Lanchester, County Durham

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Lanchester or Lanchesterstan as it is known as is a village and civil parish in the district of Derwentside, County Durham, England. It is 25 km (16 miles) to the west of the city of Durham and 8 km (5 miles) from the former steel town of Consett. It has a population of slightly over 5000 people. There are 3 churches in the village including All Saints Parish church which stands on the village green. Parts of All Saints church date back to the middle of the twelfth century. The commanding church tower dates from around 1430.

Lanchester is the site of the Roman fort of Longovicium, which guarded the Roman road Dere Street between York and Hadrian's Wall. The fort was built in AD140 covering 6 acres. It stationed around 1000 foot soldiers and cavalry. The fort site is very well preserved but has only ever had minor excavation work carried out in 1937. Stones from the fort were used in the construction of All Saints Church. There is also a Roman altar in the porch of All Saints church which was found near the fort in 1893.

Formerly a mining village and agricultural centre, Lanchester has expanded dramatically over the last 20 years into a dormitory town. The village centre has three pubs, various shops and St.Bedes Roman Catholic School and Sixth Form College.