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Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit and paintings by Francisco Goya and El Greco.
Barnard Castle is on the left bank of the River Tees, opposite to Startforth, and is south-west of the county town of Durham. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland to the north-east, Darlington to the east and Richmond to the south-east. The largest employer is GlaxoSmithKline, with a manufacturing facility on the town's outskirts.
During Norman times, in 1080, the first Norman Bishop of Durham, Bishop Walcher, was murdered. 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 I de Balliol, during the latter half of the 12th century, giving rise to the town's name. 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 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.
John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (demolished in 1959). 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.
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 Francisco 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.All in due time: the collected essays and broadcast talks of Humphry House By Humphry House p283
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 Dominic Cummings, the chief adviser of the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was discovered to have driven to the town, with his family, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was, at that time, at a significant risk of having the disease himself, because of recent contact with the infected Prime Minister. (Cummings developed symptoms the next day.) 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.
It is part of the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which, as of 2024, is represented in parliament, by Sam Rushworth of the Labour Party. All four Durham County Councillors, whose wards (Barnard Castle East and Barnard Castle West) include part of Barnard Castle, are Conservative.
The local British Police force is Durham Constabulary. The town is the base for the Barnard Castle division, which covers . This division is within the force's south area.
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. Today rail access is via , or . There are two bus routes provided by Arriva North East which connect Barnard Castle to Darlington, the X75 (Via Staindrop) and X76 (Via Winston) and there is also the 79, provided by Hodgsons Coaches, which travels from Barnard Castle to Richmond.
There are three primary schools serving the town. 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. Montalbo Primary School and Nursery is for 3-11year olds.
The Witham Arts Centre, on the Horse Market, presents a variety of events, including drama, cinema, music, spoken word and children's events, as well as being the town's visitor information centre.
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, grew from the North East Cyclists' Meet, dating back to 1885. Since the early 1900s, the town has staged a carnival and grand procession through the town centre on the bank holiday Monday. There are around twenty separate events that the Meet Committee asserts 'reach every corner of the community'. In recent years, 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 TCR Hub is a community centre on the edge of the town, with a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities.
The Barnard Castle Band, founded in 1860, is a brass band, based in the town, known outside the area as a result of the march Barnard Castle by Goff Richards.
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