life) as a workhouse for the poor. Near this place is the Grammar School, which was founded by Queen Elizabeth, about the year 1567; besides which there is a Charity School for 26 boys, who are clothed and educated; and also several Sunday Schools.

The principal manufacture of this town is linen and woollen, the latter of which is said to exceed that of any town in England. There is likewise an iron manufactory established here; also some extensive cotton manufactories; and a mill has been erected for the purpose of grinding optical glasses ; which is the first of the kind ever constructed in Great Britain.

Darlington, which is one of the four-ward towns of this county, is thus particularly noticed in an ancient work, called the Bolden Buke: "It then contained 40 oxgangs of land in the hands of villain tenants, for each of which the lord received five shillings; their service consisted in mowing the bishop’s meadows, winning and leading the hay, for which work they received a corody ; inclosing the limits of the court, whence the term, "Verge of the Court." They were also to work at the mill, to bring one load of wood for every oxgang, to carry the bishop’s baggage on his circuit, and also to convey to him yearly three loads of wine, herrings, and salt. Twelve other tenants held each an oxgang of land, and paid rent as villains, but only served as attendants on the bishop’s embassies. The smith held eight acres, for iron work, about the carts of Little Walton, and for small iron work within Darlington court.

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DARLINGTON, a parliamentary and municipal borough, market and union town, township, parish, head of a ward, county court district and petty sessional division, in the South Eastern division of the county, 238 miles from London, 18 south from Durham, 16 east-south-east from Barnard Castle, 11 west-south-west from Stockton-on-Tees, 39 south from Newcastle, 16 north from Northallerton (Yorkshire), 12 north-east from Richmond (Yorkshire), and 45 by rail from York and 1 from the Yorkshire boundary, in the rural deanery of Darlington Northern division, archdeaconry of Auckland and diocese of Durham. The parish consists of four townships-viz. Darlington, Archdeacon-Newton, Blackwell and Cockekton. The town is seated on the great north road, and on the side of a hill that slopes to the river Skerne, across which, near the east end of the parish church, is the principal bridge, a plain structure of three arches with a stone parapet, erected in 1768 at a cost of £1,000. At the lower end of the Lead yard a cast-iron bridge was erected in 1833, and an iron bridge in Clay row crosses the Skerne; a stone bridge crosses the Cockerbeck in Northgate. The town is well built and is lighted with gas and well supplied with water from works the property of the Corporation.

The borough has two lines of railway communication, one by the Stockton and Darlington branch line, opened in 1825, and the first public railway in the kingdom, and the other by the main line of the North Eastern railway; the station of the former is situated near the north entrance to the town, and covers an area of more than 16 acres, including large warehouses for heavy goods, besides extensive depots for coal and lime. The North Eastern railway is on the east bank of the Skerne, and has its station at Bank Top, where there are extensive warehouses for goods and coal and lime depots: both lines now belong to North Eastern Company.

Darlington, by the "Representation of the People Act, 1867,” was constituted a parliamentary borough, returning one member, the borough comprising within its limits the whole of the township of Darlington, and under the provisions of “The Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885,” the limits were extended so as to include the entire municipal borough of Darlington except a small detached part of the parish of Darlington called " Oxmey Field” or “Oxen-le-Field.” By a charter granted 13 Sept. 1867, Darlington was made a municipal borough, and is governed by a mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors, who also act as the urban sanitary authority. The borough has a commission of the peace. By an Act passed in 1872 the boundaries of the municipal borough were extended so as to include portions of the townships of Cockerton and Haughton-le-Skerne.

This place, in 1686, gave the title of baroness to Catherine, only daughter of Sir Charles Sidley bart. also created Countess of Dorchester, but both titles, being life peerages only, lapsed on her death in 1692. The present earldom of Darlington (1754) is held by the Duke of Cleveland K.G.

