Holwick
Encyclopedia
Holwick is a small village in Teesdale
, County Durham
, England
. Located in the Pennine hills
, it consists of a few houses spread along a road in the pattern of a linear settlement.
It has a public house
, the Strathmore Arms, and a campsite. Holwick sits above the River Tees
, beyond Middleton-in-Teesdale
, and opposite the village of Newbiggin
on the other side of the valley. Nearby are the High Force
and Low Force
waterfall
s. The surrounding landscape is high moorland
and fell
s.
of the North Riding of Yorkshire
, but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District
it was transferred to[County Durham for administrative
and ceremonial
purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972
.
Holwick is part of the Bishop Auckland
parliamentary constituency, which 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
. Holwick is in the Wear and Tees division and its nearest police station is in Middleton-in-Teesdale.
microlith
s dating back at least 6000 years. The people who left them, however, were not settled in the area, but hunted there during the summer. Agriculture
began in the Neolithic
period, and the remains of buildings have been found from the Bronze Age
. The present-day village of Holwick was first recorded in 1235, though the origin of the name is uncertain, believed to mean either "dairy farm in a hollow" or "in the holly". In addition to hill farming of sheep, lead
mining
and iron
smelting
was conducted in the mediæval
period, with lead mining and stone quarrying increasing in importance throughout Teesdale in the 18th century. A suspension bridge
was built across the Tees near Holwick in 1704, and collapsed in 1802, killing one. It was repaired but finally replaced in 1830. Substantial quarrying and lead mining did not continue into the 20th century, and the economy of the village has since returned to sheep farming.
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...
. Located in the Pennine hills
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
, it consists of a few houses spread along a road in the pattern of a linear settlement.
It has a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, the Strathmore Arms, and a campsite. Holwick sits above 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:...
, beyond 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...
, and opposite the village of Newbiggin
Newbiggin, Teesdale
Newbiggin is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale, opposite Holwick. There was an influx of Derbyshire lead miners into the area in the late 18th century, and they may have brought the name from Biggin....
on the other side of the valley. Nearby are the High Force
High Force
High Force is a waterfall on the River Tees, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, Teesdale, County Durham, England. The waterfall is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and European Geopark....
and Low Force
Low Force
Low Force is a 5.5m high set of falls in the Tees Valley, England. Further upstream is the High Force waterfall. Low Force is also the site of the Wynch Bridge, completed in 1830. It is suggested that only one person at a time should cross the bridge as it may be unstable.Low Force is within the...
waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s. The surrounding landscape is high moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
and fell
Fell
“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...
s.
Civic history
Being south of the Tees, Holwick lies within the historic county boundariesHistoric 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...
of the North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
, but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District
Startforth Rural District
Startforth Rural District was a rural district in the North Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire in the Pennines of northern England.It was formed in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894...
it was transferred to[County Durham for 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...
and 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...
purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
.
Holwick is part of the 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...
parliamentary constituency, which 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...
. Holwick is in the Wear and Tees division and its nearest police station is in Middleton-in-Teesdale.
Location
- Grid reference: NY9026*British national grid reference systemThe Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using latitude and longitude....
- Latitude and longitude: 54°38′N 2°09′W (54.64, −2.15)
- Elevation: 270 m (885 feet)
- Road access: Minor road off B6277
- Rail access: Appleby and Bishop AucklandBishop Auckland railway stationBishop 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...
, both approx. 38 km (23.6 mi) by road - Nearest large village: Middleton-in-TeesdaleMiddleton-in-TeesdaleMiddleton-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...
, 5 km (3.1 mi) - Nearest town: Barnard CastleBarnard CastleBarnard 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, south southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne, south southwest of Sunderland, west of Middlesbrough and ...
, 20 km (12.4 mi)
History
The earliest evidence of habitation in the area comes from MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
microlith
Microlith
A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. It is produced from either a small blade or a larger blade-like piece of flint by abrupt or truncated retouching, which leaves a very typical piece of waste,...
s dating back at least 6000 years. The people who left them, however, were not settled in the area, but hunted there during the summer. Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
began in the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period, and the remains of buildings have been found from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. The present-day village of Holwick was first recorded in 1235, though the origin of the name is uncertain, believed to mean either "dairy farm in a hollow" or "in the holly". In addition to hill farming of sheep, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
was conducted in the mediæval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
period, with lead mining and stone quarrying increasing in importance throughout Teesdale in the 18th century. A suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
was built across the Tees near Holwick in 1704, and collapsed in 1802, killing one. It was repaired but finally replaced in 1830. Substantial quarrying and lead mining did not continue into the 20th century, and the economy of the village has since returned to sheep farming.