13a. The Town of Barnard Castle, St Mary's Church and the Castle

1. The Town

2. The Castle

3. St Mary's Church

  North East Index  See also other local scenes of Co. Durham

13b. Circular walk to Cotherstone from Barnard Castle on the banks of the River Tees

13c. The Bowes Museum

13d. The ruins of Egglestone Abbey, near Barnard Castle

13e The paintings of Norman Cornish (images from the Bowes Museum Exhibition in 2020)

13f. A circular walk from Cotherstone via Romaldkirk and the lovely River Tees

The historic Market Town of Barnard Castle

Barnard Castle is a market town in Teesdale, County Durham, England, so named after the castle around which Barnard Castle was built.  It is the main settlement in the Teesdale area, and very a popular tourist destination. Barnard Castle sits on the north bank of the River Tees, opposite the village of Startforth and 21 miles (34 km) south-west of the county town of Durham. Barnard Castle's largest single employer is the pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline, which has a manufacturing facility on the outskirts of town.

1. The Town of Barnard Castle

The Town of Barnard Castle - streets and buildings - history - architecture

There are many fine buildings in Barnard Castle and this is one of the finest. This was once the residence of Sir Roderick Murchison, a great geologist and explorer, twice President of the Royal Geographical Society. He died in 1871 aged 79. A town in New Zealand, water falls on the River Nile, a mountain range and river in Australia, and a sound in Greenland are all named after the great man.

The main high street of the market town of Barnard Castle - the Market Place.

You can cross over the Tees via the two span County Bridge and up into the Town.

The 'busy', but fine stone bridge dates from 1569 and repaired and strengthened in 1771.

The walk up to the Market Place is a most enjoyable architectural trip on its own merit with lots of fine Georgian buildings to admire. On the left are some of the buildings in Thorngate and on the right more fine buildings on The Bank.

The lovely and idiosyncratic Blagraves House (Blagroves House) is the oldest house in Barnard Castle, which is now a restaurant and once an inn. It is on 'The Bank' the street which in past times was the hub and commercial centre of Barnard Castle.

The right-hand side is Tudor, but the left-hand side looks Georgian.

There are four curious carved stone figures on the street facing wall of Blagroves House, Barnard Castle.

The tower of the parish church towers over the lower part of the town and the Old Well pub uses a fine building.

At the top end of Market Place is the site of the Market Cross or Buttercross (Buttermarket, Butter Mart) is characterised by the octagonal tower over where the medieval cross was. In the middle is the tower and nave of St Mary's Parish Church founded in the 12th century.

The Butter Cross, Barnard Castle.

An early evening view looking down the Market Place towards the Buttercross where you can still see some Georgian buildings and some original Victorian shop fronts.

A fine house of the old Vicarage building, Newgate, in Barnard Castle, just across the road from the Bowes Museum.

Sections of it date from 1540 to 1901.

Barnard Castle - Notes from From Wikipedia

Barnard Castle (locally [ˈbɑːnəd ˈkæsəl], BAH-nəd KASS-əl) is a market town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it was built. It is the main settlement in the Teesdale area, and a popular tourist destination. The Bowes Museum's most famous exhibit is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, and its artworks include paintings by Goya and El Greco.

Barnard Castle sits on the north bank of the River Tees, opposite Startforth and 21 miles (34 km) south-west of the county town of Durham. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland to the north-east, Darlington to the east and Richmond in North Yorkshire to the south-east.

Barnard Castle's largest single employer is GlaxoSmithKline, which has a manufacturing facility on the town outskirts.

History

Before the Norman conquest the upper half of Teesdale had been combined into an Anglo-Norse estate which was centred upon the ancient village of Gainford and mortgaged to the Earls of Northumberland. The first Norman Bishop of Durham, Bishop Walcher, was murdered in 1080. This led to the surrounding country being attacked and laid waste by the Norman overlords. Further rebellion in 1095 caused the king William II to break up the Earldom of Northumberland into smaller baronies. The Lordship of Gainford was given to Guy de Balliol.

The earthwork fortifications of the castle were rebuilt in stone by his successor, Bernard de Balliol I during the latter half of the 12th century, giving rise to the town's name.[6] The castle passed down through the Balliol family (of which the Scottish king, John Balliol, was the most important member) and then into the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville, but it fell into ruins in the century after his death.

