Darlington is a large market town in County Durham, England.The Borough of Darlington is governed from the town. In 2011, the town had a population of 92,363 and the larger Borough of Darlington‘s population was recorded as 105,564.
The unitary authority is a constituent member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. The borough, therefore, is part of the Tees Valley mayoralty. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows along south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwent substantial industrial development, spurred by the establishment there of the world's first permanent steam-locomotive-powered passenger railway: the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Much of the vision behind the railway's creation was provided by local Quaker families in the Georgian and Victorian eras.