Barnard Castle
Encyclopedia
Barnard Castle is an historical town in Teesdale
, County Durham
, England
. It is named after the castle
around which it grew up. It sits on the north side of the River Tees
, opposite Startforth
, 42 miles (68 km) south southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne
, 38 miles (61 km) south southwest of Sunderland
, 30 miles (48 km) west of Middlesbrough
and 21 miles (34 km) southwest of the county town of Durham
. Other than the castle, the Bowes Museum
is also located in the town. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland
north-east, Darlington
to the east and Richmond
to the south-east.
was founded by the Normans
shortly after the conquest, but enjoyed its heyday under Bernard de Bailliol during the latter half of the 12th century. The castle passed into the hands of 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 castle are a Grade 1 listed building, 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.
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
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 whichThe 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.
The Bowes Museum
housed in a chateau-like building, was founded by John Bowes and his wife and is of national status. It 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 automation, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
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 (1853).
Although never a big manufacturing centre, in the eighteenth century industry centred around hand loom wool weaving, and in the early nineteenth century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread.
, ceremonial
and administrative
) located in County Durham.
Barnard Castle was the administrative centre of the now defunct Teesdale
district of County Durham. The town is now administered by Durham County Council Unitary Authority. It is part of the Bishop Auckland
parliamentary constituency
, which as of 2010 is represented in parliament
by Helen Goodman
(Labour
). It is in the North East England
region
, which serves as a constituency for the European Parliament
.
The local police force is Durham Constabulary
. The town is the base for the Barnard Castle division, which covers 300 square miles (777 km²). This division is within the force's south area
.
which has a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the town which employs around 1000 people. The number of people employed could potentially be doubled if the site is chosen as the site of a new bio-pharmaceutical plant. GSK has invested over £80 million into the plant since 2006, and the company plans to spend a further £25 million in 2011 upgrading and investing in buildings and machinery.
Barnard Castle is located in a picturesque area of Teesdale and as such tourism is important to the local economy. Several holiday parks are located nearby including a Camping and Caravanning Club site and a new site for the Caravan Club. The town has a number of antique shops and an antique centre which attracts antique buyers from all around the world. The High Street has many independent shops, as well as a Co-op
, Boyes, Boots
, Superdrug
, Edinburgh Woollen Mill
, Clarks
, Costa Coffee
, Clinton Cards
, Greggs
and Heron Foods
.
Nearby Startforth
has a young offenders institute.
, Spennymoor
and central County Durham via the A688
and Darlington
and Teesside
by the A67
. Barnard Castle is also located 4 miles (6.4 km) from the A66
with access to both the M6
to the west and the A1(M) to the east. The B6278 also connects Barnard Castle with Middleton-in-Teesdale
.
From 1861 to 1964 the town was served by Barnard Castle railway station
. Today rail access is via Bishop Auckland
, 15 miles (25 km) or Darlington
, 20 miles (30 km).
, an independent co-educational boarding school, is located on the eastern edge of the town.
Several notable Old Barnardians come from the school: ex-England Rugby players Rob Andrew
, now Director of Elite Rugby for the Rugby Football Union
(RFU), the Underwood brothers, Tony
and Rory
along with present England player Mathew Tait
and his younger brother Alex, member of the Newcastle Falcons and England U20s team.
Students Rory Clegg
, and Alex Gray are members of the England Under 18 squad.
The School also boasts many other notable alumni, including renegade spy Richard Tomlinson
and Professor Edward Mellanby, the discoverer of vitamin D.
is an 11-18 comprehensive school. It is located on the outskirts of the town, just off the A688. Teesdale School has won multiple accolades.
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. This always falls on the bank holiday Monday. The weekend is now probably the largest event in the Barnard Castle and Teesdale calendar. The weekend encompasses around twenty separate events that the Meet Committee asserts 'reach every corner of the community'. In recent years with the demise of the R 'n' B festival from 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 2010 Meet, the largest for several years began with the Crowning of the Meet Queen on 29 May.
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
.
Teesdale
Teesdale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in England. Large parts of Teesdale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The River Tees rises below Cross Fell, the highest hill in the Pennines, and its...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is named after the castle
Barnard Castle (castle)
Barnard Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated in the town of the same name in County Durham. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1950...
around which it grew up. It sits on the north side of the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
, opposite Startforth
Startforth
Startforth is a village in Teesdale, in the Pennines of England, situated a short distance south-west of Barnard Castle, on the opposite side of the River Tees...
