Chester le Street

Chester le Street is the business, residential and shopping centre of one of the smallest English districts. Situated in the northern part of County Durham, between Durham City and Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, the district has a population of 57,000. Chester le Street is built on the site of a Roman Fort on the road to Hadrian's Wall, and was known then as Congangium. The Romans called the town Concangis. The Anglo-Saxons called it Cuneceaster meaning the camp on the Cune Burn. The Normans shortened the name to Ceastre and later, simply Chester. In the Middle Ages it became Cestrie in Strata 1372 and then Chester in the Strett 1523.  By the seventeenth century the modern name of Chester le Street had been adopted, to distinguish it from the ancient city of Chester standing on the River Dee near the Welsh border. The Street is the paved way, the ancient Roman road running north and south on which the town grew, and which is now known as Front Street.

Chester le Street has many attractions ranging from beautiful countryside to a rich heritage. With some outstanding scenery with lowland fells to the east and west of Chester le Street. Waldridge fell has retained its character as the only uncultivated lowland common in county Durham and as such is a local nature reserve. The town has served many functions an encampment of the ancient British Epican tribe, site of Conganium and a Roman fort.

In 875 AD the few remaining monks at Lindisfarne had been forced to flee from yet another Viking attack. In 883 AD the Lindisfarne monks arrived in Chester le Street and built a cathedral in which to house their treasures, the most revered of which was the incorrupt body of St. Cuthbert. He was the Bishop of Lindisfarne, healer and missionary and died in 687 AD. For over 150 years, this was the resting place of St Cuthbert's body before its transfer to Durham, a place of greater safety from Viking invaders. His body became the object of reverence.

During the middle-ages, Chester le Street was the administrative and ecclesiastical centre for the northern part of County Durham. The14th century Parish Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert one of the town's major landmarks is a reminder of this period. Adjoining the church is the Ankers House, one of the smallest museums in the country.

Another major landmark is Lumley Castle, now a luxury hotel, once the ancestral home of the Lumley family. The Lumley's prospered as mine-owners for three centuries, during the 18th and 19th centuries, the coal industry dominated Chester le Street. On the banks of the River Wear, under the gaze of Lumley Castle lies the Riverside development. This is home to the first class, Durham County Cricket Ground, completed in 1995 and with a test match standard ground which has already hosted international matches.

Chester le Street was the centre of a mining area with pits in many of the surrounding villages. The Civic Centre houses banners from some of these collieries, which would have been carried in the annual Durham Miners' gala, held in Durham City for over a century. In more modern times Chester le Street celebrated 1100 years in 1983 with many Civic and Local Community events to mark this milestone in the Cestrians heritage. It is currently the fastest growing town in County Durham.