The parish church of St. Cuthbert, collegiate as well as parochial, from its first foundation, was founded for a dean and three canons by William de Carilef, Bishop of Durham (1080-95), and remodelled by Hugh Pudsey, bishop (1154-97), but lost its collegiate character in 1550: it is an embattled edifice of Cockfield Fell gritstone of noble proportions, in the vigorous Early English style of the Late Transitional period, with additions of later date, chiefly Decorated, and consists of chancel, clerestoried nave of five bays, aisles, transepts of two bays, vestry and an embattled central tower with spire, containing a peal of bells, the tenor of which was re-cast in 1633: the belfry stage is enriched with elegant arcading, the heads of the arches being filled with Decorated tracery, and the clerestory is also arcaded on the exterior: the west front, disposed in three stages, has a recessed doorway under a lofty triangular head; the two remaining stages have arcading pierced with three windows, and the gable is flanked by square capped pinnacles: the total length is 133 feet 8 inches, width 47 feet, length of transept 80 feet 4 inches: the spire reaches a height of 185 feet: the nave (95 feet) is the longest in the diocese: the church is one of the highest interest to archaeologists, from the fact that, although some of the details are almost Norman, and some are almost Early English, there are none without a clear advance from Norman, and none sufficiently advanced to be called pure Early English, so that the full development of the latter style may be seen worked out in this building: the aisles, rebuilt subsequently to 1400, have square-headed windows in the Late or Flowing Decorated style: the tower and spire were built towards the close of the 14th century, and the belfry story is arcaded: the upper portion of the spire, much damaged by lightning July 17, 1750, has been rebuilt: the chancel retains very beautiful Late Decorated sedilia bearing the arms of Henry de Ingleby, rector of Haughton, and a prebendary of this church, who died in 1375, and an Easter sepulchre in the Perpendicular style: the massive stalls exhibit the arms of Thomas Langley, cardinal and Bishop of Durham (1406-38), and his eagle badge: the misereres display in their carvings a legend similar to that of “Jack the Giant Killer,” and a royal figure with two sceptres, supported by collared griffins, and perhaps intended for St. Oswald, king of Bernicia and Deira: on both sides of the choir are low side windows, now blocked, and at the east end are two niches, that on the south side having a divided basin for a piscina: a female effigy of the time of Richard I. (1189-99), found in the choir, is now at the west end: the principal feature of the interior is the fine, though mutilated, stone rood screen, a work of the Decorated period, erected between 1381 and 1407, and occupying the whole width of the chancel arch; it is 13 feet in height and 7 in depth, with a large ribbed archway in the centre, and at the south end a staircase leading up to it; the west front of the screen once bore the arms of England, France (ancient), Dacre, Eure, Greystock, and Percy quartering Lucy, and at the restoration traces were met with of the places anciently occupied on the screen by the rood and the figures of St. Mary the Virgin and St. John: this rood loft was afterwards converted into an organ gallery, and additions were made to it in the 18th century for the use of the children of the charity schools: in 1821 a new organ was placed on the screen at a cost of £500, and in 1865 it was renovated and considerably enlarged: in 1659 the Parliamentary troops were quartered in the church: from 1862 to 1865 the church was entirely restored; the nave, aisles and transepts, under the direction of Sir G. Gilbert Scott R.A. at a cost of £9,995, and the chancel (during 1864 and 1865), at the cost of the Duke of Cleveland K.G. under the direction of Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect, of Darlington: the church was reopened on December 14th, 1865: during the period 1862-87 many memorial stained windows have been erected: benches of Austrian oak were placed in the nave in 1885 and 1887 from designs left by Sir Gilbert Scott R.A.: the church plate includes an entirely new set of solid silver provided in 1889 under a bequest of the late Robert Henry Allan esq. of Blackwell Hall, for this and nine other churches, at the cost of £100 for each: the set consists of a flagon, two chalices, two patens and an alms plate, which are engraved with the quartered shield of arms of the Allan family: there are 820 sittings. The parish register commences from 1590. The living is a vicarage; gross yearly value £268, with house, in the gift of the Duke of Cleveland K.G. and held since 1873 by the Rev. Thomas Edward Hodgson M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, hon. canon of Durham, rural dean and surrogate.

Holy Trinity is an ecclesiastical district formed by Order in Council, dated April 3rd, 1843, and consists of Archdeacon-Newton, Cockerton and part of Darlington: the church, situated on the Cockerton road, is a building of stone, in the Early English style, from designs by Mr. Anthony Salvin, architect, consisting of chancel and nave, together of five bays, under a single roof, aisles and a tower on the north-west with a plain parapet and an octagonal turret at the southeast angle rising above the tower and finished with a dwarf spirelet and vane: the tower contains one bell, and the lower stage forms a porch: a clock was placed in the tower in 1850: the east window and three others are stained: in 1867 the church was enlarged at a cost of £2,000, and a new organ erected at a cost of £520: the building was renovated in 1883 at a cost of £1,100: there are 1,000 sittings, of which 600 are free: in the churchyard is a memorial to Emily Mary, 4th daughter of Sir J. P. Milbanke bart. of Halnaby, and wife of E. T. Copley esq. of Nether hall, Doncaster, d. 1 June, 1844. The register dates from the year 1840. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value £300, with residence, in the gift of the Archdeacon of Durham, and held since 1865 by the Rev. Arthur Horsley Hughes M.A. of Trinity College, Dublin, and surrogate. The population in 1881 was 8,601.

The ecclesiastical parish of St. Hilda was formed from the parish of St. John in 1887: the church, situated in Parkgate and consecrated on the 30th of August, 1888, is a building of red brick in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, side chapel and organ chamber: the tower and porch of the original design have not yet been built: the nave is very lofty: the east window is a memorial to Col. Sir Thomas Gore-Browne C.B., K.C.M.G. d. 1887. The living is a vicarage, as yet unendowed, in the gift of the Bishop of Durham, and held since 1889 by the Rev. Wilfred Gore-Browne M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge.

The ecclesiastical district of St. James was formed out of St. John’s, Oct. 18, 1875: the church, situated on the Haughton road, was erected in 1875-6, and is a plain edifice of stone in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts and south porch: there are 500 sittings. The communion plate includes a new set of solid silver, provided in 1889 at a cost of £100, under a bequest by the late Robert Henry Allan esq. of Blackwell Hall, and similar to that given to St. Cuthbert’s. The register dates from the year 1876. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £300, in the gift of the Crown and Bishop of Durham alternately, and held since 1872 by the Rev. Christopher Gibson Davis B.A. of Christ Church, Oxford. The population in 1881 was 3,042.

St. John the Evangelist’s is an ecclesiastical district, formed July 6th, 1845, under Sir Robert Peel’s Act, 1843 (6 & 7 Viet. c. 37): the district includes part of the township of Darlington, and also part of the township of Blackwell: the church is a building of stone, in the Early English style, erected in 1847-8 at a cost of about £4,000, from designs by the late Mr. John Middleton, architect, and consists of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, south porch, and a lofty western tower containing 6 bells: the east window and several others are stained; the pulpit, of Caen stone, richly arcaded, was presented by the architect: the font was a gift in 1848 from Archdeacon Charles Thorpe D.D.; the communion plate was presented at a cost of £80, by R. H. Allan esq. of Blackwell Hall, and bears his arms: the church was consecrated 16 July, 1853, and has about 650 sittings. The register dates from the year 1845. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value £320, with house, in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Durham alternately, and held since 1886 by the Rev. Alfred Boot M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge. The parsonage adjoining the church is built of red brick with stone dressings, and was erected in 1855 from the designs of Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect, of Darlington. The population in 1881 was 9,775.

The ecclesiastical parish of St. Luke was formed August 15, 1884, from the parishes of St. Paul’s, Holy Trinity and St. Cuthbert: the church, situated in Leadenhall street, was erected in 1883 from designs by Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect, of Darlington, at a total cost of £3,000, and is a building of stone in the Early Decorated style, consisting of chancel, nave, organ chamber and vestry, and a turret at the west end containing one bell: there are 450 sittings. The register dates from the year 1884. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £252, in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Durham alternately, and held since 1884 by the Rev. William Peacock L.Th. of the University of Durham.

St. Paul’s is an ecclesiastical parish, formed out of St. Cuthfcert’s and Holy Trinity parishes, Sept. 15, 1868: the Church, situated on the North road, was erected in 1871-2, from designs by Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect, of Darlington, at a cost of £4,000, and is an edifice of stone in the Early Decorated style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave aisles, south porch, and an embattled western tower with pinnacles and spire and containing one bell: there are sittings for 620 persons. The register dates from the year 1872. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £300 with house, in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Durham alternately, and held since 1868 by the Rev. Edmund Hutchinson M.A. of Bishop Hatfield’s Hall, Durham. The population in 1881 was 8,055.

The Catholic church, dedicated to St. Augustine, in Coniscliffe road, erected in 1827, is an edifice in a debased Gothic style, from designs by Ignatius Bonomi esq.: it has been enlarged and a new sanctuary added: the panelled oak ceiling is in harmony with the general style of the building.

A Catholic school chapel, situated in Barton street, Albert hill, was erected in 1870, and is a small building in the Gothic style, dedicated to SS. William and Francis of Sales.

Carmel House Convent, formerly known as “Cockerton Field House,” is occupied by a community of Carmelite or Teresian nuns: the community consists of about twenty members. The chapel, erected about 1854, and dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph, is an elegant structure in the Early English style: the east window is stained: the ceiling is richly ornamented with symbolic devices, and there are altar screens, highly finished: attached to the convent are about 25 acres of land; lady prioress, Miss Burke; chaplain, Rev. William Graham.

St. Clare’s Abbey is the home of a community of religious women of the order of Poor Clares or Minoresses, first established at the Minories, in London, in 1293, and subsequently extended to various parts of the country: the nuns of this particular house are the successors of a number of English ladies who had formed themselves into a community of Poor Clares at Rouen, and at the first revolution in France, being treated with great cruelty and expelled the country they sought refuge, first at Haggerstone Castle (Northumb.) then at Scorton (Yorks.), and finally removed to Darlington in 1857, where they continued the life and work in which they are stiil engaged.