, 42 miles (68 km) south southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, 38 miles (61 km) south southwest of Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
, 30 miles (48 km) west of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
and 21 miles (34 km) southwest of the county town of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
. Other than the castle, the Bowes Museum
Bowes Museum
The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.The museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and a sizable collection of decorative art,...
is also located in the town. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
north-east, Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
to the east and Richmond
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond is a market town and civil parish on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. It is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and serves as the Park's main tourist centre...
to the south-east.
History
The castleBarnard Castle (castle)
Barnard Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated in the town of the same name in County Durham. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1950...
was founded by the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
shortly after the conquest, but enjoyed its heyday under Bernard de Bailliol during the latter half of the 12th century. The castle passed into the hands of 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
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville
Anne Neville
Lady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
, but it fell into ruins in the century after his death.
The remains of castle are a Grade 1 listed building, whilst the chapel in the outer ward is Grade II* listed . Both sets of remains are now in the care of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
and open to the public.
Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
frequently visited his friend John Sawrey Morritt at Rokeby Hall and was fond of exploring Teesdale
Teesdale
Teesdale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in England. Large parts of Teesdale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - the second largest AONB in England and Wales. The River Tees rises below Cross Fell, the highest hill in the Pennines, and its...
. He begins his epic poem Rokeby (1813) with a man standing on guard on the round tower of the Barnard Castle fortress.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
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 whichThe Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge appeared.
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, Hilaire Belloc
Hilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
, Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
and the artist J M W Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
have also visited the town.
The Bowes Museum
Bowes Museum
The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.The museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and a sizable collection of decorative art,...
housed in a chateau-like building, was founded by John Bowes and his wife and is of national status. It contains an El Greco
El Greco
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
, paintings by Goya, Canaletto
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal better known as Canaletto , was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.- Early career :...
, Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
, Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings , of which only five...
and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automation, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle
Streatlam Castle
Streatlam Castle was a Baroque stately home located near the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham, England. Owned by the Bowes-Lyon family, Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, the house was one of the family's two principal seats, alongside Glamis Castle in Forfarshire, Scotland. Streatlam...
(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 (1853).
Although never a big manufacturing centre, in the eighteenth century industry centred around hand loom wool weaving, and in the early nineteenth century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread.
Governance
Barnard Castle is for all purposes (historicHistoric counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
, ceremonial
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
and administrative
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of subdivisions of England used for the purposes of local government outside Greater London. As originally constituted, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties each consisted of multiple districts, had a county council and...
) located in County Durham.
Barnard Castle was the administrative centre of the now defunct Teesdale
Teesdale (district)
Teesdale was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. Its council was based in Barnard Castle and it was named after the valley of the River Tees....
district of County Durham. The town is now administered by Durham County Council Unitary Authority. It is part of the Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland (UK Parliament constituency)
Bishop Auckland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. Since 1935 it has elected Labour MPs.-Boundaries:...
parliamentary constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
, which as of 2010 is represented in parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
by Helen Goodman
Helen Goodman
Helen Catherine Goodman is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland since 2005, and was the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for in the Department for Work and Pensions until 2010 with responsibility for Child Poverty and childcare.-Early...
(Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
). It is in the North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
region
Regions of England
In England, the region is the highest tier of sub-national division used by central Government. Between 1994 and 2011, the nine regions had an administrative role in the implementation of UK Government policy, and as the areas covered by elected bodies...
, which serves as a constituency for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
The local police force is Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington. The force covers the 2,232 km² of the county which has a resident population of 595,308. It is one of the smaller forces of the...
. The town is the base for the Barnard Castle division, which covers 300 square miles (777 km²). This division is within the force's south area
Basic Command Unit
A Basic Command Unit is the largest unit into which territorial British Police forces are divided. This may actually be called a BCU or may have another designation, such as Division or Area. There are 228 BCUs in England and Wales.Most forces are divided into at least three BCUs and some have...
.
Geography
- Elevation: 180 m (600 ft)
- Nearest large town: DarlingtonDarlingtonDarlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
, 16 miles (30 km).
Economy
The most important employer in Barnard Castle is GlaxoSmithKlineGlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
which has a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the town which employs around 1000 people. The number of people employed could potentially be doubled if the site is chosen as the site of a new bio-pharmaceutical plant. GSK has invested over £80 million into the plant since 2006, and the company plans to spend a further £25 million in 2011 upgrading and investing in buildings and machinery.
