VICTORIA ROAD was once a well-to-do sort of a place, with terraces of large late Victorian townhouses and even the odd villa. Now, the dual carriageways blast through, taking traffic around Darlington town centre, and its south side has been torn down and replaced by a Sainsbury’s supermarket. The supermarket is on the site of an 1825 mansion, Beechwood, which had splendid gardens and was lived in by various members of the leading Quaker families. Parcels of land on its fringes were sold off towards the end of the 19th Century, and the comfortable properties of Victoria Road began to take shape.