English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Norton

Parish in the County of Durham

Etymology

The parish consists of a single township. In the south-east the surface is low and flat, in the west and north it rises to some 170ˈ above sea level.The soil around Norton is rich and loamy, to the west it is red clay on sand and gravel. In 1905 there were 1,607 acres of arable, the chief crops being oats, barley, potatoes and turnips; 2,410 acres were grassland and there were 24 acres of woods and plantations. The place was famous for market gardens. Old industries included brick and tile making, brewing, pottery, a glass factory, tannery and iron working. In 1913 a large part of the original parish was incorporated in the borough of Stockton, VCH III304.

Major Settlements