The remains of the castle are Grade I listed, whilst the chapel in the outer ward is Grade II listed. Both sets of remains are now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public.

John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (now demolished). His Streatlam stud never had more than ten breeding mares at one time, but produced no fewer than four Derby winners in twenty years. The last of these, "West Australian", was the first racehorse to win the Triple Crown, in 1853.[citation needed]

Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier founded the Bowes Museum, which is of national status. Housed in its own ornate building, the museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Goya, Canaletto, Boucher, Fragonard and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.

Although never a major manufacturing centre, in the 18th century industry centred on hand loom wool weaving, and in the early 19th century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread.

Notable visitors
The ruins of Barnard Castle, which gave the town its name

Walter Scott frequently visited his friend John Sawrey Morritt at Rokeby Hall and was fond of exploring Teesdale. He begins his epic poem Rokeby (1813) with a man standing on guard on the round tower of the Barnard Castle fortress.

Charles Dickens (Boz) and his illustrator Hablot Browne (Phiz) stayed at the King's Head in Barnard Castle while researching his novel Nicholas Nickleby in the winter of 1837–38. He is said to have entered William Humphrey's clock-maker's shop, then opposite the hotel, and enquired who had made a certain remarkable clock. William replied that his boy Humphrey had done it. This seems to have prompted Dickens to choose the title "Master Humphrey's Clock" for his new weekly, in which The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge appeared.

William Wordsworth, Daniel Defoe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Hilaire Belloc, Bill Bryson and the artist J. M. W. Turner have also visited the town.

In May 2020, Barnard Castle came to national attention when the chief advisor of the British Prime Minister, Dominic Cummings, was discovered to have driven to the town with his family during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following media allegations that he had broken lockdown regulations by driving to the town, he told how he drove there to test his eyesight to reassure his wife that he was able to drive them back to London the next day.

Governance
Barnard Castle Post Office

Barnard Castle is for all purposes (historic, ceremonial and administrative) located in County Durham.

The county boundary with the North Riding of Yorkshire was adjusted in 1967: that part of the town of Barnard Castle historically in Yorkshire was added to County Durham.[23]

Barnard Castle was the administrative centre of the former Teesdale district of County Durham until its abolition on 1 April 2009. The town is now administered by Durham County Council Unitary Authority, as principal authority and by Barnard Castle Town Council, as a parish. The Town Council elects a ceremonial Town Mayor annually. It is part of the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which as of 2019 is represented in parliament by Dehenna Davison of The Conservative Party. Between 1894 and 1967 the town was administratively part of Barnard Castle Urban District.

All four Durham County Councillors whose wards (Barnard Castle East and Barnard Castle West) include part of Barnard Castle are Conservative.[25]

The local police force is Durham Constabulary. The town is the base for the Barnard Castle division, which covers 300 square miles (780 km2). This division is within the force's south area.
Geography

Elevation: 180 m (600 ft)
Nearest large towns: Darlington, 16 miles (26 km). Bishop Auckland 14.8 miles (24 km)

Destinations from Barnard Castle
Economy

The most important employer in Barnard Castle is Glaxo Smithkline, which has a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the town which employs around 1,000 people.[26] GSK has invested £80 million into the plant since 2007.

Transport

Barnard Castle has road connections to Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor and central County Durham via the A688 and Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, and Middlesbrough by the A67. Barnard Castle is also four miles (6.4 km) from the A66, with access to the M6 to the west and the A1(M) to the east. The B6278 also connects Barnard Castle with Middleton-in-Teesdale. The old road bridge over the River Tees was built in 1569 and is Grade I listed.

Barnard Castle railway station was closed for passenger trains in 1964. A Bill was approved in 1854 for a line from a junction with the Stockton & Darlington Railway at Darlington to Barnard Castle and opened on 9 July 1856, with intermediate stations at Broomielaw, Winston, Gainford and Piercebridge. The terminus at Darlington only lasted five years. In 1856 the South Durham & Lancashire Railway proposed a line from Bishop Auckland to Tebay via Barnard Castle and Kirkby Stephen but only the western section was built with the Company receiving its Bill in 1857.