Barnard Castle is located in a picturesque area of Teesdale and as such tourism is important to the local economy. Several holiday parks are located nearby including a Camping and Caravanning Club site and a new site for the Caravan Club. The town has a number of antique shops and an antique centre which attracts antique buyers from all around the world. The High Street has many independent shops, as well as a Co-op
The Co-operative brand
The Co-operative is a common branding used by a variety of co-operatives based in the United Kingdom.Many in the UK mistakenly consider the Co-op to be a single national business, however each Co-operative is actually a franchise selling branded goods produced by the Co-operative Group The...
, Boyes, Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
, Superdrug
Superdrug
Superdrug Stores PLC is Britain's second-largest beauty and health retailer behind Boots. Superdrug - part of the AS Watson Group which in turn is part of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa - is a UK based company with over 890 stores, which since 2006, includes the Republic of Ireland...
, Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Edinburgh Woollen Mill
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill is a Langholm based clothing retailer targeting men and women over the age of 40.- History :The Edinburgh Woollen Mill was founded in 1946 by Drew Stevenson as the Langholm Dyeing and Finishing Company, dyeing wool yarn to order...
, Clarks
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
, Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...
, Clinton Cards
Clinton Cards
Clinton Cards is a chain of stores in the UK founded in 1968 by Don Lewin. Mostly selling greeting cards, as the name suggests, the chain claims to be "the largest specialist retailer of greetings cards, plush merchandise and related products in the UK with over 700 shops." They used to be...
, Greggs
Greggs
Greggs plc is the largest specialist retail bakery chain in the United Kingdom. It was established in the 1930s as a single shop but has approximately 1,500 outlets....
and Heron Foods
Heron Foods
Heron Foods Ltd is an English family-owned retail chain based in Hull with over 175 stores mainly in the North of England....
.
Nearby Startforth
Startforth
Startforth is a village in Teesdale, in the Pennines of England, situated a short distance south-west of Barnard Castle, on the opposite side of the River Tees...
has a young offenders institute.
Transport
Barnard Castle has road connections to Bishop AucklandBishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
, Spennymoor
Spennymoor
Spennymoor is a town in County Durham, England. It stands above the Wear Valley approximately seven miles south of Durham. The town was founded over 160 years ago...
and central County Durham via the A688
A688 road
The A688 is a road in County Durham in North East England.It begins at the junction with the A67 road in Barnard Castle and continues in a north easterly direction for , terminating at the A181 to the east of Durham City....
and Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
and Teesside
Teesside
Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...
by the A67
A67 road
The A67 is a road in England that links Bowes in County Durham with Crathorne in North Yorkshire.-Route:*Bowes *Barnard Castle*Gainford*Piercebridge*Darlington*Durham Tees Valley Airport*Egglescliffe*Yarm...
. Barnard Castle is also located 4 miles (6.4 km) from the A66
A66 road
The A66 is a major road in northern England which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria...
with access to both the M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
to the west and the A1(M) to the east. The B6278 also connects Barnard Castle with Middleton-in-Teesdale
Middleton-in-Teesdale
Middleton-in-Teesdale is a small market town in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale between Eggleston and Newbiggin, a few miles to the north west of Barnard Castle...
.
From 1861 to 1964 the town was served by Barnard Castle railway station
Barnard Castle railway station
Barnard Castle railway station was situated on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway between Bishop Auckland and Kirkby Stephen East. The railway station served the town of Barnard Castle. The first station opened to passenger traffic on 9 July 1856, and was replaced with a new station on 1...
. Today rail access is via Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland railway station
Bishop Auckland railway station serves the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England. The station is the terminus of the Tees Valley Line north of .The station is operated by Northern Rail, which provides Network Rail passenger services...
, 15 miles (25 km) or Darlington
Darlington railway station
Darlington railway station, also known as Darlington Bank Top, is the main railway station for the town of Darlington, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The station is located on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross....
, 20 miles (30 km).
Barnard Castle School
Barnard Castle SchoolBarnard Castle School
Barnard Castle School , is a co-educational independent day and boarding school situated in the market town of Barnard Castle, in the North East of England. It was founded in 1883 as the North Eastern County School, with the name changed to the current one in 1924, and to this day is generally...
, an independent co-educational boarding school, is located on the eastern edge of the town.
