Durham - England

County Durham ) is a ceremonial county and (smaller) unitary district in North East England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county (in the unitary Borough of Darlington) is the town of Darlington.[3] The county has an industrial heritage and its economy was historically based on coal and iron mining.[4] It is an area of regeneration and promoted as a tourist destination.[4] The ceremonial county borders Tyne and Wear, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland and forms part of the North East England region.Many counties are named after their principal town, and the expected form here would be Durhamshire.[3] The county is commonly known as County Durham but was officially named Durham until at least 1997.[6] The structural change legislation in 2009,[7] however, referred to the county of County Durham. The former postal county was known as "County Durham" to distinguish it from the post town of Durham. Durham is the only English county name to be prefixed with "County" in common usage - a practice more common in Ireland. [edit] Politics [edit] Local government The ceremonial county of Durham is administered by four unitary authorities. The ceremonial county has no administrative function, but remains the area to which a Lord-Lieutenant and High Sheriff are appointed. * County Durham (governed by Durham County Council). The unitary district was formed on 1 April 2009 replacing the previous two-tier system of a county council providing strategic services and seven district councils providing more local facilities. The seven districts abolished were:[8][9]