Quarrington Hill lies about 10km to the southeast of Durham. This part of East Durham is dominated by limestone hills. This good quality limestone has long been quarried for a range of different uses; it has been burnt in limestone to make lime, which was used to make cement. The cement to build Durham Cathedral probably came from this area. Nowadays, the limestone is used for modern industrial purposes, such as in the Teeside chemical industry. The remains of many old quarries can be see in the area; some have become nature reserves. This tradition of quarrying goes back to antiquity. The name of the village itself come from the Old English for 'the hill where quern stones were quarried'.

Minerals and stone were not only quarried from the surface in Quarrington. There were also several collieries, such as Crow Trees Colliery and Vale Pit. The latter first produced coal in 1834. However, the collieries in this part of the County were worked out by the late 19th century, leading to a decline in many of the pit villages.