The following is a timeline of the history of County Durham, England.
2nd Century 120-122 Pons Aelius a small Roman fort and bridge (linking to the Gateshead side of the River Tyne) was established in what is now Newcastle upon Tyne
6th century 550s 559 Ida of Bernicia is the first known King of Bernicia; he reigned from 547 to 559. 590s 593 Æthelfrith became king of Bernicia, with its capital in Bamburgh
7th century 600s 604 Æthelfrith, king of Bernicia, took control of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Deira to form Northumbria
610s 613 Æthelfrith engaged in the Battle of Chester. 617 Eadwine became king of the united realms of Bernicia and Deira
650s 653 Bede refers to Utta as Abbot of Gateshead
9th century 870s 875 Vikings under Halfdan Ragnarsson sailed into the River Tyne and sacked monasteries at Tynemouth and Jarrow, before anchoring at the mouth of the River Team in Gateshead 880s 883 Shrine of Saint Cuthbert was established at Chester-le-Street
10th century 910s 915 Ealdred I of Bernicia and Constantine II of Scotland are defeated by Vikings in the first Battle of Corbridge
990s 995 Monks from Lindisfarne found a suitable resting place for the remains of St Cuthbert in Durham
11th century 1000s 1003 Darlington became part of the patrimony of St Cuthbert 1060s 1069 William I ruthlessly suppressed opposition in the Harrying of the North in Northumbria and Durham 1070s 1070 William I recognised the natural strength of Durham's site and began to construct a castle 1080s 1080 A church near the site of the current St Mary's Church in Gateshead was burned down by an angry mob with the Bishop of Durham inside
12th century 1130s 1139 Under the terms of the Treaty of Durham, Northumberland, with the exception of Newcastle and Bamburgh, was ceded to Scottish rule 1180s 1183 The Boldon Book, a rental survey of the bishopric of Durham was made for Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham
13th century 1240s 1242 Fire destroyed the wooden bridge over the River Tyne 1248 After fire destroyed the wooden bridge over the River Tyne, and much of the borough, a new stone bridge was eventually constructed
14th century 1330s 1339 A flood swept away the greater part of the stone bridge at Newcastle 1340s 1346 Thomas Menvill paid Bishop Hatfield an annual rent of 2s to build ships at Hendon, Sunderland (according to a 1697 copy of a document dated 1346) 1350s 1353 Newcastle became one of ten Staple towns, an Act of Parliament decreeing that 'no wools of growth in Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmorland, Durham, Richmond and Allerton, should be shipped anywhere but Newcastle' 1380s 1388 The Bishop of Durham camped at Elsdon on his way to Otterburn in Northumberland
16th century 1540s 1540 John Leland described the Bishop of Durham's deer park in Weardale as 'rudely enclosed with stone of a 12 or 14 miles in compass near Westgate and Eastgate' John Leland described Darlington as 'the best market town in the bishopric, saving Duresme' (Durham)
1550s 1553 Newcastle secured an Act in Parliament incorporating Gateshead into Newcastle, later repealed 1554 The Bishop of Durham had to cede quayside facilities in Gateshead to the mayor and corporation of Newcastle
17th century 1610s 1614 July: A Commission for 'conservancy of the river' (Tyne) was established by Order in Council made up of the Corporation of Newcastle, the Bishop of Durham and justices of the peace for the two counties (Durham & Northumberland) 1617 Newcastle secured the whole authority for conservancy of the Tyne, vested in the Mayor, six aldermen and certain members of the Merchant Company and Trinity House 1640s Sunderland shipbuilders included Frances Readhead and Roger Thornton at Bishopwearmouth Panns 1644 13 August: While Newcastle was besieged by the Scots, Lord Leven was quartered in Elswick and the Earl of Callendar at Gateshead 1670s 1671 An Act for the enclosure of the three open-fields of Bishop Auckland was enacted 1672 The Goodchilds of Pallion, Sunderland, a local landowning family, built small ships to transport lime produced in their kilns 1690s 1690 Ambrose Crowley, a Quaker nail-manufacturer, brought over German workmen to establish ironworking at Winlaton.
