Tow Law is a small Township situated in an area of fringe moor land, on the eastern approaches to the Pennine Hills in the west of County Durham, some 10 miles from Durham City and intersected by the main A68 road. Despite its unpromising location – the town being at more than 1,000 feet above sea level on an exposed site - its growth during the last century had been rapid. In 1841 only one building stood in the locality, called Tow Law House, but by 1851 the population of the town stood at almost 2,000. By the early 1870’s the population had reached 4,968 reaching a peak in 1881 of 5,005 inhabitants.