Haughton-le-Skerne is a village in the borough of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, England. It is situated in the north east of

. The village lies to the west of the

River Skerne The River Skerne is a tributary of the River Tees. It flows through County Durham in England. Course The Skerne is about long and begins in Magnesian Limestone hills between Trimdon and Trimdon Grange and ends at Hurworth Place where it ...

. At the centre of the

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

, is the main road towards Darlington town centre going across the river, south of the church. There used to be a linen mill on the riverbank on the east side of the village. Part of the mill leat can still be seen today. St Andrew's Church at the west end of the village green is the oldest church in Darlington, circa 1125. Some of the stones may have originated in a previous church on the same site. Parts of the existing

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

have monastic ruins built into the foundation and some inner walls, speculated to be evidence of an earlier building on this site. On the north side of Haughton-le-Skerne, a turnpike led over the river to the ports on the Tees

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

, carrying traffic including salt from the Bishop's salt mines. Haughton-le-Skerne is now connected to a large suburb of Darlington, with areas including Springfield and Whinfield. The community was referred to in the ITV series ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

'' as it was the location where Mrs. Beryl Patmore ( Lesley Nicol) would find a cottage which would serve as a boarding house, and when she retired, would serve as her home for her retirement days.

John Wrightson Professor John Wrightson Chemical Society, FCS, Royal Agricultural University, MRAC (1840 – 30 November 1916) was a British agriculturalist and the founder of Downton Agricultural College (1880–1906) at Downton, Wiltshire, Downton in Wilt ...

(1840-1916), founder of Downton Agricultural College and great grandfather of ''Downton'' writer

Julian Fellowes Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford (born 17 August 1949), known professionally as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, writer, producer, film director, and Conservative peer. He has received nume ...

was born in the village.

Governance

In 1921 the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

had a population of 664. On 1 October 1930 the parish was abolished and merged with Darlington and

Barmpton Barmpton is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are maintained in the parish of Great Burdon. It ...

. It is now in the

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

of Darlington.

Notable people

Frances Simpson Frances Simpson (ca. 1857 – 1926) was an English writer, journalist, cat show judge, and cat breeder. She was a fervent supporter of blue Persians, which she promoted, notably by exhibiting her pair at the Crystal Palace, and for having writt ...

(ca. 1857 - 1926), English writer, journalist, cat show judge, and cat breeder

References

Suburbs of Darlington Former civil parishes in County Durham {{Durham-geo-stub