Stanhope is a market town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

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 ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, England. It lies on the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through th ...

between

Eastgate Eastgate may refer to: Places Canada * Eastgate, Alberta, Canada * Eastgate, British Columbia, Canada United Kingdom * Eastgate, County Durham, England * Eastgate, Norfolk, England * Eastgate, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England * Eastgate, C ...

and

Frosterley Frosterley is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated in Weardale, on the River Wear close to its confluence with Bollihope Burn; between Wolsingham and Stanhope, County Durham, Stanhope; 18 miles west of Durham, England, Durham C ...

, in the north-east of

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. T ...

. The main

A689 road The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham. The road begins west of Carlisle, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently co ...

over 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 ...

is crossed by the B6278 between

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 ...

and

Shotley Bridge Shotley Bridge is a village, adjoining the town of Consett in County Durham, England. It is on the A694 road and beside the River Derwent which is crossed by the bridge giving the name. It was once the heart of Britain's swordmaking industry. ...

. In 2001 Stanhope had a population of 1,633, in 2019 an estimate of 1,627, and a figure of 1,602 in the 2011 census for the ONS built-up-area which includes Crawleyside. In 2011 the parish population was 4,581.

Governance

Stanhope parish is the largest parish area in England, at It has some land in

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

with the neighbouring

Wolsingham Wolsingham is a market town in Weardale, County Durham, England. It is situated by the River Wear, between Crook and Stanhope. History Wolsingham sits at the confluence of the River Wear and Waskerley Beck. It is a small settlement and one of ...

civil parish. On 31 December 1894 "Stanhope Urban" parish was formed from part of Stanhope parish, but on 1 April 1937 it was merged back. In 1894 Stanhope became an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

which contained Stanhope Urban parish, on 1 April 1937 the urban district was abolished and merged with

Weardale Rural District Weardale was a rural district in County Durham, England from 1894 to 1974. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Weardale rural sanitary district. It originally consisted of the parishes of Edmondbyers, Hun ...

. On 1 April 1946, 2,396 acres (969.6 ha) were transferred to the parish from Wolsingham.

Description

Stanhope is surrounded by moorland in 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) – the second largest of a current 40 such areas in England and Wales. Features of interest include: *A

petrified In geology, petrifaction or petrification () is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals. Petrified wood typifies this proce ...

tree stump standing in the churchyard was found with two others, one of which features in the

Great North Museum The Great North Museum: Hancock is a museum of natural history and ancient civilisations in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The museum was established in 1884 and was formerly known as the Hancock Museum. In 2006 it merged with Newcastle Unive ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. *The Durham Dales Centre incorporates a tea room, tourist information and craft shops. *Stanhope Bridge, a scheduled monument, was built in the 15th century and widened in 1792. *The

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

has a stepping-stone bridge for pedestrians. *The 18th-century Stanhope Castle in the town centre stands on the possible site of a medieval castle. It was built in 1798 by Cuthbert Rippon, MP for

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

. *The town has one of only two heated open-air swimming pools in the North East. Stanhope was at the centre of the

Weardale campaign The Weardale campaign, part of the First War of Scottish Independence, occurred during July and August 1327 in Weardale, England. A Scottish force under James, Lord of Douglas, and the earls of Moray and Mar faced an English army commanded ...

(1327), when

Sir James Douglas James Douglas may refer to: Scottish noblemen Lords of Angus * James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Angus (1426–1446), Scottish nobleman * James Douglas, Earl of Angus (1671–1692), son of the 2nd Marquess of Douglas Lords of Douglas * James Douglas, L ...

of Scotland invaded England and faced

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

and Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. A series of skirmishes took place on the valley floor and in Stanhope Park. The parish church dedicated to St Thomas is mostly from the 12th–13th centuries, with restoration in 1663 and 1867. The earliest known Rector was Richardus in 1200.

Joseph Butler Joseph Butler (18 May O.S. 1692 – 16 June O.S. 1752) was an English Anglican bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher, born in Wantage in the English county of Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire). He is known for critiques of Deism, Thomas ...

, later Bishop of Bristol, was Rector in 1725. Stanhope Castle may be on the site of a motte and bailey castle according to some evidence from the 1790s. Furthermore, Bishop Anthony Bek granted land "to the west side of Stanhope castle". The present castle was built for Cuthbert Rippon (1744-1801) in 1798 with additions in 1823 by his son, also

Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nort ...

(1797–1867) and Member of Parliament for Gateshead.

Ignatius Bonomi Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was an English architect and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with Durham in north-east England. Life He was the son of an architect and draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739– ...

(1787–1870) was the architect. In 1941 the castle was adapted by the Home Office as a school for boys and remained so until 1980, when it was converted into apartments. Part of the gardens lie to the north of the castle across the main road, including the park wall and gazebo. Stanhope Agricultural Show is held on the second weekend of September each year. It has been held annually since 1834, except in world-war years, the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak foot and mouth crisis, and times of bad weather.

Weardale Railway

Stanhope is the current terminus of the

Weardale Railway The Weardale Railway is an independently-owned British single-track branch line heritage railway between , Witton-le-Wear, Wolsingham, Frosterley and Stanhope. Weardale Railway began services on 23 May 2010, but decided to run special trains r ...

, a heritage line operating mainly at weekends from Bishop Auckland, with stations at

and

Witton-le-Wear Witton-le-Wear is a village in County Durham, North East England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Wear, to the north-west of Bishop Auckland. Geography and administration Witton-le-Wear is part of the North West Durham Parliament ...

. Stanhope Station stood in for the fictional Partlington Station in an episode of the criminal drama series

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarrag ...

Notable residents

In order of birth: *

(1692–1752), theologian and cleric *

William Greenwell Canon William Greenwell, (23 March 1820 – 27 January 1918) was an English archaeologist and Church of England priest. Early life William Greenwell was born 23 March 1820 at the estate known as Greenwell Ford near Lanchester, County Durham, E ...

(1820–1918), archaeologist and Anglican cleric, catalogued Late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

finds at Heathery Burn Cave near Stanhope in 1859–1872.W. Greenwell, 1894. "Antiquities of the Bronze Age found in the Heathery Burn Cave, County Durham", ''Archaeologia'' (2nd Series, 4), pp. 87–114. *

William Percival Crozier William Percival Crozier (1 August 1879 – 16 April 1944) was a British journalist and editor of the ''Manchester Guardian'' from 1932, when he succeeded Ted Scott, who had died in a sailing accident, until his death in 1944. Crozier was bo ...

(1879–1944), scholar and journalist, edited the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in 1932–1944. *

Muriel Young Muriel Young (19 June 1923 – 24 March 2001) was an English television continuity announcer, presenter and producer. Early life Young was born in 1923 in Bishop Middleham near Sedgefield, County Durham. As a child, she lived with her family i ...

(1923–2001), television continuity announcer, presenter and producer, died in Stanhope.

Gallery

File:Durham Dales Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1119.jpg, Durham Dales Centre of Arts and Crafts File:Scurfield House.jpg, Scurfield House File:St. Thomas, Stanhope - geograph.org.uk - 148447.jpg, St Thomas's Church File:Stanhope Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 76292.jpg, Stone Bridge, a single-arch bridge carrying the B6278 over the River Wear. File:Stanhope Ford.jpg, A ford

References

External links

{{authority control Market towns in County Durham Civil parishes in County Durham