Editing Barnard Castle

{{Short description|Town and civil parish in County Durham, England}}
{{About|the town in England|the castle in the town|Barnard Castle (castle)|the constituency|Barnard Castle (UK Parliament constituency)}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
|official_name = Barnard Castle
|type = [[List of towns in England|Town]] and [[civil parish]]
|static_image_name = Market Cross, Barnard Castle (geograph 6605401).jpg
|static_image_caption=The "[[Market Cross, Barnard Castle|Butter Market]]" (the town's [[Market Cross]])
|coordinates = {{coord|54.55|-1.92|display=inline,title}}
| population = 5495
| population_ref = (2011)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Town population 2011 |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120393&c=Barnard+Castle&d=16&e=62&g=6420160&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1436194212907&enc=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714065511/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120393&c=Barnard+Castle&d=16&e=62&g=6420160&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1436194212907&enc=1 |archive-date=14 July 2015 |access-date=6 July 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|civil_parish = Barnard Castle  <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://barnardcastletowncouncil.gov.uk/|title=Home :Barnard Castle Town Council|website=Barnardcastletowncouncil.gov.uk|access-date=22 January 2022|archive-date=22 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122191634/https://barnardcastletowncouncil.gov.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|unitary_england = [[County Durham (district)|County Durham]]
|lieutenancy_england = [[County Durham]]
|region=                  North East England
|country = England
|constituency_westminster= [[Bishop Auckland (UK Parliament constituency)|Bishop Auckland]]
|post_town=        BARNARD CASTLE
|postcode_district =       DL12
|postcode_area=            DL
|dial_code=      01833
|os_grid_reference=     NZ047166
|website={{URL|https://barnardcastletowncouncil.gov.uk}}
}}

'''Barnard Castle''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɑː|n|ə|d}}, {{respell|BAR|nəd}}) is a [[market town]] on the north bank of the [[River Tees]], in [[County Durham (district)|County Durham]], England. The town is named after and built around [[Barnard Castle (castle)|a medieval castle ruin]]. The town's [[Bowes Museum]] has an 18th-century [[Silver Swan (automaton)|Silver Swan automaton]] exhibit and paintings by [[Francisco Goya|Goya]] and [[El Greco]].

Barnard Castle is on the left bank of the River Tees, opposite to [[Startforth]], and is {{convert|21|mi|km|0}} south-west of the county town of [[Durham, England|Durham]]. Nearby towns include [[Bishop Auckland]] to the north-east, [[Darlington]] to the east and [[Richmond, North Yorkshire|Richmond]] to the south-east. The largest employer is [[GlaxoSmithKline]], with a manufacturing facility on the town's outskirts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GSK Barnard Castle |url=http://www.devereuxarchitects.com/Work/Manufacturing/All-Manufacturing-Projects/Projects/GSK,-Barnard-Castle.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503190016/http://www.devereuxarchitects.com/Work/Manufacturing/All-Manufacturing-Projects/Projects/GSK%2C-Barnard-Castle.aspx |archive-date=3 May 2014 |website=Devereux Architects |df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC – Domesday Reloaded: A BARNARD CASTLE FACTORY |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-516000/page/7 |website=domesday |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=2 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102140040/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-516000/page/7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Teesdale Mercury |url=http://www.teesdalemercury.co.uk/Articles/2013/millions-of-pounds-to-be-invested-in-glaxo-plant-in-barnard-castle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503192927/http://www.teesdalemercury.co.uk/Articles/2013/millions-of-pounds-to-be-invested-in-glaxo-plant-in-barnard-castle |archive-date=3 May 2014 |website=teesdalemercury.co.uk |df=dmy}}</ref>

==History==
Before the [[Norman Conquest]], in 1066, the upper half of [[Teesdale]] was combined into an Anglo-Norse estate, which was centred upon the ancient village of [[Gainford, County Durham|Gainford]], and mortgaged to the Earls of Northumberland. 

During Norman times, in 1080, the first Norman Bishop of [[Durham, England|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 of England|William II]], to break up the [[Earl of Northumberland|Earldom of Northumberland]] into smaller baronies. The Lordship of Gainford was given to [[Guy de Balliol]].

The earthwork fortifications of the [[Barnard Castle (castle)|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lilley |first=Charles |url=http://www.stenlake.co.uk/books/view_book.php?ref=133 |title=Old Barnard Castle |publisher=Stenlake Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=9781840331059 |location=Catrine, Ayrshire |page=3 |access-date=28 March 2013 |archive-date=2 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102104402/http://stenlake.co.uk/books/view_book.php?ref=133 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]]. [[Richard III of England|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|listed]],<ref>{{NHLE|grade=I|desc=The Castle|num=1218822|date=24 February 1950}}</ref> whilst the chapel, in the outer ward, is Grade II listed.<ref>{{NHLE|grade=II|desc= Former chapel at north west corner of garden to number 7 former chapel in outer ward of the castle, with wall attached |num=1282722|date=22 May 1973}}</ref> Both sets of remains are now in the care of [[English Heritage]] and open to the public.

