HERE, we delve into The Northern Echo’s photo archive to see what images of yesteryear in Darlington it contains.

Perhaps the most eye-catching is the aerial view from March 1965, pictured above, with the Great North Road running past the King’s Head Hotel, in the centre of the picture. To the left is Bondgate – no Queens Street Arcade – and towards the top is the Union Street Congregational Church, which is surrounded by scratty bits of land that have been cleared in preparation for the inner ring road.

The Northern Echo:
SHOP AT BINNS: So says the double decker turning on to High Row on April 7, 1966. Just above its roof, by the palisade is a line of deck of chairs looking down onto the Great North Road

The Northern Echo:
OLD CONUNDRUM: An undated picture of North Road, Darlington – presumably that sign on the left is at the entrance to St Paul’s Church. This picture provides the answer to the old conundrum about the number of men required to install a pole. Three to install it and one, who looks like Dr Who’s David Tennant, to stand and watch

The Northern Echo:
BUSY IN BONDGATE: Taken on September 18, 1964, before the ring road blasted away the buildings on the left. On the far right is the Art Shop

The Northern Echo:
TRAFFIC JAM: In Northgate, outside Edward “the Father of the Railways” Pease’s house in 1964. Although a large load – on what looks like a Siddle & Cook wagon – is not helping matters, the jam appears to have been caused by the two police officers who have parked their Jaguar, with the door open, in the middle of the road, and are having a conversation

The Northern Echo:
MOSEY OVER TO MOSES: Fred Moses and Son had their furniture shop on the corner of Bondgate and Commercial Street on May 19, 1965, when this picture was taken. Next to the left of the Tap and Spile is a Wimpy Bar

The Northern Echo:
CURIOUS VEHICLE: It was a misty day in Northgate, Darlington, when the Echo photographer took this picture. The Angel of the Nativity can just be seen in the distance on top of Westbrook Buildings, but we include the picture because of the curious-shaped lorry on the left. What was it?

The Northern Echo:
FUN IN THE SUN: Roller skating at South Park, Darlington, in the 1960s

The Northern Echo:
PECULIAR TOWER: Looking north out of Darlington along North Road on April 30, 1962, with the peculiar-shaped tower of the old Harrowgate Hill reservoir

The Northern Echo:
TRAFFIC TEST: An experimental roundabout was installed in Darlington at the junction of Grange Road, West Street and Victoria Road in April 1964