The Abbey church, dedicated to our Blessed Lady and St. Clare, is a cruciform edifice of brick with stone dressings in the Early English and Decorated styles, consisting of sanctuary, choir, and a belfry containing 2 bells: the windows are filled with stained glass representing saints of the order: the sanctuary is separated from the choir by a screen of carved stone, the open portions being filled in with light iron grilles, and the upper stage is surmounted by a handsome carved tabernacle work rising to the roof; the reredos and altar are also of stone, very beautifully carved, and the panels of the latter, divided by marble columns, contain representations of the “Crucifixion," and figures of St. Francis and St. Clare, with monks and nuns.

The Baptist chapel, Grange road, is a substantial building of stone, erected by subscription in 1871: it contains an excellent organ, and will seat about 700 persons.

The Congregational church, in Union street, built in 1862, from designs by Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect, at a cost of £2,500, on the site of a former chapel erected in 1812, is an edifice in the Late Decorated style, consisting of nave, with aisles and a lantern tower, surmounted by a spire, which rises to a height of 100 feet, and will seat about 600 adults: Sunday schools and a lecture room were erected adjoining in 1875 from plans by the same architect.

St. George’s Presbyterian church, Northgate, erected in 1865, at a cost of upwards of £4,000, is a building in the Early Decorated style, and has a tower surmounted by a graceful spire.

The Friends’ Meeting House, in Skinnergate, will seat nearly 1,000 persons: attached is a cemetery: the Society of Friends have long formed a numerous and influential body in the town of Darlington and its neighbourhood.

The Primitive Methodist chapel, in Queen street, now used as a lay church, was erected in 1821-2, and has sittings for about 600 persons.

The Wesleyan Methodist chapel, Bondgate, erected in 1812, at a cost of £4,000, is an edifice of brick with stone dressings, in the Italian style, from designs by Mr. Jenkins, architect, of London; the organ was erected in 1840, at a cost of £300, and the chapel has been renovated at a cost of £3,900: the Wesleyan chapel on the North road is a substantial building in the Italian style, erected at a cost of £4,000, and will seat 1,400 people: there is a third Wesleyan chapel, in Louisa street, Bank Top.

The Free Methodist chapel, situated in Paradise terrace, was erected in 1840, at a cost of £2,700, and has upwards of 700 sittings. Another Free Methodist chapel has been built at a cost of £2,800, at Albert hill.

The West Cemetery, situated about a mile from the centre of the town, originally comprised 12 acres, to which 10 acres more have since been added; about one-half the ground has been consecrated, the remainder being reserved for the use of Nonconformists: there are two chapels in the Late Decorated style, from designs by Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect, of Darlington, attached by porches to a central tower surmounted by an octagonal lantern containing one bell: the portion of the ground allotted for the Established Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Durham on Tuesday, April 27, 1858, and further portions have since been consecrated, March 5, 1872; May, 1878, and in 1886.

The North Cemetery, on the North road, situated about a mile and a half from the centre of the town and opened in 1877, comprises an area of about 14 acres, almost equally divided among the Established Church, Dissenters and Catholics, one portion being still unappropriated: there are two chapels, in the Gothic style, designed by Mr. Georgs Gordon Hoskins F.R.I.B.A. and united by a handsome tower with spire about 100 feet high, with a groined archway beneath: there is also a custodian’s lodge and an entrance lodge: in the centre of the cemetery stands a beautiful memorial of freestone and Sicilian marble, erected in 1877, from the designs of Mr. Hoskins, at the cost of the Corporation of Darlington, in recognition of the gift to the town of this cemetery by Joseph Whitwell Pease esq. M.P. Edward Pease, Arthur Pease, Gurney Pease and Charles Pease, in memory of their late father, Joseph Pease, of South End, Darlington, formerly member of Parliament for the southern division of the county of Durham, who died February 8, 1872; the total estimated cost of the land and buildings was £20,000.

The cemeteries are under the control of 10 members of the Park and Cemeteries committee.

The Town Hall, situate in the Horse Market, was taken down in 1862, and a large covered market and public offices were erected on its site from designs by Alfred Waterhouse esq. architect, of London; the building includes a handsome tower, containing a striking clock, the gift of the late Joseph Pease esq.

