Haughton-le-Skerne is a village in the borough of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

in the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England. It is situated in the north east of

. The village lies to the west of 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 ...

. At the centre of the

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

, is the main road towards Darlington town centre going across the river, south of the church. There used to be a linen mill on the riverbank on the east side of the village. Part of the mill leat can still be seen today. St Andrew's Church at the west end of the village green is the oldest church in Darlington, circa 1125. Some of the stones may have originated in a previous church on the same site. Parts of the existing

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

have monastic ruins built into the foundation and some inner walls, speculated to be evidence of an earlier building on this site. On the north side of Haughton-le-Skerne, a

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

led over the river to the ports on the Tees

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, carrying traffic including salt from the Bishop's salt mines. Haughton-le-Skerne is now connected to a large suburb of Darlington, with areas including Springfield and Whinfield. The community was referred to in the ITV series ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

'' as it was the location where Mrs. Beryl Patmore ( Lesley Nicol) would find a cottage which would serve as a boarding house, and when she retired, would serve as her home for her retirement days.

John Wrightson Professor John Wrightson Chemical Society, FCS, Royal Agricultural University, MRAC (1840 – 30 November 1916) was a British agriculturalist and the founder of Downton Agricultural College (1880–1906) at Downton, Wiltshire, Downton in Wilts ...

(1840-1916), founder of

Downton Agricultural College Professor John Wrightson FCS, MRAC (1840 – 30 November 1916) was a British agriculturalist and the founder of Downton Agricultural College (1880–1906) at Downton in Wiltshire. In 1890 he reputedly became the first person in Britain to ...

and great grandfather of ''Downton'' writer

Julian Fellowes Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, (born 17 August 1949) is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, and a Conservative peer of the House of Lords. He is primarily known as the author of s ...

was born in the village.

References

Villages in County Durham Suburbs of Darlington {{Durham-geo-stub