Historically the village was a township in the ancient parish of Sockburn, a parish divided by the River Tees between the North Riding of Yorkshire (which included Over Dinsdale) and County Durham (which included the township of Sockburn).
Historically, the village was a township in the ancient parish of Sockburn, which was part of a larger area divided by the River Tees between Yorkshire's North Riding (including Over Dinsdale) and County Durham (which included the township of Sockburn).