The Corporation insignia include a mace and borough and mayoral seals; the mace, 3 feet 2 ½ inches in length, has an ebony shaft, with silver gilt knops and base; the head, also silver gilt, has on its sides the arms, crest and motto of the borough and the date of incorporation, 1867; the circlet round the top is composed of four St. Cuthbert’s crosses, four roses and eight initial letters D interlinked, from the crosses spring the open arches of the crown, which is surmounted by an orb, having the borough crest above it, boldly modelled; below the fillet is an inscription recording the gift of the mace to the corporation, by John Morrell, mayor, March 3, 1881: the borough seal is merely an embossing stamp with the town arms and motto, and representations of a blast furnace and of the parish church, with a legend; the mayor’s seal also has the same arms: the mayor’s robes are of black silk with facings of purple velvet and a collar of sable fur, the whole being lined with crimson silk, and he also wears a cocked hat, but the other members of the corporation, save the town clerk, wear 110 robes; the mayor’s sergeant has a distinctive livery.

The Corn Exchange, situated in Feethams, was erected in 1888, at a cost of £435, exclusive of the land, and is an iron structure, also used for public meetings.

The Cattle Market, situated near Bank Top station, and erected in 1878, at a cost of £17,911, has extensive accommodation; in connection with it is an auction mart.

The Central Buildings, situate in the Horse market, erected in 1846, at a cost of about £7,000, are of brick, and include, on the upper floor, a large hall for public meetings, with stained windows, and a gallery at one end; other portions of the structure are assigned to various public and private offices.

The Freemasons’ Hall, in Archer street, formerly a Baptist chapel, was occupied by the Freemasons in 1870; here two Craft Lodges, one Mark Lodge, one Royal Arch Chapter, one Preceptory of Knights Templar, and one Rose Croix Chapter meet.

The Police Station, situated in Northgate, and erected in 1867, is a stone building, with suitable rooms for the magistrates and dwellings for constables, and has also cells for prisoners.

The Darlington Fire Brigade station is in the New market; the force consists of a captain, superintendent, 3 engineers, 21 paid men and boys and 4 call boys, and the plant comprises 1 steam fire engine, presented by Joseph Pease esq., 2 manuals, and a fire escape and other apparatus.

Here are the head quarters of the D and E Companies of the 1st Volunteer Battalion Durham Light Infantry.

The Public Baths, in Kendrew street, were erected in 1850, by private subscription, at a cost of £2,500, but now belong to the corporation, who, in 1889, covered in the swimming bath, previously open, and effected other improvements, at a cost of £1,600.

The principal manufactures of Darlington are iron and worsted; here are the extensive worsted mills of Messrs. H. Pease and Co.’s successors; the works of the Darlington Steel and Iron Company, the Darlington Forge Company, and Messrs. Fry, I’anson and Co. besides other iron and brass foundries; malting and tanning are also carried on.

Four banks, exclusive of the Savings Bank, are established at Darlington, viz.: Messrs. Backhouse and Co. and a branch of the National Provincial Bank of England, both in the High row; the York City and County Bank, in Prospect place; and that of Messrs. J. and J. W. Pease, in Northgate.

The principal market is held weekly, on Monday; a market is also held every Friday for the sale of eggs, butter and poultry, and a general market every Saturday. Fairs for cattle are held every Monday; other fairs for the sale of cattle, sheep and horses are held on the first Monday in March, Easter Monday, Whit Monday and second Monday after Whit Monday, 10th November, and second Monday after the latter day.

Darlington ranks pre-eminent in connection with the introduction of railways into the United Kingdom; the Stockton and Darlington railway connecting those towns being the first constructed, for which Mr. Pease, of Darlington, obtained an Act. of Parliament in 1820, to be worked " with men and horses, or otherwise;” on the recommendation of George Stephenson, the celebrated engineer, the proprietors agreed to make it as a railway and not as a tramroad. Mr. Stephenson had begun the work in May, 1822, and in 1823, an amended. Act was procured for working the line with locomotives, and it was opened in May, 1825, an engine invented and driven by himself then drawing a load of 90 tons at the rate of more than eight miles an hour; this line proved highly successful, for besides carrying a large amount of goods, a passenger traffic arose that had been wholly unthought of; this railway led to the foundation of the town and port of Middlesbrough, on the Yorkshire side of the Tees, and it was in 1824, during its construction, that Greorge Stephenson proposed to Mr. Pease, of Darlington, the establishment of an engine factory at Newcastle, which for a considerable time was the only locomotive engine factory in the kingdom.

