Barnard Castle, #1 on this list · Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0

County Durham rankings · History

Most historic towns in County Durham

Barnard Castle ranks first on history among County Durham’s 52 towns of 2,500+; 5 of the 52 grade A− or better against UK towns.

The History Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): listed buildings, monuments and registered parks (Historic England, Cadw), per resident and as a count, and homes built before 1919. The rank across England and Wales sits beside each letter. How grades work

Barnard Castle

5,783 people

Better than 95% of UK towns·#84 of 2,156 in England and Wales

West Auckland

3,107 people

A⁻

Better than 84% of UK towns·#298 of 2,156 in England and Wales

Bishop Auckland

23,359 people

A⁻

Better than 82% of UK towns·#340 of 2,156 in England and Wales

All 52 towns, ranked

History grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England and Wales links to the national list.

Every town in County Durham →

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52 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns

1Barnard Castle5,783 peopleA#84 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 95% of UK towns

2West Auckland3,107 peopleA⁻#298 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 84% of UK towns

3Bishop Auckland23,359 peopleA⁻#340 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 82% of UK towns

4Durham50,502 peopleA⁻#418 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 78% of UK towns

5Darlington93,022 peopleA⁻#455 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 76% of UK towns

6Hurworth-on-Tees2,667 peopleB⁺#567 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 71% of UK towns

7Shildon9,650 peopleB⁺#617 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 69% of UK towns

8Stockton-on-Tees84,824 peopleB#838 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 59% of UK towns

9Hartlepool88,001 peopleB⁻#932 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 55% of UK towns

10Consett29,874 peopleB⁻#954 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 54% of UK towns

11Sedgefield4,979 peopleB⁻#992 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 52% of UK towns

12Egglescliffe10,250 peopleB⁻#1,039 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 50% of UK towns

13Ferryhill8,857 peopleB⁻#1,058 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 49% of UK towns

14Annfield Plain7,786 peopleB⁻#1,115 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 47% of UK towns

15Lanchester3,510 peopleC⁺#1,187 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 44% of UK towns

16Middleton St George4,756 peopleC⁺#1,217 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 42% of UK towns

17Easington6,968 peopleC⁺#1,259 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 40% of UK towns

18Witton Gilbert2,525 peopleC⁺#1,282 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 39% of UK towns

19Spennymoor20,401 peopleC⁺#1,284 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 39% of UK towns

20Stanley19,423 peopleC⁺#1,343 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 36% of UK towns

21Willington5,685 peopleC⁺#1,361 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 36% of UK towns

22Coundon and Leeholme2,522 peopleC⁺#1,367 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 35% of UK towns

23Horden6,805 peopleC#1,376 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 35% of UK towns

24Crook9,717 peopleC#1,383 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 34% of UK towns

25Langley Park4,031 peopleC#1,442 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 32% of UK towns

26Burnopfield2,998 peopleC#1,460 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 31% of UK towns

27Esh Winning3,877 peopleC#1,519 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 28% of UK towns

28Ushaw Moor and Bearpark6,483 peopleC#1,536 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 27% of UK towns

29Seaham21,660 peopleC#1,559 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 26% of UK towns

30Leadgate3,339 peopleC#1,570 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 26% of UK towns

31Dipton2,653 peopleC⁻#1,636 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 23% of UK towns

32Chester-le-Street23,554 peopleC⁻#1,693 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 20% of UK towns

33Chilton4,693 peopleC⁻#1,720 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 19% of UK towns

34Sacriston5,186 peopleC⁻#1,737 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 18% of UK towns

35Blackhall Colliery4,577 peopleC⁻#1,743 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 18% of UK towns

36Pelton and Ouston7,305 peopleC⁻#1,786 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 16% of UK towns

37Murton7,239 peopleD#1,803 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 15% of UK towns

38Coxhoe4,542 peopleD#1,820 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 14% of UK towns

39Wingate5,033 peopleD#1,828 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 14% of UK towns

40Brandon9,508 peopleD#1,865 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 12% of UK towns

41Billingham33,917 peopleD#1,955 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 8% of UK towns

42Newton Aycliffe25,760 peopleD#1,965 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 8% of UK towns

43Trimdon2,835 peopleD#2,001 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 7% of UK towns

44Shotton Colliery4,943 peopleD#2,031 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 5% of UK towns

45Bowburn4,843 peopleD#2,039 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 5% of UK towns

46Wheatley Hill3,148 peopleD⁻#2,044 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 5% of UK towns

47Sherburn2,796 peopleD⁻#2,070 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 4% of UK towns

48Wynyard4,040 peopleD⁻#2,079 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 3% of UK towns

49Thornley2,543 peopleD⁻#2,095 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 3% of UK towns

50Peterlee19,750 peopleD⁻#2,109 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 2% of UK towns

51South Hetton2,877 peopleD⁻#2,113 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 2% of UK towns

52Great Lumley3,627 peopleD⁻#2,128 of 2,156 nationallybehind almost every UK town

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the most historic town in County Durham?

Barnard Castle ranks first on history among 52 towns, with an A: better than 95% of UK towns. West Auckland and Bishop Auckland follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The History Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): listed buildings, monuments and registered parks (Historic England, Cadw), per resident and as a count, and homes built before 1919. The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers County Durham’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in County Durham is on the county page.

Go deeper

More County Durham lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All County Durham rankings →

Sources: 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 · Cadw listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered historic parks and gardens via DataMapWales, 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.