[[John Bowes (art collector)|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 (horse)|West Australian]]", was the first racehorse to win the [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|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|Goya]], [[Canaletto]], [[François Boucher|Boucher]], [[Jean-Honoré Fragonard|Fragonard]] and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century [[Silver Swan (automaton)|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.<ref>All in due time: the collected essays and broadcast talks of Humphry House By Humphry House p283</ref>

==Notable visitors ==
[[File:The castle at Barnard Castle - by Francis Hannaway.jpg|thumb|The ruins of [[Barnard Castle (castle)|Barnard Castle]], which gave the town its name]] 
<!-- Not a baronet ("Sir") until 1820. -->[[Walter Scott]] frequently visited his friend, John Sawrey Morritt, at [[Rokeby Park|Rokeby Hall]], and was fond of exploring [[Teesdale]]. He begins his epic poem ''[[Rokeby (poem)|Rokeby]]'' (1813) with a man standing on guard on the round tower of the Barnard Castle fortress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Barnard Castle, in Teesdale and County Durham – Map and description |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/111 |website=visionofbritain.org.uk |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043608/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/111 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=BBC News – Exhibition explores Charles Dickens' links with County Durham |work=BBC News |date=6 February 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-16599182 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=1 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101023447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-16599182 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jordan |first1=John O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPe7uCbGvPUC&q=charles+dickens+barnard+castle&pg=PA26 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens |last2=John |first2=Jordan O. |date=18 June 2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521669641 |access-date=24 November 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418144024/https://books.google.com/books?id=wPe7uCbGvPUC&q=charles+dickens+barnard+castle&pg=PA26#v=snippet&q=charles%20dickens%20barnard%20castle&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Barnard Castle Blue Plaque Trail |url=http://www.teesdalediscovery.com/blue_plaque_trail.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716154259/http://www.teesdalediscovery.com/blue_plaque_trail.htm |archive-date=16 July 2014 |website=teesdalediscovery.com}}</ref>

[[William Wordsworth]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Places Visited and Letters Written: 1798–1800 |url=http://collections.wordsworth.org.uk/GtoG/home.asp?page=GtoG1aSummaryofPlacesVisited |website=Wordsworth.org.uk |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402182037/http://collections.wordsworth.org.uk/GtoG/home.asp?page=GtoG1aSummaryofPlacesVisited |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Daniel Defoe]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vision of Britain – Daniel Defoe – Letter 8, Part 4: Leeds and North Yorkshire |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Defoe&c_id=32 |website=Bisionofbritain.org.uk |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528203526/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Defoe&c_id=32 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=XI. English Traits. Aristocracy. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1909–14. Essays and English Traits. The Harvard Classics |url=http://www.bartleby.com/5/211.html |website=Bartleby.com |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-date=2 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602010924/http://bartleby.com/5/211.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hilaire Belloc]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Belloc |first=Hilaire |title=On getting respected in inns and hotels |url=http://essays.quotidiana.org/belloc/getting_respected_in_inns_and_hotels/ |website=Quotidiana.org |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-date=13 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113043909/http://essays.quotidiana.org/belloc/getting_respected_in_inns_and_hotels/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bill Bryson]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dickinson |first=Katie |date=25 September 2016 |title=How kind will Bill Bryson be on the North East? |url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/bill-bryson-known-brutal-travel-11924468 |website=nechronicle |access-date=21 July 2017 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041525/http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/bill-bryson-known-brutal-travel-11924468 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the artist [[J. M. W. Turner]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Barnard Castle: The Castle and Bridge looking Upstream, Joseph Mallord William Turner – Tate |url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-barnard-castle-and-bridge-from-downstream-d00936 |website=Tate.org.uk |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528224129/https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-barnard-castle-the-castle-and-bridge-looking-upstream-d00936/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[Dominic Cummings scandal|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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-05-26 |title=A site for sore eyes? How Dominic Cummings put Barnard Castle on the map |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/may/26/a-site-for-sore-eyes-how-dominic-cummings-put-barnard-castle-on-the-map |access-date=2020-05-27 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528203509/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/may/26/a-site-for-sore-eyes-how-dominic-cummings-put-barnard-castle-on-the-map |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-05-25 |title=No 10 'chaos' as 'defiant' PM defends Cummings |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=UK |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-52793529 |access-date=2020-05-27 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526041814/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-52793529 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keating |first=Joshua |date=2020-05-26 |title=Why Is the U.K. in an Uproar Over a Boris Johnson Adviser's COVID Road Trip? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/05/dominic-cummings-durham-johnson.html |access-date=2020-05-27 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en |archive-date=28 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528090439/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/05/dominic-cummings-durham-johnson.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Governance==
[[File:Barnard Castle Post Office - by Francis Hannaway.jpg|thumb|Barnard Castle Post Office]]
Barnard Castle is for all purposes ([[Historic counties of England|historic]], [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial]] and [[County Durham (district)|unitary authority]]) located in County Durham. Barnard Castle has a Town Council governing a [[civil parish]]. The Town Council elects a ceremonial Town Mayor annually.