The Edward Pease Public Library, in Crown and East streets, founded by the late Edward Pease esq. of Greencroft west, Darlington, and Bewdley, in the county of Worcester, and opened October 23, 1885, by Lady Lymington, the only child of the donor, is a structure of red pressed bricks from Grosmont, near Whitby, and red Dufton and Newbiggin stone, in the Renaissance style, from the designs of Mr. G. G. Hoskins F.R.I.B.A.: over the porch are carved the borough arms and motto, and in the centre of the vestibule, on a marble pedestal, is placed a bust in white marble of the late Mr. Edward Pease, executed by Mr. Frank Priestman, a local sculptor; the pedestal bears a suitable inscription: the screen between the vestibule and the lending library is partially filled with stained glass, including various symbolical figures intended to represent the different local industries, presided over by the genius of progress: the lending library, 57 by 29 feet, will hold 32,000 volumes: the general reading room, 51 by 29 feet, is specially fitted with various contrivances for readers, and its windows are filled with stained glass: the reference library, 36 by 29 feet, will hold 3.000 volumes, and there is a ladies’ reading room and a committee or writing room: the total number of books contained in the library at the present time (1889) amounts to 15.000 volumes, and the issue of books for home reading Teaches nearly 100,000 volumes annually.

The Mechanics’ Institute, Skinnergate, first founded in 1825, and re-established in 1840, is a fine edifice, erected in 1853, at a cost of £2,400, and since enlarged at a cost of £2,600, from the designs of Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect: the building comprises a reading-room on the ground floor, library, committee and class rooms, lecture hall and various offices: the library contains upwards of 3,000 volumes, and the reading-room is well supplied with the various newspapers and periodicals: there are now (1889) about 60 members: the Government School of Art is also carried on here.

The new theatre, erected in Northgate, at a cost of £6,000, on the site of the old one, burned down in 1883, was opened in May, 1887, and will seat 2,500 people.

The Savings Bank, Tubwell row, is in the Italian style, built of stone; Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect.

The charities are numerous and for various purposes, and amount to a considerable sum annually.

The Darlington New Hospital and Dispensary, situated in Green Bank road, and opened in 1884, was erected from the designs of Mr. G. G. Hoskins F.R.I.B.A. and is supported by voluntary subscriptions and donations, together with the interest of funded property, amounting to about £6,000, and has beds for 22 in-patients. The building contains the usual rooms for patients, dormitories &c. and the administrative portion has been planned sufficiently large to meet the requirements of any future addition.

The Fever Hospital, situated on the Yarm road, and opened in 1874, was erected by the Corporation from designs by Mr. G. G. Hoskins F.B.I.B.A. of Darlington. The building is substantially constructed of brickwork, all the external walls being 14 inches in thickness, with dressings of Dunhouse stone, and contains the usual wards for patients and other requisite rooms and offices. The grounds around are laid out as a garden and kept in good order. The disinfecting apparatus in use is “Nelson’s Stove.’’ The tota cost incurred in connection with the erection of the hospital was £10,745 5s.; of this sum, however, £2,465 was, unde an order of the Local Government Board, handed over to the Urban Sanitary Authority by the guardians: a further sum of £3,197 was raised by public subscriptions, reducing the actual cost to the Corporation to £5,082: the hospital contains 56 beds: Mr. James L. Lawrence, Victoria road, is medical officer.

The Training Home for Servants in Elton parade, was erected in 1876-7, from designs by Mr. G. G. Hoskins, architect, at the sole cost of Mrs. J. B. Hodgkin, by whom it is supported: the home provides board and lodging for 18 girls, and is under the supervision of Miss Outhwaite, matron: the inmates are instructed in cooking and various other household duties, and also receive a fair education from a resident schoolmistress.

The Public Park, situated about a quarter of a mile south of the town, was formed in 1853, under the auspices of the Local Board, and comprises about 20 acres: two cottages have been built for the park keepers, and a bridge across the Skerne affords an easy access to the grounds from Grange road: in 1881 the park was enlarged by the addition of 24 acres of land: a new approach, forming a promenade by the side of the Skerne, has been made from Victoria road.

William Bewick, historical and portrait painter, and pupil of Haydon, was born here Oct. 20, 1795.

The manor of Darlington was granted in 1003 to the Bishops of Durham by Styr, son of Ulphus.

The area of the township of Darlington is 3,350 acres; rateable value, £145,416; the population of the parliamentary borough in 1881 was 33,424, and of the municipal borough 35,100.

Petty Sessions are held at the Police court, Northgate, every fourth Monday, at 12 noon. The following places are included in the division :-Archdeacon Newton, Great Aycliffe, School Aycliffe, Barmpton, Blackwell, Brafferton, Great Bar don, Coatham Mundeville, Cockerton, High Coniscliffe, Low Coniscliffe, Darlington, Denton, Dinsdale, Haughton-le-Skerne, Heisrhington, Houghton-le-Side, Hurworth, Killerby, Middleton St. George, Morton Palms, Neasham, Piercebridge, Preston-le-Skerne, Redworth, Sadberge, Sockburn, Summerhouse, Whessoe, Woodham (Ferryhill), Walworth.

Darlington Union

Board day, every alternate Monday, at the Board room, the Workhouse, Yarm road, at 10 a.m.

