The County Durham town of Darlington has a long and interesting history. In mediaeval times it was a market town for the surrounding area, with records of the market dating back to the 12th century. The Victorian covered market is today an iconic feature at the heart of Darlington but was hugely controversial when built in the 1860s and its floor collapsed when it opened, killing a local farmer. By this time Darlington had been transformed with the opening of the world's first passenger railway in the town, built with the wealth developed by the Pease family's wool mills. Secret Darlington explores the less well-known episodes and characters in the history of the town through the centuries, from scandals such as the Cheese Affair involving the Bishop of Durham to war heroes, sporting stars such as the dentist who won the town's first Olympic gold medal, as a football goalkeeper, but who died while making a save to a Quaker-born adventurer who fled to Easter Island, a global screen star engaged to Fred Perry who died in an air raid in World War 2, campaigners for women's suffrage and industries that have disappeared today, including the forge that built the rudder for the Titanic, to forgotten places of entertainment, not least the largest number of cinemas per head of population in the country in the 1930s. With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and tucked away historical places, Secret Darlington will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this town in County Durham.