Shildon

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Shildon
latitude= 54.63
longitude= -1.65
population = 10,079 (2001) [http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/Lookup/Sedgefield%20Settlement%20Summary%20Sheets%20Numbers/$file/Sedgefield+Settlement+Summary+Sheets+Numbers.pdf]
shire_district= Sedgefield
region= North East England
shire_county = County Durham
constituency_westminster= Bishop Auckland
post_town= SHILDON
postcode_district = DL4
postcode_area= DL
dial_code= 01388
os_grid_reference= NZ226263

Shildon is a town in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the 2 miles south east of Bishop Auckland and 11 miles north of Darlington. It is 13 miles away from Durham, 23 from Sunderland and 23 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Shildon is part of the Bishop Auckland Parliamentary constituency, which is represented by Helen Goodman MP.

Railways

Shildon is considered to be the "Cradle Of The Railways". The town grew considerably when the Stockton and Darlington Railway established its workshops there in 1825. The company owned much of the land and the population grew to around 9000.

Today, Shildon's connections with the birth of the railway industry, notably through the efforts of Timothy Hackworth, are marked by the Shildon Locomotion Museum, which opened in September 2004 and is part of the National Railway Museum. Daniel Adamson, Hackworth's apprentice and a renowned engineer in his own right, was born in Shildon. Shildon and the Locomotion Museum are served by Shildon railway station, which is on the Wear Valley Line.

General

Shildon was the birthplace of the writer, Sid Chaplin for whom the local library was named.

Local side Shildon A.F.C. competed in the Arngrove Northern League Division One. In November 2003, they reached the FA Cup First Round for the first time in 42 years. Unfortunately, however, they were beaten 7-2 on the day by Notts County. They have a very successful history in the 1930s of which can be seen on their website [http://www.shildonafc.co.uk]

Shildon also has a number of societies and clubs running in the town. "Shildon Recall" is a local history group that meets in the Shildon People's Centre [http://www.spcentre.org.uk] (formerly the Police Station). [http://www.shildonrecallsociety.com] Shildon Running & Athletic Club is based at the Stadium 2000 situated on Middridge Lane in Shildon and was founded in 1986. [http://www.shildonrunning.co.uk]

Education

*St. Johns C Of E (Aided) Primary School
* [http://www.sunnydale.co.uk Sunnydale Community College for Maths & Computing]
*Thornhill Primary School
*Timothy Hackworth Primary School

External links

* [http://www.shildonyouth.co.uk Shildon Youth Forum]
* [http://www.shildonrecallsociety.com Shildon Recall Society]
* [http://www.shildon.net/ Shildon Forum]
* [http://www.shildontowncrier.com Shildon Town Crier]
* [http://www.shildonyouth.co.uk/yella/ Shildon Yella - Youth Produced Newspaper]
* [http://www.sedgefield.gov.uk/locomotion/ Locomotion]
* [http://www.tearaways-shildon.co.uk The Tearaways Youth Theatre Group]
* [http://www.spcentre.org.uk Shildon People's Centre]
* [http://www.shildonsalvationarmy.org.uk/ Shildon Salvation Army]
* [http://www.shildonafc.co.uk Official Website of Shildon AFC Ltd]
* [http://www.shildonrunning.co.uk Shildon Running & Athletic Club]