The village of Shotton is about two miles south from Easington, and twelve from Sunderland. The name of the village comes from the Old English meaning 'of the Scots' and was first recorded in 1165 as 'Sottun'. Old Shotton, the old village, is centered around Shotton Hall, and is now just inside the boundary of Peterlee. The village name has also been used for Shotton Colliery.

The earliest object to be found in the parish is the remains of a {gold armlet D161} which was found in the garden of Shotton Hall. It is probably of Roman date. Despite this early find we know little of the village until the medieval period.

As well as the medieval village another settlement grew up at New Shotton to house miners at Shotton Colliery. However, it has declined in size since the colliery shut. Shotton Colliery was opened in 1840 and closed in 1972.

In 1921 a new steam-driven engine was built to wind the cables that carried the lift moving men to and from the surface at Shotton Colliery. It was built in 1921. The lift could pull men from as deep as 330m.

A number of war memorials can be found in the area that commemorate the efforts of those of Shotton and Shotton Colliery who fought and died in the First World War and later conflicts. A stone statue of a DLI soldier serves as the joined World Wars memorial in Shotton Colliery whilst a number of varied features can be found in the local church of St. Saviour's. These range from stained glass windows dedicated to those who served and those who fell in each of the World Wars as well as a plaque dedicated to a man who fell whilst serving in Borneo in 1966. The churchyard is also known to contain a memorial column of stone dedicated to George Winwood - thought to be one of the first men to be killed during WW1, serving on HMS Arethusa, Friday August 28th 1914.

Members of Shotton Colliery Working Men's Club are also known to have served in the war as they are commemorated on memorial plaques attached to a roadside wall outside the location of the former club house.