CHESTER-le-Street is not the only North-East place with a secret history - every town in the region could harbour a fact that could be summed up by Michael Caine's catchphrase: "Not a lot of people know that."

For instance, did you know that the person who gave mustard to the nation was a Mrs Clements, from Durham, not Jeremiah Colman as is widely believed.

It turns out that, in 1729, 'Dame' Clements first sifted firmly ground black and white mustard seeds to leave a husk-free flour. Later, she embarked upon a nationwide horseback tour to flog the product.

Or, have you heard about the world's first, and probably last, wooden and cardboard car built by an eccentric Wensleydale character called Kit Calvert. The 50-year-old machine had been lying forgotten in a barn for 35 years when it was auctioned for £250, following Mr Calvert's death in 1984.

Other noteworthy nuggets include the fact that, in 1939, Darlington had more cinema seats per head of population than any other place in the country and that the family of Hillary Clinton, the former US first lady, hails from Oxhill, near Stanley.

Something else often overlooked is the fact that a man called Jeremiah Dixon, from Cockfield of all places, is responsible for the alternative name for the American South - Dixieland. He drew the Mason-Dixon line across the US in the 19th Century and it was his half that is still whistled to this day.

In 1912, at the Hippodrome in Bishop Auckland, the "Little Lady" made an appearance - a singer of Pyrennean folk songs and claimed to be the smallest woman in the world. She held a civic reception at the town's Talbot hall to show off her jewellery.