County Dossier
Durham
Church, castle and borderland wrapped together.
County Durham is a maritime county in north-east England, stretching from the North Sea to the Pennines, and from the Tyne and Derwent rivers to the Tees.
At a glance
Durham at a glance
Church, castle and borderland wrapped together.
- Origins St Cuthbert's shrine
- Bishop’s county palatine
- Special legal status >11C
- Area: 1,022 sq miles / 2,647 km²
- Population: 1,467,037
- County top: Burnhope Seat 2,447 ft / 746 m
County Geography
Durham meets Northumberland on the north, Yorkshire on the south, Cumberland and Westmorland on the west, and the North Sea on the east. The county is organised by the Tyne and Tees frame, the Wear valley, and the rise into the dales.
Coast, river valleys, and Pennine ascent give Durham a strong territorial form.
Map Reference
View Durham on the map
Durham is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Durham, Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Hartlepool, and Barnard Castle show the county from cathedral city and inland market centre to south-county rail town, sea port, and western dale gateway.
Connections
The county’s movement lines run along the Wear and Tees valleys, across the coalfield, and west into the dales.
Names
- Durham
- County Durham
- County of Durham
County Durham is the formal historical style. Durham remains the ordinary county name, while County of Durham survives in documentary usage.
Durham’s older palatine history deepened the county’s identity, but it did not create the county. Tyne, Tees, coast, coalfield, and dale still give Durham a clear county frame.