Hurworth Place is a village 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...

, in 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 lies south 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...

 on the northern bank of the River Tees

River Tees

The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...

, opposite the village of Croft-on-Tees

Croft-on-Tees

Croft-on-Tees is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. South of Darlington, it stands on the opposite side of the River Tees from Hurworth-on-Tees and is situated on the A167. The bridge over the Tees between Croft and Hurworth marks the boundary...

 in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

 to which it is linked by Croft Bridge, which marks the county boundary. It is part of the township and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Hurworth-on-Tees

Hurworth-on-Tees

Hurworth-on-Tees is a village in the borough of Darlington, within the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated to the south of Darlington, next to the meeting point of the River Skerne and River Tees.-Amenities:...

.

Transport

The Great North Road mail coach route, later the A1 road, originally passed through the village, crossing the Tees via Croft Bridge. The road is now designated the A167. The Teesdale Way

Teesdale Way

The Teesdale Way is a long distance walk between the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire and the Cumbrian Pennines in England. The walk is 100 miles / 161 km in length, it links in with other long distance walks such as the Pennine Way and the E2 European Walk between Harwich and Stranraer.The...

 footpath runs through the village, as does the East Coast Main Line

East Coast Main Line

The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...

, although there is no longer a railway station.

Amenities

The village has a newsagent, a doctor's surgery, a pharmacy and a hair salon. There are two pubs, the Station Hotel and the Comet, although the latter closed in 2010, and a working men's club

Working men's club

Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...

. There is also a Christadelphian

Christadelphians

Christadelphians is a Christian group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century...

 hall.
Rockliffe Hall hotel and spa and the surrounding parkland are owned by Middlesbrough Football Club, and the club's training and sports facilities form part of the complex. The 18-hole Rockliffe championship golf course

Golf course

A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

 is one of the longest in Europe. The adjoining village of Hurworth-on-Tees contains further shops, a primary and secondary school, the parish church and a Methodist church, a garden centre and a community centre.

History

Despite being in a different county, the settlement around the Durham end of Croft bridge has sometimes been identified as part of Croft village, rather than with Hurworth-on-Tees immediately to the east. In 1834 Hurworth Place was described as a hamlet in the township of Hurworth, growing rapidly under the influence of the railhead and coal depot; however, in 1901, Charles G. Harper referred to Croft as "straggling on both the Yorkshire and Durham banks of the Tees". As late as 1960, a long-time Croft resident referred to "the part of Croft which is called Hurworth Place". The village began to develop around the time the railway arrived in 1829,
and in addition to a coal depot and goods yard, the low ground near the river housed at various times a tar works and two brick and tile works.

Railway

In 1829 the Croft branch line was built by the Stockton and Darlington Railway

Stockton and Darlington Railway

The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...

 Company from Darlington to Croft terminus on the north bank of the Tees in Hurworth Place. Coal was brought by rail from Darlington to the terminus for road transport to destinations in South Durham and North Yorkshire. Lead from the Swaledale lead mines was also brought to Croft terminus for onward rail transport. Passenger services ran at times on the line, but it was largely a goods route. Workers' houses were built around the terminus.

On 4 January 1841 the main line between Darlington and York opened, incorporating some of the original Darlington-Croft branch line, which had been bought by the main line's developers, the Great North of England Railway

Great North of England Railway

The Great North of England Railway was an early British railway company. Its main line, opened in 1841 was between York and Darlington, and originally it was planned to extend to Newcastle. In 1850 it was absorbed by the North Eastern Railway ....

. Through Hurworth Place the new line ran, and still runs, a short distance east of the original line, which remained as a branch line to serve the Croft goods yard. In March 1841 a new Croft Station opened on the main line; this was renamed Croft Spa Station

Croft Spa railway station

Croft Spa railway station was located on the East Coast Main Line between Northallerton and Darlington in North Yorkshire, England. The station served the settlements of Croft-on-Tees and Hurworth-on-Tees....

 in 1896 acknowledging its role in bringing visitors to the popular and established spa

Spa

The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...

over the bridge at Croft-on-Tees. The goods yard, now known as Croft Depot, remained in use until 1964, when it was demolished, the branch line taken up and the site redeveloped for residential use. Croft Spa station closed to passengers in 1969 and the platforms and station buildings were demolished.