Great Lumley’s story
No listed buildings inside Great Lumley’s built-up area
5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
Great LumleyCounty Durham
TownGrade
B+
#5 of 52 in County Durham
It is a town of 3,627 residents in County Durham, North East.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Dave Eagle · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
3,627
Census 2021 · County Durham council
Median home
£187K
125 sales in 3 years
Median age
49.4
27% are 65+ · County Durham 21%
Degree level
31%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
13%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Great Lumley a good place to live?
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. It does especially well on schools — primary results beat 96% of towns in England; secondary results beat 59% of towns in England. Overall, Great Lumley earns a B+: better than 72% of UK towns, and #5 of 52 in County Durham. Homes are affordable (B+): the median home sold for £187,000, 4.4 years of area income. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: life expectancy 80.4 for men, 80.8 for women. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for safety, B− for jobs & income and C+ for walkability.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy and income, ONS · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
How Great Lumley grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Great Lumley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Hazard risk0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaAOpen →SchoolsPrimary results beat 96% of towns in England; secondary results beat 59% of towns in EnglandA−Open →HealthResidents’ health trails most townsC−Open →Cost of livingRent £650 a monthB+Open →WalkabilityGraded on how easily people get around without a carC+Open →SafetyClose to the middle of the towns comparedBOpen →Jobs & incomeGraded on incomes, poverty and employmentB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
History0 listed buildingsD−Open →Outdoors88% live within 400 m of a park; 1.4 ha of public green space per 1,000 residentsC+Open →Civic life1.9 local charities per 1,000 residents; 0% live within 1 km of a libraryC−Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Great Lumley stand out
The 3 things Great Lumley does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
13% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Primary results, towns in England
Schools
Primary results beat 96%
of towns in England, on Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths
Secondary results beat 59%. Department for Education.
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
27% are 65 or over
Against 18% across England’s towns
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Great Lumley.
History
Great Lumley has fewer old homes than County Durham’s towns or England’s towns: 5% built before 1919
0listed buildingsD−History Grade
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England’s list has no building inside Great Lumley’s built-up area.
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II0
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
5%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
0
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
SchoolsA−
Great Lumley’s schools outperform 82% of towns in England on results
A−School Grade
Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 48.2, and 45% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Lumley Junior School’s results beat 83% of schools in England like it. Three quarters of pupils at the 10 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumley Junior SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 186 | A− |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 2 schools →
Who lives here
An older town: 27% of people in Great Lumley are 65 or over, more than in County Durham’s towns or England’s towns
49.4median age
15% are under 15, below County Durham’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. People aged 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population. Half of Great Lumley is older than 49.4, half younger. Among adults, 31% have a degree.
Great LumleyCounty DurhamEngland
Ages · share of residents
27%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications20%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level31%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Great Lumley | County Durham | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.2% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 27% | 21% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Health
Good or very good health: 77% of Great Lumley’s residents
77%good or very good healthC−Health Grade
One GP practice serves the town; 93% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. A disability affects just over a fifth of people in Great Lumley. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 7.1% of the town.
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 77%Fair 16%Bad or very bad 7%
| Census 2021 | Great Lumley | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 77% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.1% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 22% | 17% |
80.4
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
80.8
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
HousingCost of living grade B+
Private renting is less common in Great Lumley than in County Durham’s towns or across England’s towns: 7%
£187Kmedian sale
72% of households are owner-occupiers. Half of the 125 standard sales inside Great Lumley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £187,000. Social housing holds just over a fifth of households, above both County Durham’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%).
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Great Lumley£187K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £325,000 | 26 |
| Semi-detached | £167,500 | 72 |
| Terraced | £198,500 | 20 |
| Flat or maisonette | £66,666 | 7 |
72%
of households own their home · England 61%
7%
rent privately · England 21%
£650
average private rent a month, County Durham council area
£2,575
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Long commutes are the norm in Great Lumley: just 24% travel under 5 km, below County Durham’s towns and England’s towns
13%walk, cycle or ride
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 13% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below County Durham’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (27%) alike. Unemployment benefit claims reached 2% of 16 to 64s in 2026. Before tax, the average household brings in £50K a year.
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving85%
On foot7%
Bus4%
Bicycle1%
24%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
29%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£50K
mean household income, before tax
2%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
C+
Walkability: more walkable than 43% of UK towns
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Safety
Homes in Great Lumley see less burglary and damage than in County Durham’s towns or England’s towns: 8.6 per 1,000 a year
21.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearBSafety Grade
Great Lumley logged 144 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 25 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violent crime ran at 21.1 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than County Durham’s towns (36.6) and near England’s towns (22). Also worth knowing: of all the crimes, 55% were violence and sexual offences.
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 60% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual79
Damage & arson25
Shoplifting10
Burglary8
Other theft6
Public order5
Vehicle crime5
Other crime4
Anti-social25
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
21.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
144
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Great Lumley
15pages on Great Lumley
The big questions
SafetyB21.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingB+Median home £187K · rent £650 a monthHousing35 sold in 12 months · busiest street DanelawSchoolsA−2 state schoolsHealthC−Life expectancy 80.4 (men), 80.8 (women)Work & commuteB−47% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Lumley Castle and 3 more in and around Great Lumley
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Great Lumley. Best known first.
CastleLumley Castle1.1 km outside town, to the north
CastleLambton Castle2.7 km outside town, to the north
Abbey or priory · English HeritageFinchale Priory1.7 km outside town, to the southTheme parkTheme parkAdventure Valley3.1 km outside town, to the southPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (3)
- Lumley Castle: Bill Henderson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lambton Castle: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Finchale Priory: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Famous people from Great Lumley
3 notable people were born in Great Lumley.
About Great Lumley
Town in County Durham, England
Great Lumley is a built-up area of 3,627 people, in the County Durham council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
- Population
- 3,627 (Census 2021)
- Council
- County Durham
- County
- County Durham
- Region
- North East
- Area
- 0.4 sq mi (1 km²)
- ONS code
- E63000167
Great Lumley’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
BournmoorFence HousesChester-le-StreetWest RaintonEast RaintonHoughton-le-SpringShiney Row and PenshawGreat Lumley
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Lumley | 3,627 | — | B+ | B+ | B | C− |
| Bournmoor | 1,991 | 1.5 | — | C | D | C− |
| Fence Houses | 6,945 | 1.7 | B− | A− | C | D |
| Chester-le-Street | 23,554 | 1.9 | B | A− | C− | C |
| West Rainton | 2,323 | 2.3 | — | B | D | C− |
| East Rainton | 1,476 | 2.7 | — | C+ | C+ | D |
| Houghton-le-Spring | 12,552 | 2.8 | B− | A− | D | D |
| Shiney Row and Penshaw | 16,900 | 2.9 | B− | B+ | C+ | C− |
Bournmoor, West Rainton and East Rainton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Great Lumley
Are schools in Great Lumley good?
Secondary results are closer to the middle, beating 59%. Great Lumley has 2 state schools; places are handled by County Durham council.
Is Great Lumley expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £187,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £66,666, terraced houses £198,500, semi-detached houses £167,500 and detached houses £325,000.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.