Hurworth-on-Tees 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" ...

, within 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 ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, England. It is situated in 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 ...

of Hurworth. The village lies to the south of

on the

River Tees The River Tees (), in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries ...

, close to its meeting point with 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 ...

, and immediately adjoins the village of Hurworth Place, which forms part of the same civil parish.

Amenities

The church of All Saints is situated in the middle of the village. There may have been a church on the site as early as the 12th century. The church was extensively rebuilt in the 1830s and again in 1871. There was a school at Hurworth before 1770, when it was refounded. Currently the village has two schools. Hurworth Primary School caters for around 250 children aged 4–11. The secondary school is called Hurworth School; it caters for around 650 students aged 11–16. There was also a small independent school, Hurworth House School, which closed in the summer of 2010. The Hurworth Grange Community Centre is based in a manor house built in 1875 by the Backhouse family. Facilities include the large hall, meeting rooms, lounge bar, sports hall, football pitch, children's play area, of grounds and a concrete skateboard ramp. Hurworth Grange was once visited by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

; it is claimed that 'The Roman Centurion's Song' is based on a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

he saw there. The village has a number of other amenities including a

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

, village shop pubs, a garage, community karate club (Kyosho Karate) and a residential home.

Demographics

Transport

The

A167 road The A167 and A167(M) is a road in North East England. It is partially a trunk road and partially a motorway, where it is commonly referred to as Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle Central Motorway. Most of the road's route was formerly that of the ...

crosses the River Tees via Croft Bridge on its way towards Darlington, passing through Hurworth Place. The bridge was built on the site of an older one in 1673. The bridge has been closed to traffic many times in recent decades because of flooding of the Tees due to heavy rainfall in

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, located principally in County Durham, North East England. It is one of the Durham Dales, which are themselves part of the North Pennines, the northernmost part of the Pennine uplands. The dale is named after ...

. The fourth of the seven arches on the bridge marks the boundary between

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and County Durham. The

Stockton and Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...

Company opened a branch line in 1829 which ran from Darlington and terminated within Hurworth parish, close to Croft Bridge. The settlement that grew up around it became known as Hurworth Place, described in 1834 as a hamlet in the township of Hurworth, growing rapidly under the influence of the railhead and coal depot. In 1841, the

Great North of England Railway The Great North of England Railway (GNER) was an early British railway company. Its main line, opened in 1841 was between York and Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the ...

opened the main line between Darlington and York, passing through Hurworth parish; the previous branch line and terminus remained as goods facilities. A passenger station was built on the new line in Hurworth Place, although it was named Croft Station and later renamed Croft Spa Station after the village of Croft-on-Tees which faces Hurworth Place on the opposite bank of the Tees. The branch line and goods yard, by then known as Croft Depot, closed in 1964, and Croft Spa station closed in 1969, but the line remains, forming part of the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

between

and

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...

. When travelling on the East Coast Main Line it is possible to see Rockliffe Park training ground, which lies to the east of the village. It is the training ground for

Middlesbrough FC Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Nicknamed the Boro, they were fo ...

History

There has been a settlement at Hurworth since at least as far back as the 12th century. The estate that Hurworth was part of has changed hands many times over the centuries. In 1665, the Great Plague almost wiped out the village population of 750 leaving only around 75 survivors. The plague struck many other nearby villages including Birkby and South Cowton. Three dips in the village green mark the site where as many as 1,500 people were buried in massive lime pits. According to old records, bodies from other nearby villages were ferried across the River Tees for burial in Hurworth. Perhaps the most famous person to have lived in Hurworth was William Emerson, an eminent mathematician born in Hurworth in 1701. He was educated at

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and then devoted himself to mathematics. He died at Hurworth in 1782 and has a monument in the church of All Saints.

References

External links