Editing Barnard Castle (section)

==Culture==
The Bowes Museum was purpose-built to house the collection of John and Josephine Bowes.  The museum is built in the style of a French [[Château|chateau]], in extensive grounds, and is by far the largest building in the town. It contains paintings by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher, together with a sizable collection of decorative art, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks and costumes, as well as older items from local history. It is famous for the Silver Swan automaton, which played every day at 2pm until it seized up during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|2020 COVID-19 Lockdown]], it is currently undergoing repairs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bowes Museum > Home |url=https://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/ |website=Thebowesmuseum.org.uk |access-date=17 July 2019 |archive-date=24 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724210412/https://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-05-15 |title=Bowes Museum's Silver Swan seizes up during lockdown |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-57006380 |access-date=2023-06-17 |archive-date=17 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617132430/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-57006380 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Witham |url=https://thewitham.org.uk/about |website=thewitham.org.uk |access-date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303165530/https://thewitham.org.uk/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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<ref>{{Cite web |title=County Durham Venue &#124; Parties & Events&#124; Businesses&#124; Schools |url=https://www.tcrhub.co.uk/ |website=TCR Hub |access-date=17 July 2019 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717161248/https://www.tcrhub.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Barnard Castle Band |url=http://barnardcastleband.net/default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222111654/http://barnardcastleband.net/default.aspx |archive-date=22 December 2010 |access-date=2010-01-26 |df=dmy}}</ref>