Chester-le-Street (district)
Encyclopedia
Chester-le-Street was a local government district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 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...

. Its council was based in Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...

. Other places in the district included Great Lumley
Great Lumley
Great Lumley is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated south east of Chester-le-Street, near Lumley Castle. It has a population of 3,843.-The Lumley Family, East and West Halls:...

 and Sacriston
Sacriston
Sacriston is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England, situated north of the city of Durham.Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated back to the 13th century to Sacristan's Heugh. According to old maps it was once known as...

.

Formation

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisaton of local administration throughout England and Wales carried out under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

. Chester-le-Street was one of eight non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

s into which County Durham was divided, and was formed form the areas of the abolished urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....

 of Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...

 along with the bulk of Chester-le-Street Rural District
Chester-le-Street Rural District
Chester-le-Street was a rural district in County Durham, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded the urban district of Chester-le-Street.The district was split in 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, with the bulk going to the current Chester-le-Street district...

, namely the parishes
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 Bournmoor
Bournmoor
Bournmoor is a village in County Durham, England, and is situated a short distance from Chester-le-Street. It lies on the edge of the Lambton Estate and contains St Barnabas' Church, which houses the Frostley Angel....

, Birtley
Birtley
Birtley can refer to several villages in England:*Birtley, Herefordshire*Birtley, Northumberland*Birtley, Shropshire*Birtley, Tyne and Wear*Birtley, Surrey...

 (reduced in size), Edmondsley
Edmondsley
Edmondsley is a small village in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles south-west of Chester-le-Street, near the villages of Craghead and Sacriston....

, Great Lumley
Great Lumley
Great Lumley is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated south east of Chester-le-Street, near Lumley Castle. It has a population of 3,843.-The Lumley Family, East and West Halls:...

, Lambton
Lambton
-People:*Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham , or Ned Lambton, is the current Earl of Durham*Antony Lambton , formerly 6th Earl of Durham and later claimed Viscount Lambton, disclaimed his earldom under the terms of the Peerage Act 1963...

, Little Lumley, North Lodge (created from the part of Harraton outside Washington New Town), Ouston
Ouston, County Durham
Ouston is a village in County Durham, approximately 5 miles to the south-west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England...

, Pelton, Plawsworth
Plawsworth
Plawsworth is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the east of Sacriston, on the A167 between Durham and Chester-le-Street....

, Sacriston
Sacriston
Sacriston is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England, situated north of the city of Durham.Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated back to the 13th century to Sacristan's Heugh. According to old maps it was once known as...

, South Biddick (reduced in size), Urpeth
Urpeth
Urpeth is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance from Ouston and Beamish.Urpeth started its life as a coal mining area with multiple seams of coal being mined from various locations around the current housing estate. Urpeth Colliery was owned by the Birtley Iron...

 and Waldridge
Waldridge, County Durham
Waldridge is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the south west of Chester-le-Street. It is known as either Waldridge Fell or Waldridge Village, the 'Fell' referring to the surrounding area of moorland. The current village dates back to the 1890s, the original village having...

. The remainder of the rural district was transferred to the metropolitan borough
Metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...

s of Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...

 and Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...

, in the new county
Metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...

 of Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

.

Insignia

The district council did not have a coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

, but instead used the design of the chairman's badge of office as its logo. the design consisted of a circle divided by a curved cross into four quarters.
  • In the centre of the cross was a lion, taken from the arms of the Lambton family of Lambton Castle
    Lambton Castle
    Lambton Castle, located in County Durham, England, between the towns of Washington and Chester-le-Street, is a stately home, the ancestral seat of the Lambton family, the Earls of Durham...

    .
  • In the top left quarter was a crosss of Saint Cuthbert. The saint's remains lay in Chester for more than a century, and the town was the see of a bishop. The saint's relics and the bishopric were subsequently transferred to Durham
    Durham
    Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

    . The River Wear
    River Wear
    The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...

     formed the background.
  • In the top right quarter was a depiction of the pithead gear of a coal mine, illustrating the area's traditional source of wealth. Behind this was shown the Chester-le-Street Viaduct
  • In the bottom left quarter was a falcon, with Lumley Castle
    Lumley Castle
    Lumley Castle is a 14th century quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near to the city of Durham and a property of the Earl of Scarbrough. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:...

     in the background.
  • In the bottom right quarter was a depiction of the legendary Lambton Worm
    Lambton Worm
    The Lambton Worm is a legend from North East England in the UK. The story takes place around the River Wear, and is one of the area's most famous pieces of folklore, having been adapted from written and oral tradition into pantomime and song formats....

    .


The emblems in the upper left and lower left quarters were subsequently altered to a bishop's mitre and a Roman eagle standard.

Abolition

The district was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England
2009 structural changes to local government in England
Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts...

 being replaced by a new unitary authority called Durham County Council.

Electoral divisions

  • Chester-le-Street North and East Chester East ward; Chester North ward
  • Chester-le-Street South Chester South ward; Edmondsley and Waldridge ward
  • Chester-le-Street West Central Chester Central ward; Chester West ward; Pelton Fell ward
  • Lumley Bournmoor ward; Lumley ward
  • Ouston and Urpeth Grange Villa and West Pelton ward; Ouston ward; Urpeth ward
  • Pelton North Lodge ward; Pelton ward
  • Sacriston Kimblesworth and Plawsworth ward; Sacriston ward

Villages in Chester-le-Street District

  • Beamish
    Beamish, County Durham
    Beamish, previously named 'Pit Hill', is a village in County Durham, England situated to the north east of Stanley.The village is contained within Hell Hole Wood and is home to Beamish Museum, an open-air museum seeking to replicate a northern town of the early 20th century...

  • Great Lumley
    Great Lumley
    Great Lumley is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated south east of Chester-le-Street, near Lumley Castle. It has a population of 3,843.-The Lumley Family, East and West Halls:...

  • Pelton
  • Pelton Fell
    Pelton Fell
    Pelton Fell is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the north-west of Chester-le-Street. It was the site of a 19th and 20th century coal mine and a small rail station primarily used to service both Pelton Fell and [Pelton] a village at the opposite end of Station...

  • Perkinsville
    Perkinsville, County Durham
    Perkinsville is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated immediately to the north of Pelton, to the north-west of Chester-le-Street....

  • Picktree
  • Sacriston
    Sacriston
    Sacriston is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England, situated north of the city of Durham.Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated back to the 13th century to Sacristan's Heugh. According to old maps it was once known as...

  • Ouston
    Ouston, County Durham
    Ouston is a village in County Durham, approximately 5 miles to the south-west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England...

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