Durham (comté)

Le comté de Durham (prononcé : [ˈdʌrəm] ou, localement, [ˈdʊrəm]) se situe dans le nord-est de l'Angleterre. Sa capitale est Durham.

La plupart du comté est sous l'administration du Durham County Council (le conseil du comté de Durham). Le County Council était auparavant un conseil administratif de niveau supérieur pour le comté non métropolitain ; mais en 2009, à travers un processus qui a entraîné l'abolition des districts de Durham, il est devenue la seule autorité locale pour le territoire qu'il administre. Le reste du comté se compose de la région de Tees Valley, qui comprend: Darlington, Hartlepool et une partie de Stockton-on-Tees. Le comté est parfois connu comme le comté de Palatin de Durham, en raison de l'importance de la cathédrale de Durham. Cela comprend normalement d'autres endroits historiquement dans le comté, comme Gateshead et Sunderland. Outre les sites historiques de la ville de Durham, le comté est également bien connu pour son université et son patrimoine minier.

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County Durham

County Durham, or Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington. The county has an area of 2,676 square kilometres (1,033 sq mi) and had a population of 894,025 in 2024. The centre and east of the county are more densely populated than the west, and the major settlements include Hartlepool on the south-east coast, Stockton-on-Tees in the south-east, Darlington in the south, and the city of Durham in the north-centre. Stockton-on-Tees is part of the Teesside conurbation, which extends into North Yorkshire. Barnard Castle is the largest town in the west of the county. For local government purposes the county comprises the unitary authority areas of County Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, and part of Stockton-on-Tees. Durham County Council is part of the North East Combined Authority, and the councils of the other three areas are part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne was historically part of County Durham, and the part of Durham south of the River Tees was historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire. The west of the county contains part of the North Pennines uplands, a national landscape. The hills are the source of the rivers Tees and Wear, which flow east and form the valleys of Teesdale and Weardale respectively. The east of the county is flatter, and the two rivers meander through it; the Tees forms the boundary with North Yorkshire in its lower reaches, and the Wear exits the county near Chester-le-Street in the north-east. The county's coast is characterised by tall limestone and dolomite cliffs and is a site of special scientific interest. What is now County Durham was on the border of Roman Britain, and contains survivals of this era at sites such as Binchester Roman Fort. In the Anglo-Saxon period the region was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. In 995 the city of Durham was founded by monks seeking a place safe from Viking raids to house the relics of St Cuthbert. Durham Cathedral was rebuilt after the Norman Conquest, and together with Durham Castle is now a World Heritage Site. By the late Middle Ages the county was governed semi-independently by the bishops of Durham and was also a buffer zone between England and Scotland. County Durham became heavily industrialised in the nineteenth century, when many collieries opened on the Durham coalfield. The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, opened in 1825. Most collieries closed during the last quarter of the twentieth century, but the county's coal mining heritage is remembered in the annual Durham Miners' Gala.

Hamsterley, Bishop Auckland

Hamsterley is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles west of Bishop Auckland. The village lies on a rise above the upper reaches of the Wear valley. To the west of the village the land rises to Hamsterley Common at the eastern edge of the fell country which lies between the valleys of the Wear and the Tees. In the centre of the village is a pub called the Cross Keys. Near to the village is Dryderdale Hall, a grade II listed mansion built in 1872 by the architect Alfred Waterhouse for the Backhouse family. It was used as a location for the filming of Get Carter. Hamsterley has a population of around 550, measured as 445 at the 2011 Census. An episode of Time Team in 2008 examined a large stone structure in nearby Hamsterley Forest known as "the Castles", with walls five metres thick. It appears to date from the late Iron Age and may have been an animal enclosure. However the thickness of the walls suggests a more defensible purpose.

Bedburn Beck

Bedburn Beck is a 16.8 kilometres (10.4 mi) long, upper tributary of the River Wear in County Durham, England. The beck and its tributaries, including the Euden, Harthorpe and South Grain becks, have a catchment of 76 square kilometres (29 sq mi), much of which is covered by the coniferous Hamsterley Forest.

3.7 km

South Side, County Durham

South Side is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Butterknowle, a few miles west of Bishop Auckland.

Neighbourhood

Witton-le-Wear

Witton-le-Wear is a village in County Durham, North East England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Wear, 6 km (3.7 mi) to the north-west of Bishop Auckland.