Hurworth-on-Tees is a village in the borough of Darlington, within the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated in the civil parish of Hurworth. The village lies to the south of Darlington on the River Tees, close to its meeting point with the River Skerne, and immediately adjoins the village of Hurworth Place, which forms part of the same civil parish.
Some time around the turn of the 19th century, the Appleby family appears to have abandoned Becksmeeting, Kirkby Malzeard and farming for the less isolated village of Hurworth-Upon-Tees near Darlington, Country Durham's fast-growing industrial regional centre. James Appleby, the youngest son of William Appleby (1734-1805) was the last family member to be born at Becksmeeting (1782). His marriage to Ann Bell at Sockburn All-Saints Church, near Hurworth-on-Tees, on 23 November, 1802 was the first major family event after the move.
The 1841 census records there were 20 Applebys living in Hurworth-Upon-Tees in that year, occupying five homes. In the same census, George Appleby (1779) and his wife Elizabeth were recorded as living at Square, Wallsend, four others were at Milburn Street, Gateshead. By the 1851 census, there were no Applebys recorded as living in Hurworth-on-Tees; seven were now living at 3 Silver Street, Darlington with a further two at single men’s accommodation for railway workers at Darlington, seven had moved to nearby Killerby, and there were now six at Milburn Street, Gateshead.
The graveyard of Hurworth-on-Tees All Saints church, situated in the middle of the village, containes the remain of numerous members of the Appleby family.
There has been a settlement at Hurworth since at least as far back as the 12th century. The estate that Hurworth was part of has changed hands many times over the centuries.
In 1665, the Great Plague almost wiped out the village population of 750 leaving only around 75 survivors. The plague struck many other nearby villages including Birkby and South Cowton. Three dips in the village green mark the site where as many as 1,500 people were buried in massive lime pits. According to old records, bodies from other nearby villages were ferried across the River Tees for burial in Hurworth.
The Stockton and Darlington Railway Company opened a branch line in 1829 which ran from Darlington and terminated within Hurworth parish, close to Croft Bridge. The settlement that grew up around it became known as Hurworth Place, described in 1834 as a hamlet in the township of Hurworth, growing rapidly under the influence of the railhead and coal depot.
In 1841, the Great North of England Railway opened the main line between Darlington and York, passing through Hurworth parish; the previous branch line and terminus remained as goods facilities. A passenger station was built on the new line in Hurworth Place, although it was named Croft Station and later renamed Croft Spa Station after the village of Croft-on-Tees which faces Hurworth Place on the opposite bank of the Tees. The branch line and goods yard, by then known as Croft Depot, closed in 1964, and Croft Spa station closed in 1969, but the line remains, forming part of the East Coast Main Line between Darlington and Northallerton.
Sockburn All Saints Church
Six km to the south east of Hurworth-on-Tees is the hamlet of Sockburn. Standing on a rise alongside the River Tees is Sockburn All Saints Church, where James Appleby and Ann Bell were married on 23 November 1802.