It is part of the [[Bishop Auckland (UK Parliament constituency)|Bishop Auckland]] [[United Kingdom constituencies|parliamentary constituency]], which, as of 2024, is represented in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliament]], by [[Sam Rushworth]] of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]. All four Durham County Councillors, whose wards (Barnard Castle East and Barnard Castle West) include part of Barnard Castle, are Conservative.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Your Councillors |url=https://democracy.durham.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |access-date=16 September 2019 |website=Durham County Council |date=17 August 2010 |archive-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308045711/https://democracy.durham.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The local [[British Police|police]] force is [[Durham Constabulary]]. The town is the base for the Barnard Castle division, which covers {{convert|300|sqmi|km2}}.  This division is within the force's south [[Basic Command Unit|area]].
===Former===
Between 1894 and 1974, the town was, administratively, part of [[Barnard Castle Urban District]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Barnard Castle UD|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10003106|access-date=3 August 2021|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain]]|archive-date=3 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803160937/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10003106|url-status=live}}</ref> The administrative and ceremonial county boundary was adjusted in 1974. Barnard Castle became the administrative centre of the [[Teesdale (district)|Teesdale]] [[Districts of England|district]] of County Durham [[non-metropolitan county]], until its abolition, on 1 April 2009, and the county council became the unitary authority of [[County Durham (district)|County Durham]].

==Geography==
* Elevation: 180&nbsp;m (600&nbsp;ft)
*  Nearest large towns: [[Darlington]], {{convert|16|mi|km|0}}. Bishop Auckland  {{convert|14.8|mi|km|0}}

{{Geographic Location
|title = '''Destinations from Barnard Castle'''
|Northwest = [[Teesdale|Upper Teesdale]], [[Middleton-in-Teesdale]], [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]]
|North     = [[Hamsterley Forest]], [[Weardale]],
|Northeast = [[Bishop Auckland]], [[Durham, England|Durham CIty]], [[Tyneside]], [[Wearside]]
|West      = [[Brough, Cumbria|Brough]], [[Appleby-in-Westmorland]], [[Pennines]], [[Cumbria]]
|Centre    = Barnard Castle
|East      = [[Gainford, County Durham|Gainford]], [[Darlington]], [[Stockton-on-Tees]], [[Middlesbrough]]
|Southwest = [[Yorkshire Dales|Yorkshire Dales National Park]]
|South     = [[River Tees]], [[Startforth]], [[A66 road|The A66]], [[Reeth]], [[Yorkshire Dales]]
|Southeast = [[Richmond, North Yorkshire|Richmond]], [[Scotch Corner]], [[Northallerton]], [[North York Moors|North York Moors National Park]]
}}

==Economy==
The most important employer in Barnard Castle is [[GlaxoSmithKline|GSK]], which has a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the town which employs around 1,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Barnard Castle |url=http://www.gsk.com/careers/uk-gms-barnardcastle.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608205250/http://www.gsk.com/careers/uk-gms-barnardcastle.htm |archive-date=8 June 2011 |access-date=2011-05-22 |website=GlaxoSmithKline |df=dmy}}</ref> GSK has invested £80 million into the plant since 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glaxo expansion meeting held |url=http://www.theadvertiserseries.co.uk/news/8991691.Glaxo_expansion_meeting_held/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724053715/http://www.theadvertiserseries.co.uk/news/8991691.Glaxo_expansion_meeting_held/ |archive-date=24 July 2011 |website=The Advertiser Series }} Also [https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/8991691.glaxo-expansion-meeting-held/ here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526010809/https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/8991691.glaxo-expansion-meeting-held/ |date=26 May 2020 }}</ref> [[Barnard Castle School]] follows GSK in second place, employing 183 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Community Contribution |url=https://www.barnardcastleschool.org.uk/charity_community/community-contribution/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=Barnard Castle School |language=en |archive-date=19 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319183150/https://www.barnardcastleschool.org.uk/charity_community/community-contribution/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

