Parish in County Durham, England
| Coordinates: | 54.631, -1.653 |
|---|---|
| OS grid ref: | NZ 22 26 |
| Population: | 9,976 |
Shildon is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, set on the edge of the old Durham coalfield between Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe. The surrounding landscape is the mix of reclaimed industrial land and rolling northeast Pennine foothills typical of the area, and its position gave it good road links for commuting while retaining a strong local character.
Its identity is closely tied to early railway history: the town was a centre for locomotive building and is associated with engineers such as Timothy Hackworth and the pioneering Stockton and Darlington Railway. The Locomotion museum and related heritage projects have become focal points for regeneration, shifting the economy from coal and heavy engineering towards heritage tourism, light industry and services, and sustaining a civic pride in the town’s historic role in Britain’s transport revolution.
DL4 1HQ, DL4 2LP, DL4 1ND, DL4 1AS, DL4 1JW, DL4 2BL, DL4 1JF, DL4 2AY, DL4 2LW … See all