Chester-le-Street

Coordinates: 54°51′34″N 1°34′12″W / 54.8594°N 1.5699°W / 54.8594; -1.5699

Chester-le-Street (/ˈtʃɛstəlistriːt/) is a town in County Durham, England. Its history goes back to the building of a Roman fort called Concangis. This Roman fort is the 'Chester' (from the Latin castra) of the town's name; the 'Street' refers to the paved Roman road that ran north-south through the town, and which is now called Front Street (shown at right).

Chester-le-Street is located 7 miles (11 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 8 miles (13 km) west of Sunderland on the River Wear. The Parish Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is where the body of St Cuthbert remained for 112 years before being transferred to Durham Cathedral, and the site of the first translation of the Gospels into English, Aldred writing the Old English gloss between the lines of the Lindisfarne Gospels there.

A market town, markets are held on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Until 2009 the town had its own local government district. This was formed by the amalgamation in 1974 of the former Chester-le-Street Urban and Rural Districts. It was abolished in 2009 when Durham became a unitary authority as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, a move that was controversial at the time.

Chester-le-Street (district)

Coordinates: 54°51′36″N 1°34′26″W / 54.860°N 1.574°W / 54.860; -1.574

Chester-le-Street was a local government district in County Durham, England. Its council was based in Chester-le-Street. Other places in the district included Great Lumley and Sacriston.

Formation

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisation of local administration throughout England and Wales carried out under the Local Government Act 1972. Chester-le-Street was one of eight non-metropolitan districts into which County Durham was divided, and was formed form the areas of the abolished urban district of Chester-le-Street along with the bulk of Chester-le-Street Rural District, namely the parishes of Bournmoor, Birtley (reduced in size), Edmondsley, Great Lumley, Lambton, Little Lumley, North Lodge (created from the part of Harraton outside Washington New Town), Ouston, Pelton, Plawsworth, Sacriston, South Biddick (reduced in size), Urpeth and Waldridge. The remainder of the rural district was transferred to the metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead and Sunderland, in the new county of Tyne and Wear.

Chester-le-Street (UK Parliament constituency)

Chester-le-Street was a county constituency centred on the town of Chester-le-Street in County Durham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election.

Chester-le-Street and its successor constituency (North Durham) have over 100 years of continuous Labour representation.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

References