Barnard Castle
The lovely market town of Barnard Castle - or "Barney", as it is affectionately called by locals - is situated on the banks of the river Tees, on the site of an ancient Roman fort. In 1095 King William II crushed a rebellion led by the Earl of Northumberland and granted the land to his loyal follower from Picardy, Guy de Balliol. Originally a modest structure, the castle was developed in 1157 by his nephew, Bernard de Balliol (hence the name) to become the largest castle in England. Its decline started after the death of one of its most famous owners, Richard III, and by 1636 the land inside the castle walls was being used for growing grass for hay. Today you can still see the remains of the castle.
A bridge constructed in 1569 is still the main route over the river. Cobbled streets, yards and back lanes, some of which date back to the 12th century, give the town its unique historic character. One of the most interesting buildings is the Market Cross, or Butter Market. Built by Thomas Breaks and given to the town in 1747, it has been used as a lock-up, town hall and court house. Under the verandah was a market for dairy produce. Two bullet holes in the weather vane are said to have been made in 1804 by a gamekeeper and a volunteer soldier contesting their marksmanship.
Barnard Castle Life
Barnard Castle on Mot's European Castle Page
Photographs of Barnard Castle on www.freefoto.com
The town boasts the remarkable Josephine and John Bowes Museum. This French-style chateau was designed as a public art gallery by a French architect Jules Pellechet and opened in 1892. Its three floors host one of the best fine and decorative art collections in Britain. The ground floor is mostly devoted to local history and archaeology; the first floor houses collections of French decorative arts (largest in Britain), religious arts, a suite of English period rooms and a toy gallery; finally on the second floor you will find collections of Spanish and Italian paintings, costume, ceramics and musical instruments, as well as temporary exhibitions. The piece de resistence of the museum's collection is the fascinating life size silver swan automaton.
Children will enjoy not only the visit to the toy collection with the world's first toy train, dolls and dolls houses, teddy bears, lead figures, games and puzzles, but also the five archaeology galleries; specially designed for children, they include a lot of hands-on activities.
The Museum offers a regular programme of special events including concerts, theatre, family fun days and monthly craft markets.
The Bowes Museum
Barnard Castle - County Durham - DL12 8NP
Tel: (01833) 690606 Fax: (01833) 637163
E-mail: info@bowesmuseum.org.uk
http://www.bowesmuseum.org.uk
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The Shoulder Of Mutton Inn - Kirby Hill - Richmond
North Yorkshire - DL11 7JH
Telephone: 01748 822772
Email: info@shoulderofmutton.net
www.shoulderofmutton.net
