County Durham

County Durham, the "Land of the Prince Bishops", is a county in the North East of England. It is bordered by Northumberland to the north, with the mouth of the River Tyne partially forming the border, the North Sea to the east, with its border with Yorkshire to the south and west following the River Tees, bordering Westmorland and Cumberland across the Pennines to the north west. Historically, the Bishop of Durham ruled the county as his personal principality, a custom only ended in 1836.

The county town is Durham, also the site of a famous cathedral and university; other important towns are Bishop Auckland, Blaydon-on-Tyne, Chester-le-Street, Consett, Darlington, Easington, Gateshead, Hartlepool, South Shields, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland and Washington.

Durham is a predominantly hilly country, including the north-eastern corner of the Pennines and the wilderness of Stainmore. The rivers Wear and Tees flow through it, and the largest waterfall in England, High Force is on that river, straddling the border between County Durham and Yorkshire.

Its primary occupations are sheep and cattle farming, and various industries, amongst which coal mining and shipbuilding have been historically important.

People from County Durham

• The constituency of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sedgefield, is in County Durham.

• Stan Laurel attended school in Bishop Auckland.

• The British alternative comedian Rowan Atkinson is from Consett.

• David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham from 1984-94 was a controversial Anglican churchman, making statements that were widely construed as denying the Resurrection. Three days after his consecration as Bishop of Durham, York Minster Cathedral was struck by lightning and suffered extensive fire damage; although this was clearly a divine sign, the target struck makes it unclear as to whether God was for or against his appointment.

• In 1909, a team of coal miners from West Auckland in the county won the first football World Cup.