==Transport==
[[File:Bridge at Barnard Castle - by Francis Hannaway.jpg|thumb|Barnard Castle Bridge over the [[River Tees]]]]
Barnard Castle has road connections to [[Bishop Auckland]], [[Spennymoor]] and central County Durham via the [[A688 road|A688]] and [[Darlington]], [[Stockton-on-Tees]], and [[Middlesbrough]] by the [[A67 road|A67]]. Barnard Castle is also {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} from the [[A66 road|A66]], with access to the [[M6 motorway|M6]] to the west and the [[A1(M)]] to the east. The B6278 also connects Barnard Castle with [[Middleton-in-Teesdale]]. The old road bridge over the River Tees was built in 1569 and is Grade I [[Listed building|listed]].<ref>{{NHLE|grade=I|desc=Barnard Castle bridge (that part in Barnard Castle civil parish) and attached wall to south-east|num=1201056|date=24 February 1950}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|grade=I|desc=Barnard Castle bridge|num=1121647|date=12 January 1967}}</ref>

[[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 railway station|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]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Disused Stations – Barnard Castle |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/barnard_castle/index0.shtml |access-date=8 September 2015 |publisher=Disused Railway Stations |archive-date=29 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829043053/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/barnard_castle/index0.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>  Today rail access is via  {{stnlnk|Bishop Auckland}}, or {{stnlnk|Darlington}}. There are two bus routes provided by [[Arriva North East]] which connect Barnard Castle to Darlington, the X75 (Via [[Staindrop]]) and X76 (Via [[Winston, County Durham|Winston]]) and there is also the 79, provided by Hodgsons Coaches, which travels from Barnard Castle to [[Richmond, North Yorkshire|Richmond]].

==Education==

[[Barnard Castle School]] is an independent co-educational boarding school located on the eastern edge of the town. [[Teesdale School]] is an 11–18 comprehensive school on the outskirts of the town, just off the A688.

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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=St Mary's RC Primary School|url=https://www.stmarysprimary.durham.sch.uk/|access-date=2021-11-14|website=St Mary's RC Primary School|language=en-GB|archive-date=14 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114185326/https://www.stmarysprimary.durham.sch.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> Montalbo Primary School and Nursery is for 3-11year olds.

==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>

==Notable people==<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{more citations needed section|date=May 2020}}
*[[George Brown (missionary)|George Brown]] – missionary and ethnographer
*[[Anne Fine]] – children's writer. Twice Whitbread Prize winner
*[[Arthur Henderson]] – Winner of Nobel Peace prize (1934). Former MP for Barnard Castle and first Labour cabinet minister<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 April 2013 |title=Arthur Henderson: a Labour pioneer |work=Northern Echo |url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10330798.arthur-henderson-labour-pioneer/ |access-date=22 June 2020 |archive-date=24 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624234040/https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10330798.arthur-henderson-labour-pioneer/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[David Harper (antiques expert)|David Harper]] - BBC TV Antiques Presenter
* [[Glenn Hugill]] – television presenter and producer
* [[David Jennings (composer)|David Jennings]] – composer
* [[Ian Usher]] – traveller, adventurer, writer and speaker. Sold "entire life" on eBay in 2008

===Former residents===
* [[Joshua Harold Burn]], 1942, Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at Oxford University
* [[Bob Chatt]], footballer for [[Aston Villa]]
* [[Siobhan Fahey]], singer/songwriter from Bananarama/Shakespears Sister lived here for a short time as a child
* [[Hannah Hauxwell]], English farmer who was the subject of several television documentaries
* [[William Hutchinson (topographer)|William Hutchinson]], 18th-century historian<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=14291|first=C. M.|last=Fraser|title=Hutchinson, William}}</ref>
* [[Roderick Murchison]], President of both the Royal Geological and the [[Royal Geographical Society|Royal Geographical]] Societies
* [[Cyril Northcote Parkinson]], writer and inventor
* [[Arthur Riddell]], third Catholic [[Bishop of Northampton]]
* [[Henry Witham]], [[geologist]] and [[Philanthropy|philanthropist]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.barnardcastle.org.uk Barnard Castle Tourist Website]
* [http://www.yorkshireguides.com/barnard_castle.html Photos and information on Barnard Castle]
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Barnard Castle |volume=3 |short=x}}

{{commons category|Barnard Castle}}
{{Durham}}
{{Civil parishes in County Durham}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Barnard Castle| ]]
[[Category:Towns in County Durham]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in County Durham]]
[[Category:River Tees]]