Dawdon
Dawdon is a former pit community to the south of Seaham, in County Durham, England. An area of the beach near Dawdon was used in the opening scenes of the science fiction film Alien 3.
History
The township of Dawdon was in the parish of Dalton-le-Dale and consisted of an area of 1,088 acres between the Durham coast and the townships of Seaham, Dalton-le-Dale and Cold Hesledon. Seaham Harbour was built in the township. The port and town grew during the 19th century. In 1866 Dawdon became a separate civil parish and became part of Seaham Harbour urban district, on 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished and merged with Seaham. and became part of the new Seaham urban district."The population in 1801 was 22; in 1811, 27; in 1821, 35; in 1831, in consequence of the construction of a new harbour, it had increased to 1022; in 1841, 2017; in 1851, 3538; in 1861, 6137; in 1871, 7132; in 1881, 7714; and in 1891, 9044." In 1931 the parish had a population of 19,399.
Climate
Like the rest of the United Kingdom, Dawdon has a temperate climate. At the average annual rainfall is lower than the national average of. Equally there are only around 121.3 days where more than of rain falls compared with a national average of 154.4 days. The area sees on average 1374.6 hours of sunshine per year, compared with a national average of 1125.0 hours. There is frost on 52 days compared with a national average of 55.6 days. Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures are and compared with a national averages of and respectively.The table below gives the average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office weather station in Durham: