Cassop-cum-Quarrington

Old Quarrington is a hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated between Bowburn and Quarrington Hill. It is also known locally as Heugh Hall, which was the name of a local colliery.In the Middle Ages, Old Quarrington was the centre of a district of County Durham called “Queringdonshire" (Quarringtonshire), which contained nearby Sherburn, Shadforth, Cassop, Tursdale and Whitwell House.

Cassop Vale is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Durham City district of County Durham, England. It lies between the villages of Bowburn and Cassop, 7 km south-east of the centre of Durham.. The site is important as one of the larger areas of grassland developed on magnesium limestone. This rock has a restricted distribution in England and grassland associated with it is confined almost entirely to south-east Tyneside and County Durham, usually in small, scattered patches that are threatened by quarrying and modern agricultural practices. Habitats at Cassop Vale include grassland, scrub, woodland and wetland, the last fed by spring-lines. The area also includes recolonised open quarries and mine spoil-heaps, which add to the floral diversity. The main grass species on the magnesian limestone is blue moor-grass Sesleria albicans amongst which grow fragrant orchid Gymnadenia conopsea, cowslip, Primula veris, rock rose Helianthemum nummularium, and quaking grass, Briza media. Several rare and local species are present, including globeflower, Trollius europaeus, birds's-eye primrose, Primula farinosa, lesser club-moss, Selaginella selaginoides, and moonwort, Botrychium lunaria. Elsewhere there is neutral grassland with red fescue and such herbs as cat’s-ear, earthnut and knapweed.The scrub is dominated by hawthorn, gorse and hazel and on the basic soils grow woodruff, dog's mercury and sanicle. The small flushes on the springline are dominated by rushes and sedges, but are also home to marsh valerian, marsh ragwort, ragged robin and northern marsh-orchid. The wetlands are fringed by common spike-rush, soft rush and greater willow-herb.The site also supports a diverse invertebrate fauna that includes populations of the Durham argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, and the least minor moth Photedes captiuncula.

Quarrington Hill is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the north of Kelloe. Having been part of the extensive parish of Kelloe, it merged with the village of Cassop during the 19th century to form the parish of Cassop-cum-Quarrington, it is now in the parish of Coxhoe. As in most of County Durham, the chief trade here was coal mining and Cassop Colliery was where the miners worked. The inhabitants of Quarrington Hill also shared the church of St. Pauls (built in 1868), with Cassop. The stones that were used in its construction were allegedly transported by William Smith, Innkeeper of the Half Moon Inn, Quarrington Hill, as he was the only villager to own such a cart to make this possible. It was closed during the 1980s and is now demolished. The churchyard is still used for burials.

Old Cassop is a hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles to the south-east of Durham. Old Cassop lies within the Cassop-cum-Quarrington civil parish. Old Cassop is about a quarter of a mile south of the A181 road and is accessible only by an unclassified single-track road. It is covered by a conservation area to preserve its character.

Quarrington Hill Grasslands is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham, England. The site consists of three separate areas, two closely adjacent to the east of the village of Quarrington Hill, the third immediately west of the village, which lies 8 km south-east of Durham City. The area is important for its magnesian limestone grassland communities, which are largely confined to County Durham and increasingly scarce even there. The grasslands at Quarrington Hill are typical of the type, being characterised by the presence of blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, and small scabious, Scabiosa columbaria. Less common species include common milkwort, Polygala vulgaris, hairy violet, Viola hirta, and wild carrot, Daucus carota. The nationally scarce dark-red helleborine, Epipactis atrorubens, is found at the site, as is basil thyme, Clinopodium acinos, a southern species that is uncommon this far north. The Durham Argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, a form which is only found in the magnesian limestone areas of Durham, is known to breed at the site.

Coxhoe railway station served the village of Coxhoe, County Durham, England from 1838 to 1902 on the Coxhoe branch of the Clarence Railway.

Coxhoe is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated about 5 miles (8 km) south of Durham City centre. The civil parish also includes nearby Quarrington Hill. The electoral ward of Coxhoe stretches beyond the boundaries of the parish and has a total population of 7,027.

Cassop (formerly New Cassop) is a village in County Durham, in England. It has a population of about 500 and is located near the city of Durham. A former mining village, mining is no longer the main occupation of Cassop's inhabitants due to extensive mine closure over the last 30 years. Formerly this village was in the parish of Kelloe, but like many of the villages in that extensive parish, it broke away during the 19th century in this case to form the parish of Cassop-cum-Quarrington, with the neighbouring village, Quarrington Hill. Cassop Primary School is believed to have been the first in the UK to generate some of its own electricity with its own wind turbine which was erected in February 1999.

Sherburn Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham, England. It lies just south of the road between the villages of Sherburn and Sherburn Hill, some 5.5 km east of Durham city. A disused quarry occupies part of the site. The site supports an area of semi-natural magnesian limestone grassland, in which blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, is the dominant species. Glaucous sedge, Carex flacca, quaking grass, Briza media, meadow oat-grass, Avenula pratensis, rock-rose, Helianthemum nummularium, and fragrant orchid, Gymnadenia conopsea, are common, while sea plantain, Plantago maritima, is locally abundant in the grassland at the edge of limestone spoil heaps. The site has one of the largest populations of the scarce Durham Argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, and the rare cistus forester moth, Adscita geryon, has also been recorded.

Raisby Hill Grassland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in east County Durham, England. It lies just over 1 km east of the village of Coxhoe. The site consists of a small disused quarry and the undisturbed part of Raisby Hill, as well as a small area of wetland alongside Raisby Beck. It formed part of the Raisby Hill Quarry SSSI until 1984 when it was removed and, with some expansion of the area, notified as a separate SSSI. In the undisturbed part of Raisby Hill primary magnesian limestone grassland is the main vegetation type. Blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, is abundant, and there is a rich assemblage of species characteristic of calcareous soils, such as quaking grass, Briza media, meadow oat grass, Avenula pratensis, glaucous sedge, Carex flacca, and fragrant orchid, Gymnadenia conopsea. The skeletal soils in the abandoned quarry at the southwestern end of the site support the largest population of dark-red helleborine, Epipactis atrorubens, in County Durham. Other species found here include rock rose, Helianthemum nummularium, frog orchid, Coeloglossum viride, and pyramidal orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis. The site supports a breeding population of Durham Argus butterfly, Aricia artaxerxes salmacis, a form which is only found in the magnesian limestone areas of Durham.

Durham Motorway Services are at junction 61 on the A1 (M), six miles from Durham City between the villages of Bowburn and Coxhoe in County Durham, England. Opened in 1994 by David Bellamy, the site operates high street brands such as McDonald's, Costa Coffee, WHSmith and on site hotel Days Inn. In 2019, the site opened a McDonald's Drive Thru, the first on the UK motorway network and created an extra 20 jobs in team members, management and customer service.

Coxhoe Bridge railway station served the village of Coxhoe, County Durham, England, from 1846 to 1984 on the Hartlepool–Ferryhill Line.