Darlington union has an area of 61,493 acres; rateable value, £278,278; with a population in 1881 of 47,671, & comprises the following places :-Archdeacon Newton, Barmpton, Barton (N. R. Yorks), Blackwell, Brafferton, Cleasby, Cliffe, Coatham Mundeville, Cockerton, Croft (N. R. Yorks), Dalton-upon-Tees (N. R. Yorks), Darlington., Denton, Eryholme (N. R. Yorks), Girsby (N. R. Yorks), Great Aycliffe, Great Burdon, Haughton-le-Skerne, Heighington, High Coniscliffe, Houghton-le-Side, Hurworth, Killerby, Low Coniscliffe, Low Dinsdale, Manfield (N. R. Yorks), Middleton St. George, Morton Palms, Neasham, Newton Morrell (N. R. Yorks), Over Dinsdale (N. R. Yorks), Piercebridge, Redworth, Sadberge, School Aycliffe, Sockburn, Stapleton (N. R. Yorks), Summerhouse, Walworth & Whessoe.

Places of Worship, with times of Services

St. Cuthbert’s Parish Church, Rev. Thomas Edward Hodgson M:A. vicar; 8 & 10.30 a.m. & 3 & 6 p.m.; Wed. 7 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.

Holy Trinity Church, Woodland road, Rev. Arthur H. Hughes M.A. vicar; Rev. Edward James Taylor, curate; 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

St. Hilda’s Church, Park gate, Rev. W. Gore-Browne M.A. vicar; 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; holy communion, 8 a.m. & mid-day, 1st sun. in month; week days, morning service, 8 a.m.; evening, 7 p.m.; celebration of holy communion, 8 a.m. Thur.

St. James’ Church, Haughton road, Rev. Christopher-Gibson Davis B.A. vicar; 8 & 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

St. John’s Church, Neasham road, Rev. Alfred Boot M.A. vicar; Rev. Edward Kirby B.A. curate; 7.45 & 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; daily, 7.45 a.m. & 7 p.m.

St. Paul’s Church, North road, Rev. Edmund Hutchinson M.A. vicar; Rev. W. Loney, curate; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

St. Luke’s Church, Leadenhall street, Rev. William Peacock, incumbent; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Tues. 7.30 p.m.

St. James’ Mission Room, Vulcan street; Mon. & Thur. 7.30 p.m.

Christian Lay Church, Queen street; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Mon. 7 p.m.

St. Augustine’s Catholic, Coniscliffe road, Very Rev. Canon, James Rooney M.R.V.G. & Rev. Michael Barron, priests St. William’s Catholic, Barton street; 8.30 & 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; daily, 8 a.m.; Fri. 7.30 p.m.

St. George’s Presbyterian, Northgate,. Rev. R. W. R. Rentoul B.A. minister; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Mon. 7 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

Baptist, Grange road, Rev. James Duncan, minister; 10.30. a.m. & 6 p.m.; Mon. 7.30 p.m.

Congregational, Union street, Rev. Henry Kendall, minister; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

Methodist New Connexion, Victoria road, Rev. David Bailey, minister; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Mon. & sat. 7 p.m.

Methodist New Connexion Mission, Albert road.

Primitive Methodists, Darlington circuit, Rev. Henry Clark, circuit minister; Woodland road, Greenbank, 10:30 a.m. & 2 & 6 p.m.; Mon. 7.45 p.m.; Wed. 7 p.m.; Fri. 7.30 p.m.; Jane street, Rise Carr, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; every alternate Tues. 7 p.m.; Haughton rd. Albert hill, 6 p.m.

Plymouth Brethren Meeting House, Park place, 10.30 a.m. & 3 & 6 p.m.; Mon. 7.30 p.m.

Society of Friends’ Meeting House, Skinnergate, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Thur. 10.30 a.m.

Unitarian, Lead yard, ministers various; 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

United Methodist Free Church, Darlington circuit, Rev. D. Irving, circuit minister; Coniscliffe road, Paradise, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Mon. 7 p.m.; Fri. 7.30 p.m.; Nestfield street, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Tues. 7.30 p.m.

Wesleyan Methodists, Bondgate circuit, Rev. Charles A. Collingwood, circuit minister; Bondgate, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Wed. 7 p.m.; North road circuit, Rev. Robert Stephenson B.A. circuit minister; North road, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Thur. 7 p.m.; Louisa street, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Tues. 7 p.m.; Lowson street, 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Fri. 7 p.m.