The line opened on 8 August 1861 from a second terminus at Barnard Castle to a junction with the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway at Tebay with intermediate stations at Lartington, Bowes, Barras, Kirkby Stephen, Ravenstondale & Gaisgill. The two stations at Barnard Castle were some distance apart; the earliest station became a through station and closed to passengers on 1 May 1862, but remained in use as a goods depot. The second station was closed for passenger trains under the Beeching cuts in 1964 and completely on 5 April 1965 and the site was eventually built on by GlaxoSmithKline.[30] Today rail access is via Bishop Auckland, or Darlington. There are two bus routes provided by Arriva North East which connect Barnard Castle to Darlington, the X75 and X76.

Education

Barnard Castle School, an independent co-educational boarding school located on the eastern edge of the town.

Teesdale School is an 11–18 comprehensive school on the outskirts of the town, just off the A688.

Green Lane school is a primary school for 4–11 year olds.

St Mary's is a Roman Catholic school situated on Birch Road near the church of the same name.[citation needed]
Culture


The town hosts the Bowes Museum, purpose-built as a public gallery to house the collection of John and Josephine Bowes. It is regarded as one of the finest museums in the north of England, being in the style of a French chateau, in extensive grounds, and is by far the largest building in the town. It contains paintings by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher, together with a sizable collection of decorative art, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks and costumes, as well as older items from local history. It is most famous for the Silver Swan automaton, which plays every day at 2pm.

The Witham Arts Centre on the Horse Market, holds a wide variety of events including drama, cinema, music, spoken word and children's events as well as being the town's visitor information point.

The TCR Hub is a community centre on the edge of the town with a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities for young people and families and for the community more generally.

An annual live music festival, organised by Teesdale Community Resources in conjunction with the Barnard Castle Meet Committee, runs over the Whit weekend alongside the many other 'Meet' activities. It is a three-day event with out-of-town bands playing on the Saturday and local bands & up and coming TCR bands playing on the Sunday and Monday. It is a family friendly event and entrance is totally free.

The Barnard Castle Meet is an annual carnival festival held on the second bank holiday weekend in May, the schools' summer half-term week. The Meet, as it is known locally, has grown from the North East Cyclists' Meet dating back to 1885, and since the early 1900s the town has staged a carnival and grand procession through the town centre on the bank holiday Monday. The weekend is now probably the largest event in the Barnard Castle and Teesdale calendar. There are around twenty separate events that the Meet Committee asserts 'reach every corner of the community'. In recent years, with the R 'n' B festival no longer in the Meet Weekend programme, the Committee has staged its own music event showcasing local and national talent on the Sunday and Monday, with all technical and musical support from Teesdale Community Resources (TCR).

The Barnard Castle Band, founded in 1860, is a brass band based in the town, well known outside the area as a result of the march Barnard Castle by Goff Richards.

2. The Castle in Barnard Castle

The Castle of Barnard Castle is magnificently set high on a rocky cliff above the River Tees.

The Castle is perched on the edge of a ravine that falls away into the River Tees.

The castle presents a fine sight occupying a most commanding position above the River Tees.

The castle is built on the rocky cliff over the fast flowing River Tees hence very good defensive southern and western flanks.

Barnard Castle derives its name from the 12th Century Norman Castle built by Bernard Balliol between 1112 and 1132.

The best preserved round tower of Barnard Castle, on its 'motte' high above the River Tees.

Looking up to the mighty defensive walls of Barnard Castle.

Details of one of the medieval windows of Barnard Castle (Tudor design?)

Views from the path that runs below the Barnard Castle walls.

 

General view of the wards of xyz.

 

The Postern Gate in the wall.

 

The Round Tower on the left, in the foreground one of the deep defensive ditches of xyz.

 

Two windows of the Great Hall of xyz.

 

Looking out over the River Tees.

 

Spiral staircase in the Round Tower.

 

View from the Castle grounds towards the Town and the tower of St Mary's Parish Church.

 

 

View of the medieval road bridge over the River Tees from the xyz walls.

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The Castle at Barnard Castle notes from Wikipedia

History

A stone castle was built on the site of an earlier defended position from around 1095 to 1125 by Guy de Balliol. Between 1125 and 1185 his nephew Bernard de Balliol and his son Bernard II extended the building.

