Famous Top 10 

Durham has many famous sons and daughters, from movie stars and poets, to sports personalities and industrialists. 

Why not tell us your top 10 - visit us on Facebook. 

Stan Laurel (1890-1965)
Comic Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame was baptised and schooled in Bishop Auckland after leaving his birthplace in Cumbria as a child. In 2008, a statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled in Bishop Auckland, on the site of the Eden Theatre where his father once worked.

Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779)
A Raby estates surveyor, Jeremiah Dixon, born at Cockfield, gave his name to America’s Mason-Dixon line. Between 1763 and 1767 he and Charles Mason surveyed the disputed boundary line which demarcated the division between the Northern free states and the Southern slave states.

Timothy Hackworth (1786-1850)
Railway pioneer whose engine ‘Sans Pareil’ was beaten by George Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ in the 1829 Rainhill Locomotive Trials.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
The poetess was born in Coxhoe Hall in 1806. One of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era, her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.

Denise Welch
Well known actress from ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Waterloo Road’, born and brought up near Consett. 

David Bellamy OBE
The popular TV personality originally trained as a botanist at Durham University, where he later held the post of senior lecturer in botany until 1982. The David Bellamy Conservation Awards have celebrated and inspired an amazing variety of conservation projects in camping, caravan and holiday home parks across the UK.

Rowan Atkinson
The star of shows such as ‘Not the Nine O’clock News’, ‘Blackadder’ and ‘Mr Bean’ was born in Consett and attended the Choristers School in Durham City (at same time as Tony Blair).

Tony Blair
Prime Minister of England from 1997 to 2007 and MP for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007. He attended The Choristers School in Durham City.

Sir Bobby Robson, CBE
Much loved and distinguished football manager of teams including both England and Newcastle. Born in Sacriston, the Robson family moved to the nearby village of Langley Park where his father was a coal miner.

Paul Collingwood, MBE
A regular member of the England Test side and was captain of the One Day International team from 2007–2008. From Shotley Bridge, he is also vice-captain of Durham County Cricket Club.

Durham University has also seen many famous faces pass through its doors:
George Aligiah, TV broadcaster
Kate Adie, TV journalist
Jonathan Edwards, triple jumper
Nasser Hussein, cricketer
Late Mo Mowlem, MP and Government Minister
Minette Walters, mystery novelist
Jeremy Vine, TV broadcaster
Tim Smit, Eden Project & lost Gardens of Heligan
David Shuckman, TV Journalist

And famous writer Bill Bryson is the University’s current Chancellor, following in the footsteps of actor Sir Peter Ustinov, and ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn.