They had been successive district administration in the County of Durham. The ancient county was formerly structured around the Bishop of Durham with ancient wards and boroughs.
1835–1974 The county palatine was restructured to a standard county system of the time through successive Durham County Palatine Acts 1836 to 1889. Municipal boroughs were established under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The administrative county and county boroughs were introduced in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. Urban and rural districts were created under the Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73). The structure was replaced under the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974.
Boroughs A borough could either have or not have a rural controlled from the same set of municipal buildings. A municipal borough’s area was part-governed by the administrative county; a municipal borough could become a county borough which was only ceremonially linked with the county. BoroughTypeFromUntilNotesDarlingtonMunicipal18671915County19151974Replaced by the Borough of DarlingtonDurhamMunicipal18351974Replaced by City of Durham, since 2009 the Unitary Authority of County DurhamGatesheadMunicipal18351888County18881974Replaced by the Metropolitan Borough of GatesheadWest HartlepoolMunicipal18871902County19021967Boroughs mergedHartlepoolMunicipal18501967County19671974 Replaced by the Borough of HartlepoolJarrowMunicipal18751974 Replaced by the Borough of South TynesideSouth ShieldsMunicipal18501889County18891974Replaced by the Borough of South TynesideStockton-on-TeesMunicipal18351968Merged into the County Borough of TeessideSunderlandMunicipal18351888County18881974 replaced by the Borough of Sunderland
Districts A rural and or urban district could be controlled from a single set of municipal buildings: DistrictTypeFromUntilAnnfield PlainUrban18961937AucklandRural18941937Barnard CastleRural18941974Barnard CastleUrban18941974BenfieldsideUrban18941937BillinghamUrban19231968Bishop AucklandUrban18941974BlaydonUrban18941974BoldonUrban19361974Brandon and ByshottlesUrban18941974Chester-le-StreetRural18941974Chester-le-StreetUrban19091974ConsettUrban18941974CrookUrban18981937Crook and WillingtonUrban19371974DarlingtonRural18941974DurhamRural18941974EasingtonRural18941974FellingUrban18941974HartlepoolRural18941937 HebburnUrban18941974HettonUrban18951974Houghton-le-SpringRural18941937Houghton-le-SpringUrban18941974LanchesterRural18941974LeadgateUrban18941937RytonUrban18941974SeahamUrban19371974Seaham HarbourUrban18941937SedgefieldRural18941974ShildonUrban18941974South ShieldsRural18941936Southwick on WearUrban18941928SpennymoorUrban18941974StanhopeUrban18941937StanleyUrban18941974StocktonRural18941974SunderlandRural18941967TanfieldUrban18951937Tow LawUrban18941974WashingtonUrban19221974WeardaleRural18941974WhickhamUrban18941974WillingtonUrban18941937
1974-2009
Under the Local Government Act 1972, the county's ceremonial, district and borough boundaries were moved to align to the newly created non-metropolitan county of Durham. The ceremonial county had the boroughs Darlington (borough) of Sedgefield and the City of Durham as well as five districts: Chester-le-Street Derwentside Easington Teesdale Wear Valley.
unitary authority under the Local Government Act 1992. Darlington borough became a unitary authority in 1995. The county of Cleveland disbanded in 1996, Boroughs of Hartlepool and of Stockton-on-Tees became unitary authorities in the ceremonial county. The Borough of Stockton-on Tees is split between the ceremonial counties of Durham and North Yorkshire.
The non-metropolitan county was subject to 2009 reforms. The council county, districts and boroughs were merged into a unitary authority. The ceremonial county now covers four unitary authorities: Borough of Darlington County of Durham Borough of Hartlepool Borough of Stockton-on-Tees (north of the River Tees)
References