Cockerton is a suburb of Darlington

Darlington

Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

, a town in County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated immediately to the north-west of Darlington town centre, close to Mowden, Branksome

Branksome, County Durham

Branksome is a suburb of Darlington in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north-west of the town, close to Mowden, Cockerton, West Park and Faverdale....

, West Park

West Park, Darlington

West Park is a predominantly residential area at the North West fringe of Darlington, County Durham, England.West Park is designed as a sustainable community development, consisting of residential properties, commercial properties, and a nature reserve...

 and Faverdale

Faverdale

Faverdale is a suburb of Darlington in County Durham, England. It is situated directly to the north west of Darlington, adjacent to Cockerton. It is the site of a small industrial estate although in the late 1990s and 2000s a number of modern housing developments were added to the area. This area...

. The Cocker Beck, a small stream, runs through the area and empties into the town's River Skerne

River Skerne

The River Skerne is a tributary of the River Tees it flows through County Durham in England.The Skerne is about long, the Skerne begins in magnesian limestone hills between Trimdon and Trimdon Grange and ends at Hurworth Place where it joins the River Tees....

 via a string of valleyed parks which were donated as recreational areas for the town in the early 20th Century. This area, although not part of Cockerton, is adjacent to and socially linked to Cockerton, and is known as "The Denes

The Denes

The Denes is a centrally located area of Darlington in the north east of England which consists mainly of semi-detached and 1900's terraced housing, surrounding valley areas of wooded public park and Cocker beck...

".

Cockerton Village

The original village layout, known still as "Cockerton Village", remains recognisable. This is mainly due to the village green and surrounding houses and cottages being well preserved, with most rebuilding having been carried out with sympathy to the adjacent surroundings. The village is also largely covered by the Cockerton Conservation Area, which is managed by Darlington Borough Council.

Amenities, facilities and services

A selection of mostly independent retailers are based around this area with some chain stores such as a Co-operative food store and a Post Office. There is also a branch of Barclays, Lambs Toy Shop, a Subway

Subway (restaurant)

Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...

 sandwich shop, local pubs, chemists, a florist, a fruiterer, bakers, butchers, a discount food store, barbers, cafés, estate agents, insurance brokers and financial advisers. A new Coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

 betting shop has replaced the Blockbusters DVD rental store.

Cockerton Library has been housed in an award-winning building from 1970.

The village also is home to Cockerton Working Men's Club and the historic Cockerton Prize Silver Band.

There are several churches on and adjacent to the green, including St. Mary's CofE, Holy Family Roman Catholic and Cockerton Methodist Church.

Education

The community of Cockerton is served by schools across the town of Darlington but particularly by local schools. These include:

Primary:

• Cockerton Church of England Primary
• Alderman Leach Primary School
• Holy Family RC Primary School
• Mount Pleasant Primary School

Secondary:

• Branksome School
  Branksome School
  Branksome School is a comprehensive school on the Estate of Branksome, Darlington. Located on Eggleston View. It schools pupils aged 11 to 16, and is the choice of school for most residents living in the Branksome/Faverdale/Cockerton areas of Darlington....
  
  
• Carmel RC Technology College
  Carmel RC Technology College
  For schools of the same name, see Carmel College.Carmel College, A Catholic Academy is a secondary school on The Headlands in Hummersknott, Darlington, England. It also has a small sixth form college, admitting about 100 students each year, compared to the much larger Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form...
  
  
• Hummersknott School
  Hummersknott School
  Hummersknott Academy is a secondary school in Darlington in the north east of England. It schools approximately 1250 pupils aged eleven to sixteen. It has specialist Language College status...