Croft -on-Tees Village

Croft-on-Tees village, though strictly speaking located in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, looks most closely to Darlington, from which it is divided only at the boundary, by the atmospheric River Tees.

It stands on the opposite bank of the river from Darlington's Hurworth-on-Tees village, on the A167. The attractive bridge over the river between Croft and Hurworth marks the boundary between North Yorkshire and County Durham - the exact point of transition is the fourth of the seven arches.

Croft Bridge is traditionally where the new Bishop of Durham enters his Bishopric and the existing bridge, which originally dates back to distant Medieval times, gained a further claim to fame in 2007, when after standing for some 700+ years, it was granted Grade 1-listed status.

Take some time to visit St Peter's Church, just over the bridge from the Darlington side, on the right just after the bridge. Keys for the church can be obtained from the adjacent Croft Hotel. Lord Byron married into the prestigious local Milbanke family, whose pew dominates the interior of the church. Other literary links include Lewis Carroll, born Charles Ludwidge Dodgson, who grew up here, where his father was the Church Rector. It is reputed that his Cheshire Cat from 'Alice in Wonderland' is based on a carving of a cat on one of the church's pew ends and that his 'Jabberwocky' poem takes inspiration from the local Sockburn Worm legend.

William Wordsworth is said to have met his wife at Sockburn Farm, Darlington, further strengthening the claims to fame of Darlington and Croft village.

The name Croft is well known to fans of motorsports for the nearby Croft Circuit, which hosts many races including Super Bike, as well as amateur days and is built on the former aerodrome called RAF Croft.