In 1216 the castle was besieged by Alexander II, King of Scotland. It was still held by the Balliol family although its ownership was disputed by the Bishops of Durham. When John Balliol was deposed as King of Scotland in 1296 the castle was passed to the Bishop of Durham. Around 1300 Edward I granted it to the Earl of Warwick. In the 15th century the castle passed by marriage to the Neville family. In 1477 during the Wars of the Roses, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) took possession of the castle, which became one of his favourite residences.

Over the next two centuries the Nevilles enlarged and improved the estate and created a substantial and impressive castle. During the Rising of the North, Sir George Bowes shut himself up in the castle, where he was besieged. Following the failure of the revolt, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland was attainted for his leading role in the Rising of the North and the Neville estates were sequestered. In 1626 the Crown sold the castle and also the Neville property at Raby Castle to Sir Henry Vane.[citation needed]

Vane decided to make Raby his principal residence and Barnard Castle was abandoned and its contents and much of its masonry was removed for the maintenance and improvement of Raby.

The castle is in the custody of English Heritage and is open to the public. Of particular interest are the ruins of the 12th-century cylindrical tower and the 14th-century Great hall and Great chamber. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1950. The remains of the medieval chapel of St Margaret in the outer ward are listed as Grade II.

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3. St Mary's Church Barnard Castle

The west tower and carved south Norman doorway of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

The 'Romanesque' styled south door of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

An elaborate, somewhat macabre tombstone in the graveyard of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

Looking east down the nave to the altar of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

Some old cross-slab tombstones and a more elaborate medieval tomb in St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

 

 

The pointed aisle arches of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

Looking down the nave to the west window of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle has some fine Victorian stained glass windows.

 

Deep reset Norman windows of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

The east window above the altar of St Mary's Church, Barnard Castle.

 

See also 13b. Circular walk to Cotherstone from Barnard Castle on the banks of the River Tees

and 13c. The Bowes Museum

13d. The ruins of Egglestone Abbey, near Barnard Castle

13e The paintings of Norman Cornish (images from the Bowes Museum Exhibition in 2020)

 

Cafes, Pubs and Restaurants in Barnard Castle

Lovely tea, china and cakes in Clarendon's Cafe in Market Place, Barnard Caste

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Barnard Castle, historic market town, County Durham, Northern England:  Barnard Castle is a lovely historic market town set above the glorious River Tees. It is a most pleasant town to potter around in and its varied architecture is highly rated. There are plenty of cafes, tearooms, pubs and restaurants to take pleasure in after completing a good walk by the River Tees and a few are briefly illustrated and described below.
	The Market Place Teashop, Barnard Castle, provides good food, tea and coffee etc. and is at the top end of Horse Market (above) which is part of the main street of Barnard Castle. Up on the right is Galgate (left picture) with more shops and fine houses.
	Penny's Cafe, Barnard Castle, is a tea room and licensed restaurant, and is just across the road from the octagonal Buttercross ('Market Cross', 'Butter Mart', above and left) with Church in the background. The Buttercross, built in 1747, is a reminder that Barnard Castle is the main market town for Teesdale. In its time is has served as a court, gaol, Town Hall and butter market.
	Blagraves House, Barnard Castel, on The Bank is a 16th century house which later became an inn. It is reputed that Oliver Cromwell was entertained here in 1648. Built in 1569 it is still going strong as a restaurant.
	The Old Well Inn, Barnard Castle, is fine looking house on The Bank. The are many other handsome houses on The Bank and further down towards the River Tees on Thorngate.
	The White Swan pub, Barnard Castle, is just across the fine bridge over the River Tees below Barnard's Castle. It is a suitable place to call in to after a lovely walk along the River Tees up to Cotherstone which is an excellent circular river walk (see below).
	The Golden Lion Inn-Pub a few hundred yards up from the Buttercross in Barnard Castle

The Hayloft Emporium and the Stables Cafe, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham, England.

"Phil Brown's 2021 docspics take on Barnard Castle"

See also 13b. Circular walk to Cotherstone from Barnard Castle on the banks of the River Tees

and 13c. The Bowes Museum

13d. The ruins of Egglestone Abbey, near Barnard Castle

13e The paintings of Norman Cornish (images from the Bowes Museum Exhibition in 2020)

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