Binchester is a small village in County Durham, England. In 2001 it had a population of 271. It is situated between Bishop Auckland, which is to the south, and a short distance to the west of Spennymoor. It has a community centre, swing park and football field, and is surrounded by countryside. Granville Terrace, the main road through the village, was relaid and renovated in 1991 for the BBC television series Challenge Anneka.
Nearby is Vinovia.
Etymology
Binchester almost certainly takes the first element of its name from the first element of the earlier Roman name
Vinovia. This was Anglicised with the addition of the Old English word
ceaster '(Roman) fortification' and perhaps through identification with the Old English word
binn 'manger'.
[Bethany Fox, 'The P-Celtic Place-Names of North-East England and South-East Scotland', The Heroic Age, 10 (2007), http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox.html (appendix at http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox-appendix.html).]
Governance
Binchester was formerly a township in the parish of St Andrew-Auckland,
in 1866 Binchester became a separate
civil parish, on 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished and merged with Bishop Auckland.
In 1931 the parish had a population of 60.
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