THE 21st of September 2020 heralded the first livestock sale at ( DFAM ) Darlington Farmers Auction Mart ’ s brand-new stateof-the-art facility at Humbleton Park . For many reasons this represents a major milestone in its long 142-year history . The previous site at Clifton Road in the centre of Darlington had its final sale on the 17th of September .

Livestock sales in the centre of Darlington go back a long way , beginning under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Durham as far back as the 11th century . In the 1860 ’ s the Duke of Cleveland , Lord Raby of Barnard Castle , had leased land in Barnard Street to auctioneers Thomas and George Tarn for a fat cattle mart . This closed with the opening of Bank Top and then reopened in 1893 in direct competition .

The Clifton Road site came into being in February 1878 after an incredible 800 years . The then Town Council in Darlington , headed by Mayor Theo Fry , made the decision to stop holding cattle markets in the town centre streets . They were causing increasing disruption and crowding problems , having outgrown a simple auction space in the corner of the marketplace . There was a recognised need for somewhere more suitable and set back from the centre of the town . The decision was made to move to a purpose-built site on pastureland near Bank Top Railway Station . This was no mean feat as the new auction

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mart opened a month later in March . The new market ’ s first sale sold 11 bulls , 198 cows and heifers , 1762 lean cattle , 115 pigs , 351 lean sheep and 60 fat sheep . The cost of the new market was £ 14,000 ! This may seem a huge figure in 1878 , however translated to today ’ s prices it was equivalent to 1.6 million , which is

a fair way short of the cost of its new third home at Humbleton Park . After the First World War it was decided to concentrate on Bank Top and Barnard Street closed . A further £ 7,525 was spent updating Bank Top .

As the years progressed , the town of Darlington grew and grew encompassing the auction mart , which then gave rise to some of the same problems that were experienced in 1878

- restricted access and cattle escaping and heading for the town centre . How history repeats itself ! However , many will have fond memories of Clifton Road .

Today the business is owned by mainly farmer shareholders and run by a board of directors . The board is headed by chairman , livestock and arable farmer Mark Dent . Mark ’ s team is diverse and brings a lot of expertise and knowledge to the table . As well as a number of farmers , a bank manager , a vet and a solicitor the board is complemented by Paul Gentry , who joined the business earlier this year as primestock manager and Scott Ferrie who is storestock manager .

The new home of the Darlington Farmers Auction Mart ( DFAM ) Humbleton Park is situated on a 186-acre greenfield site just off J58 on the A1 on the A68 . It has been more than 20 years in the planning , with many twists , turns , challenges and hard work behind the scenes . You will notice a plaque in the hall dedicated to Stephen Robert Aitken , he was one of the key figures and instigators behind the development of

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