Arms of Barnard Castle Town Council

Administration
Barnard Castle is for tons purposes (traditional, ceremonial and administrative) located in County Durham.

Barnard Castle is the administrative centre of the Teesdale district of County Durham. When of 2005, these are represented on the County Council by Richard Bell & Jo Fergus (two Conservative). These are section of the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which as of 2005 is represented inside parliament by Helen Goodman (Labour). These are in the North East England region, which serves as a constituency for the European Parliament.

A local police force is Durham Constabulary. Barnard Castle is in the Get into & Tees section, & has its have police headquarters.

History

A telling castle was founded per Normans shortly after a conquest, however enjoyed its blossom under Bernard de Bailleul during the latter half of the 12th century. A castle passed into a mitts of a Balliol personal (of which the Scottish king, John Balliol, was a first member), and so into the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his married woman, Anne Neville, but it savage into ruins in the century when his demise. A remains come currently in the care of English Heritage.

Walter Scott frequently visited his friend John Sawrey Morritt at Rokeby Hall and was fond of researching Teesdale. He begins his epic poem Rokeby (1813) sustaining the human standing on your guard on the spherical tower of the Barnard Castle fort.

Charles Dickens and his illustrator Hablot Browne (Phiz)stayed at the King's Head within Barnard Castle when back testing his novel Nicholas Nickleby in the wintertime of 1837-38. He is said to stand entered William Humphrey's clock-clocksmith's shop, so opposite the hotel, & enquired world health organization experienced mass produced a certain remarkable clock. William replied that his son Humphrey experienced lie with. This seems to use prompted Dickens to order a title 'Master Humphrey's Clock' for his recently weekly, whereA Old Curiosity Shop & Barnaby Rudge appeared.

A Bowes Museum housed in the right chateau-rather building, was founded by John Bowes & his wife and is of national status. It contains an El Greco, paintings by Goya, Canaletto, Boucher, Fragonard and a brobdingnagian collection of ornamental art. the great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automation, which sporadically preens itself, looks circular & appears to catch & drink a fish.

John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (now razed). His Streatlam stud never got supplementary than tenner breeding mares at once, however produced there are no fewer than quaternion Derby hat winners within twenty years - the fantastic accomplishment. A survive one 'West Australian' was a number 1 bangtail to win a Triple Crown (1853).

Notable Residents

Cyril Northcote Parkinson Writer and artificer of Parkinson's Law

Anne Fine Childrens' writer. Twice Whitbread Prize winner

Location
Grid reference: * Latitude & longitude: (54.54, −Ace.91) Elevation: 180 m (600 feet) Touring access: A67 from Darlington; roads off A66 from Scotch Corner and Brough; A688 from Bishop Auckland; B6277 and B6278 from Teesdale. Rail access: Bishop Auckland, 25 klick (Fifteen miles); Darlington, 30 kilometre (Xx miles) Nighest big town: Darlington, 30 kilometer (Xx miles)