Lanchester

Lanchester is a village and civil parish in County Durham, set where the River Browney runs through low farmland and former coalfield country. The village centre clusters around St Laurence, a church with medieval fabric and a stone tower that marks the settlement on historic maps. Local streets lead to farms, playing fields and a small commercial strip; the community runs a primary school and a village hall that hosts regular events. Road links connect Lanchester to nearby towns while lanes climb to surrounding moorland and grazing fields used for sheep and cattle.

To the south of the modern village are the earthworks of the Roman fort Longovicium, its rectangular ramparts visible in aerial photos and noted in national records as a scheduled monument. Fieldwork and finds have shown the fort lay on a Roman supply route and a short stretch of ancient road line is traceable through the parish. The presence of Longovicium, the river and the church combine to make the area of Lanchester one where recorded history from Roman through medieval periods remains part of the village footprint.