Middleton-in-Teesdale is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

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 ...

, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is situated on the north side of

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 ...

between Eggleston and Newbiggin, a few miles to the north-west of

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

. The settlement is surrounded by the

North Pennines The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (

AONB An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

Administration

Middleton is administered by Durham County Council. It is part of the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

in 2020, it was a part of the

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

constituency for the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. The local police force is

Durham Constabulary Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing ceremonial county of County Durham in North East England. The force’s area is bordered by Cumbria Constabulary to the west, Cleveland Police to the south east, Nor ...

History

The small market town in Upper Teesdale expanded in the early 19th century when the

London Lead Company The London Lead Company was an 18th and 19th century British lead mining company. It was incorporated by royal charter. Strictly, it was The Company for Smelting Down Lead with Pitcoal. Origins The company was chartered in 1692 to investors who i ...

moved its northern headquarters there from Blanchland in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. Much of the architecture from its days as a company town is still clearly visible. This includes Middleton House, formerly the headquarters of the company, the school (which is now an outdoor centre) and some company houses. St Mary's Church, rebuilt in the late 1870s, has a historic detached bell tower with bells dating back to the 16th century. There are separate chapels for Catholics, Baptists, Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists. A fountain was erected in the town in 1877 to honour Robert Walton Bainbridge, superintendent of the London Lead Mining Company. Middleton served as the terminus of a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

from

until this was closed as part of the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

. The Wynch Bridge from 1830 close to the Low Force waterfall was built to allow miners to reach the Middleton mines. It is thought to be one of the oldest suspension bridge in England. On 20 June 1939, a British American Air Services

De Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rela ...

(Registration:G-AERE) flying from

Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...

Newcastle Airport Newcastle or New Castle Airport may refer to: * Newcastle International Airport, an airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK ** Newcastle Airport metro station, the Tyne and Wear metro station serving the airport * Newcastle Airport (Nevis), no ...

crashed at

Forest-in-Teesdale Forest-in-Teesdale is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated in upper Teesdale, on the north side of the Tees between Newbiggin and Langdon Beck Langdon Beck is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated in upper Teesda ...

near Middleton-in-Teesdale. The weather was bad and the aircraft was flying low. The accident killed all three passengers and crew on board.

References

External links

Photographs of Middleton-in-Teesdale, Teesdale2000Middleton PlusNorth Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton-In-Teesdale River Tees Towns in County Durham