18th century 1700s 1704 The London Lead Company, a group of Quakers, acquired Ryton lead smelting mill 1710s 1717 Causey Arch was built to carry a wagonway from Tanfield Colliery over a river 1720s 1720s Robert Wallis opened the first shipbuilding yard in South Shields 1726 The Grand Allies, a combination of coal-owning families in County Durham, was founded to extend the coal-fields by buying up large tracts of coal in the northwest of the county It was estimated that in the Bishopric of Durham nine tenths of the land was enclosed
1740s 1740 Only four ships, of an estimated 800 tons, were registered to South Shields 1747 The Team Works of the Hawks family opened in Gateshead with a few forges working up old iron brought in as ballast
1750s 1750 Russell was launched by Headlam's yard (Gateshead), the largest vessel built on the Tyne up to that time, able to carry 30 keels of coal
1760s 1767 First local public asylum for the pauper lunatics of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne was erected by public subscription in Warden's Close, Newcastle 1770s 1770 Arthur Young described the ironworks at Winlaton as 'supposed to be the greatest manufactory of its kind in Europe'. 1771 17 November: The Great Flood of 1771 saw the collapse of part of the then Tyne Bridge and its eventual demolition 1772 Lockwood Broderick began building ships at South Shields 1773-81 A new bridge over the River Tyne was built, a low stone bridge of nine arches
1780s 1781 New stone bridge over the River Tyne was completed 1788 The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure reported that 'Before Sir Ambrose settled his people there the place (Winlaton) consisted of a few deserted cottages, but now contains about 1,500 inhabitants, mainly smiths'
1790s 1793 John and Philip Laing from Fife established a shipyard at Monkwearmouth Shore 1796 Wearmouth Bridge was opened, a cast iron bridge over the River Wear at Sunderland 1797 Frederick Eden in his 'State of the Poor' reported on the depressed state of the coal industry in Tanfield parish 1799 There were 520 keels operating on the River Wear An Act of Parliament was passed for the division of common land in Weardale Common
19th century 1800s 1801 The population of Gateshead was 8,597 1807 Luke Crown started a shipyard at Monkwearmouth Shore 1809 500 ships, totalling over 100,000 tons, were registered to South Shields, which hosted 12 shipbuilding yards and an even larger number of docks
1810s 1816 Robert Surtees stated that 'In shipbuilding the Port of Sunderland stands at present the highest in the United Kingdom' 1818 Philip Laing opened a shipyard at Deptford yard in Sunderland
1820s 1824 Newcastle Corporation took possession of the asylum for pauper lunatics of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne and leased it to Dr Noel Smith 1825 Stockton and Darlington Railway was opened 1826 Peter Austin (SP Austin & Sons) opened a shipyard at Monkwearmouth Shore Bowes Railway, a colliery railway, was opened
1830s 1830 Thomas Dunn Marshall began building ships in part of the old yard of Robert Wallis in South Shields 1837 George Bartram and John Lister started a shipbuilding yard at South Hylton 1838 18 June: A through railway line from Redheugh to Carlisle was opened 1832 Gateshead gained its own Member of Parliament 1835 Gateshead became a Municipal borough, although its functions were limited to raising rates, upkeep of roads etc 1837 George Bartram started a shipbuilding yard at Hylton 1838 William Pickersgill with Messrs Miller, Rawson and Watson began shipbuilding at the North Dock, Sunderland 1839 Thomas Dunn Marshall built the Tyne's first iron steamer, a small passenger ship named Star
1840s 1840 There were 76 shipyards on the Wear and 251 ships were constructed totaling 64,446 tons William Doxford founded his shipbuilding company and started building ships at Cox Green 1841 Thomas Dunn Marshall completed an iron twin-screw ferry named Bedlington 1842-1852 The shipyard of Thomas Dunn Marshall in South Shields built 10 wooden ships and 99 iron vessels 1843 James Laing, son of Philip Laing, took over the company as James Laing & Sons 1844 Penshaw Monument erected near Penshaw to commemorate John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, designed by John and Benjamin Green 1845 William Pickersgill split from his partners and developed a shipyard at Southwick, Sunderland 1846 SP Austin and Sons moved their yard across the river to a site near Wearmouth Bridge Robert Thompson and his three sons began shipbuilding at North Sands and built their first ship in 11 weeks
1850s 1850 The River Tyne Improvement Act established a Conservancy Commission to replace the traditional control by Newcastle Council Queen Victoria formally opened the High Level Bridge and Newcastle railway station George Short established a shipbuilding yard in Sunderland 1851 Charles Palmer and his brother George, opened a shipyard at Jarrow on the site of an earlier yard which had built wooden warships for the Royal Navy 1852 April: Northumberland, an iron paddle tug, was launched, the first vessel constructed by Palmers 30 June: Iron-built steam collier was launched, the second vessel built by Palmers Andrew Leslie established a shipbuilding yard at Hebburn 1854 Several railway companies serving Newcastle were merged to form the North Eastern Railway The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead followed an explosion and fire at Gateshead, which spread to the Quayside in Newcastle, and killed 53 people, destroyed the homes of 800 families and damaged many properties, clearing a long stretch of river frontage in Gateshead and Newcastle George Biddell Airy conducted experiments on the mean density of the Earth at Harton pit near South Shields 1857 Blast furnaces for the production of pig-iron were established at Palmers Jarrow shipyard William Doxford moved his shipbuilding yard to Pallion
1860s 1860 Robert Thompson died and his son Joseph Lowes Thompson took over the shipbuilding company in Sunderland 1863 15 August: Palmers launched four vessels simultaneously, Europa and Latana from the Jarrow yard and John McIntyre and No.1 from the Howdon yard 1869 Short Brothers of Sunderland moved their shipyard to Pallion
1870s 1871 Bartrams moved to South Dock, Sunderland and were known as Bartram & Haswell after the owners, RA Bartram (son of George Bartram) and George Haswell 1875 Joseph Lowes Thompson died and his three sons took over the shipbuilding company in Sunderland, J. L. Thompson and Sons 1876 Swing Bridge, River Tyne was opened 1877 Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company had the highest output of ships in Britain 1879 Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company again had the highest output of ships in Britain
1880s 1880 William Pickersgill was killed in his shipyard in Sunderland 1880–1883 Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company had the highest output of ships in Britain 1882 William Doxford, shipbuilder in Sunderland, died 1886 R and W Hawthorn merged with A. Leslie and Company shipbuilders in Hebburn to become R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company 1888 Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company had the highest output of ships in Britain 1889 Gateshead became a County borough Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company had the highest output of ships in Britain George Haswell retired from Bartram & Haswell and RA Bartram was joined by his two sons to form Bartram & Sons, shipbuilders in Sunderland 1890s 1890 Palmers output of shipping for the year was 40,319 tons, comprising 13 vessels launched from the Jarrow and Howdon yards 1891 The population of Gateshead was 85,692