Romaldkirk is a village 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 ...

, in the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

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 ...

. The village lies within the historic 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 has been administered by County Durham since 1974. It is thought that the name might be derived from St. Rumwold, a little-known

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

saint who is said to have preached the Gospel after his baptism as an infant; his resting place is recorded as being in

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

. The village church at Strixton, Northamptonshire is unusually dedicated to him. It has also been suggested that the village is named after Saint Romald; an obscure figure who it is said at three days old recited one of the Gospels and then died. The village was formerly served by

Romaldkirk railway station Romaldkirk railway station was situated on the Tees Valley Railway between Barnard Castle railway station, Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale railway station, Middleton-in-Teesdale. It served the village of Romaldkirk. The line opened ...

. Thomas Page, the engineer, grew up in Romaldkirk. The architects Maxwell Fry and

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 ...

, and famous farmer

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 T ...

are buried near the village church. The church is a

Grade 1 listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, containing surviving sections of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

walls either side of the chancel arch, as well as a late medieval

rood stair A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

, a stone tomb effigy of Hugh Fitz Henry (who died on campaign with

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

in 1305) in chain mail, a 12th-century font, and a pulpit (originally part of a three decker) from the early 18th century.

References

Villages in County Durham {{Durham-geo-stub