Named after a former Northern Echo editor who became one of the most influential men of his age. William Stead submitted several articles to the paper which were so well received that, in 1871, he was offered the editor’s chair, without ever having set foot inside a newspaper office. He was in charge for nine years. His new journalism paved the way for today’s tabloid press. One of the most influential men of his age, Stead was one of those who lost their life on board the Titanic in 1912.

A photograph of Blackwellgate, c1910

A photograph of Blackwellgate at the Houndgate turning

A photograph of the horsefair in Bondgate, c1895

A photograph of a tram climbing up Tubwell Row, c1910

A photograph of Fothergill Fountain in Bondgate, c1870

A photograph of itinerant Italian musicians serenading outside Dinsdale Rectory in 1892

Prints and text about Crown Street

The text reads: The large surface-level car park across the road from this building is the site of the Mill Pot, or pool, which powered the town’s corn mill in medieval times. The mill is remembered by the Cornmill shopping centre behind this Wetherspoon free house.

The Mill Pot was filled in during the 1870s and Priestgate Mill was built on the site for Henry Pease. This huge worsted mill was a local landmark until it closed in 1972. The 152-feet-high chimney was the last part of the mill to be demolished, brought crashing to earth in June 1984.

The Edward Pease Library was built exactly 100 years earlier, in 1884, and was extended in 1933. Designed by George Gordon Hoskins, it is still an important feature of Crown Street.

A photograph and text about High Row

The text reads: The Borough of Darlington was founded in the 12th century, on the site of a Saxon settlement, by Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham. The Bishop built the Parish Church of St Cuthbert and a manor house and established a market beside the River Skearne.

Pudsey’s early English church and the medieval street pattern have survived, and so too have ancient street names such as High Row and Priestgate, which joins with Crown Street at the site of this Wetherspoon free house.

A photograph of St Cuthbert’s Church, Darlington

External photograph of the building – main entrance