Schools

The Darlington Grammar School, Vane terrace, was founded by Queen Elizabeth, by letters patent dated the 15th June, 1563, for the education of boys. The school was reorganized by the endowed Schools Commissioners in 1874, & rebuilt in 1876 at a cost of £13,500, raised by subscription, & is a structure in the Gothic style, from designs of Mr. George Gordon Hoskins F.R.I.B.A. of Darlington, the principal front, about 180 feet in length, includes a tower, the lower stage of which forms a porch; & above the entrance is a life-size bust of Queen Elizabeth: the buildings contain the usual school & class-rooms, dormitories & a headmaster’s house, & are available for 200 pupils: the school is endowed with lands, the revenue of which amounts to about £220 yearly, & to this a sum of £50 a year has been added out of Poor Howdens or Bellassis Charity, & is employed in providing six Bellassis scholarships (of the value of the annual tuition fees) tenable from one to three years at the school: there are also four Queen Elizabeth scholarships of similar value, each tenable for one year at the school; three Chapman & Ward scholarships, of like value, open to boys from the elementary schools of Darlington & Hurworth, & tenable for three years; six Richardson scholarships, also representing a remission of tuition fees, open to boys from elementary schools in South Durham, Cleveland & parts of Yorkshire, & tenable for three years, & five George Stephenson scholarships, similarly endowed & tenable for three years by boys under 11, being sons of persons in the employ of the North Eastern Railway Co.: there are also three exhibitions of £40 for three years, tenable at any place of higher education; Philip Wood M.A. headmaster; A. M. Massingham M.A. Oxford, W. C. Anderson M.A. St. Andrew’s, A. V. Gregoire, Trinity College, Dublin, W. E. Barraerman B.A. St. John’s College, Cambridge, W. Newman B.A. London, H. E. O. Muller Ph.D. Berlin & J. W. Marshall, assist.-mastrs.

Government School of Art, Mechanics’ Institution.

The British & Foreign North of England Training College for Schoolmistresses, Vane terrace, situated at the west of the town, is a handsome red brick building in the form of the letter H, from designs by Mr. J. P. Pritchett, architect, of Darlington: it was erected in 1875, at a cost of about £13,000, exclusive of site, & was enlarged, in 1883, by the addition of sick & convalescent rooms; in 1888 a practising school, for 210 children of the middle class, was erected, at a cost of £2,000, exclusive of site; the buildings include a lecture hall 56ft. by 30ft. dining hall, four classrooms, principal’s Sc governesses’ rooms, dormitories for 76 students & spacious kitchens & servants’ offices; Wm. A. Spafford M.A. principal; Mrs. W. A. Spafford, lady supt.

School Board formed January 13, 1871, & consisting of 11 members; offices, Houndgate; Francis Thomas Steavenson, Houndgate, clerk; Robt. Francis Laidler, 10 Houndgate, accountant; Edward Price, High row, treasurer; Horace St. Paul Armstrong, Salisbury terrace & James H. Davey, 32 Wooler street, wardens.

Board Schools.

Albert road, built in 1867, for 574 children; average attendance, 570.

Beaumont Street Central (mixed & infants), for 1,000 children; average attendance, 735.

Brunswick Street (mixed), rebuilt in 1887, for 240 children; average attendance, 170; (infants) for 233 children: average attendance, 130.

Harrowgate Hill,Lowson street (senior, mixed), built in 1873, for 150 children; average attendance, 138.

Harrowgate Hill, Lowson street (junior, mixed & infants), built in 1873, for 213 children; average attendance, 180.

Kendrew Street (girls), built for 216 children; average attendance, 216; (infants) built for 216 children; average attendance, 160.

Rise Carr, Whessoe lane (mixed), built for 236 children; average attendance, 200.

National Schools.

St. Cuthbert’s, Lead yard (mixed & infants), built in 1824, for 200 boys; 140 girls & 180 infants; average attendance, 162 boys; 110 girls & 112 infants.

St. John’s, Yarm road (mixed), built in 1884 & enlarged in 1889, for 533 children; average attendance, 387; (infants) for 218 children; average attendance, 168.

St. Paul’s, Westmoreland street (mixed & infants), for 800 children; average attendance, 650.

Trinity, Union street (boys), for 220 boys; average attend ance, 150.

Trinity, Commercial street (girls & infants), for 248 children; average attendance, 154.

Gurney Pease Memorial, Dodsworth street, Albert hill (mixed & infants), built in 1873, Sc enlarged in 1887, for 500 children; average attendance, 360.

Bondgate (Wesleyan), for 629 children; average attendance, 285 boys, 152 girls & 152 infants.

Catholic Schools.

St. Augustine, Coniscliffe road, rebuilt in 1879-80, for 650 children; average attendance, 400.

St.William’s, Barton st. Albert hill (mixed), for 300 children; average attendance, 260; sisters of charity of St. Paul’s.