Cotherstone is a village and civil parish in the Pennine hills, in

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England. Cotherstone lies within the historic county boundaries of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

, but along with the rest of the former

Startforth Rural District Startforth Rural District was a rural district in the North Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire in the Pennines of northern England. It was formed in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. It constituted the part of the Teesdale Rur ...

it was transferred to

for

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

and

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin ''Glossary of ancient Rom ...

purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

There was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

station at Cotherstone on the now-closed Barnard Castle to Middleton-in-Teesdale line. The railway line crossed the

River Balder The Balder is an English river that rises on the eastern slope of Stainmore Common in the Pennine Chain and flows eastwards for about 13 miles (21 km) to the River Tees at Cotherstone. The River Balder is in County Durham. The head of the ...

at the Balder Viaduct just north of Cotherstone. Cotherstone cheese is a celebrated delicacy, and the village was famous for it by at least 1858.

Notable people

Hannah Hauxwell Hannah Hauxwell (1 August 192630 January 2018) was an English farmer who was the subject of several television documentaries. She first came to public attention after being covered in an ITV documentary, ''Too Long a Winter'', made by Yorkshire Te ...

, who became famous through a 1970s

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

documentary, farmed near Cotherstone and in 1988 moved to the village itself. In 1973

Maxwell Fry Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, FRTPI, known as Maxwell Fry (2 August 1899 – 3 September 1987), was an English modernist architect, writer and painter. Originally trained in the neo-classical style of architecture, Fry grew to favour the n ...

and his wife

Jane Drew Dame Jane Drew , (24 March 1911 – 27 July 1996) was an English modernist architect and town planner. She qualified at the Architectural Association School in London, and prior to World War II became one of the leading exponents of the Modern ...

, both modernist architects, retired to Cotherstone. The jurist

John Cyril Smith Sir John Cyril Smith (15 January 1922 – 14 February 2003), born Barnard Castle, County Durham, was an authority on English criminal law and the philosophy of criminal liability. Together with Brian Hogan he was the author of ''Smith & Hogan's ...

was born in the village in 1922.

Miles Stapleton Sir Miles Stapleton, KG (c. 1408 – 1 October 1466) was Lord of the Manor of Ingham, Norfolk and ''de jure'' Baron Ingham of Ingham, Norfolk, and Lord of the Manor of Bedale, Yorkshire. Family Sir Miles Stapleton was the son of Sir Br ...

was a notable Lord of Cotherstone (among other places) during the fourteenth century.Caroline Shenton, ‘Stapleton, Sir Miles, of Bedale (1320?–1364)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, October 200
accessed 2 May 2011
/ref> John Bowes bred four winners of The Derby at nearby

Streatlam Castle Streatlam Castle was a Baroque stately home located near the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham, England, that was demolished in 1959. Owned by the Bowes-Lyon family, Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, the house was one of the family's three ...

, including

Cotherstone Cotherstone is a village and civil parish in the Pennine hills, in Teesdale, County Durham, England. Cotherstone lies within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rura ...

Bentley Beetham Bentley Beetham (1 May 1886 – 5 April 1963) was an English mountaineer, ornithologist and photographer, and a member of the 1924 British Mount Everest expedition.1924 British Mount Everest Expedition.

References

External links

Villages in County Durham {{Durham-geo-stub