Several notable Old Barnardians come from the school: ex-England Rugby players Rob Andrew
Rob Andrew
Christopher Robert "Rob" Andrew MBE , nicknamed "Squeaky", is a former English rugby union footballer and currently Director of Operations at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons. As a player, Andrew was assured in his kicking and defensive skills off both feet...
, now Director of Elite Rugby for the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
(RFU), the Underwood brothers, Tony
Tony Underwood
Tony Underwood is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back. He is of Chinese-English parentage....
and Rory
Rory Underwood
Rory Underwood MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played wing for, most notably, Leicester Tigers and Bedford. He represented England and the British Lions and is a former Royal Air Force pilot....
along with present England player Mathew Tait
Mathew Tait
Mathew Tait is an English rugby union footballer. He is an outside centre, a fullback or wing...
and his younger brother Alex, member of the Newcastle Falcons and England U20s team.
Students Rory Clegg
Rory Clegg
Rory Clegg in the British Military Hospital, Hannover Germany is a rugby union player for Harlequins F.C. in the Aviva Premiership...
, and Alex Gray are members of the England Under 18 squad.
The School also boasts many other notable alumni, including renegade spy Richard Tomlinson
Richard Tomlinson
Richard Tomlinson is a New Zealand-born British former MI6 officer who was imprisoned during 1997 for violating the Official Secrets Act 1989 by giving the synopsis of a proposed book detailing his career in the Secret Intelligence Service to an Australian publisher...
and Professor Edward Mellanby, the discoverer of vitamin D.
Teesdale School
Teesdale School Science College and Sixth Form CentreTeesdale Science College
-External links:*Teesdale Science College official website *List of schools in the North East of England*SchoolsNet Teesdale School Details *Details of courses available at Teesdale School...
is an 11-18 comprehensive school. It is located on the outskirts of the town, just off the A688. Teesdale School has won multiple accolades.
Green Lane School
Green Lane school is a primary school for 4-11 year olds. Green Lane is situated on a road of the same name not far from Teesdale School.Culture
The annual live music festival, which is organised by Teesdale Community Rescources 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. This always falls on the bank holiday Monday. The weekend is now probably the largest event in the Barnard Castle and Teesdale calendar. The weekend encompasses around twenty separate events that the Meet Committee asserts 'reach every corner of the community'. In recent years with the demise of the R 'n' B festival from 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 2010 Meet, the largest for several years began with the Crowning of the Meet Queen on 29 May.
The Barnard Castle Band, founded in 1860, is a brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
based in the town, well-known outside the area as a result of the march Barnard Castle by Goff Richards
Goff Richards
Goff Richards , sometimes credited as Godfrey Richards, was a prominent English brass band arranger and composer. He was born in Cornwall, studying at the Royal College of Music and Reading University. Between 1976 and 1989, he lectured in arranging and at Salford College of Technology. He was the...
.
Notable people
- Anne FineAnne FineAnne Fine, OBE FRSL is a British author best known for her children's books, of which she has written more than 50. She also writes for adults...
- children's writer. Twice Whitbread Prize winner. - David HarperDavid Harper (antiques expert)David Kingsley Harper is a British TV antiques expert and published writer He appears on Bargain Hunt, Put your Money where Your Mouth Is, Cash In The Attic and The Antiques Road Trip...
- British TV antiques expert
Former residents
- Bob ChattBob ChattRobert Chatt was an English footballer who was a member of the Aston Villa team which won the Football League championship three times in the 1890s. Chatt was credited with scoring the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history, scored after just 30 seconds in the 1895 FA Cup Final...
, footballer for Aston Villa - Cyril Northcote Parkinson, writer and inventor of Parkinson's LawParkinson's lawParkinson's law is the adage first articulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson as the first sentence of a humorous essay published in The Economist in 1955:...
. - William HutchinsonWilliam Hutchinson (topographer)-Life:By 1760 he was established as a solicitor in Barnard Castle, County Durham. He was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 15 February 1781, and communicated in November 1788 an 'Account of Antiquities in Lancashire' . Hutchinson died on 7 April 1814, having survived his wife only two...
, historian. - Roderick MurchisonRoderick MurchisonSir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet KCB DCL FRS FRSE FLS PRGS PBA MRIA was a Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian system.-Early life and work:...
, President of both the Royal Geological and the Royal GeographicalRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
Societies. - Henry WithamHenry WithamHenry T M Witham was the first English person to investigate the internal structure of fossil plants, and was a founder member of the Royal Geological Society....
, geologist and philanthropist.