Lanchester, County Durham

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Lanchester is a village and civil parish in the district of Derwentside, County Durham, England. It is eight miles to the west of the city of Durham and 8 km (5 miles)^{[citation needed]} from the former steel town of Consett. It has a population of slightly over 5000 people^{[citation needed]}. There are three churches in the village including All Saints Parish church which stands on the village green. It is predominantly Norman and Early English and very fine in both styles. The commanding church tower dates from around 1430.

Lanchester is the situated half a mile North East of the Roman fort of Longovicium, which guarded the Roman road, Dere Street, between York and Hadrian's Wall. The fort dates to AD 140 and covers six acres. It held around 1000 foot soldiers and cavalry. The fort foundations are very well preserved but there has only been minor excavation work carried out in 1937. Stones from the fort were used in the construction of All Saints Church. There is a Roman altar in the church porch, which was found near the fort in 1893.

Although there was a small drift mine on the edge of the village which closed in the 1970s, Lanchester's economy was mainly based on agriculture and is now a residential village which with a number of housing estates has expanded significantly since the late 1960s. The village centre now has three pubs and a small shopping centre. Schools include St Bedes Roman Catholic School and Derwentside College's Sixth Form Centre. There are also two primary schools: Lanchester All Saints' RC Primary School and Lanchester Endowed Parochial (E.P) This latter has since relocated about 50 yards to new premises and the old school is now the village hall. Lanchester intends to install a one-way system throughout the village to reduce traffic problems.