Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, 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 ...

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

Borough of Stockton-on-Tees The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire, England. The borough had a population of 191,600 in 2011. The main settlemen ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. It was previously a

port town A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

before the industry moved down the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...

to more accessible settlements nearer to the sea. It lies on the Southern bank of the River Tees, on a small

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

hosting the town's high street and other oldest parts. Newer area of the town are in former fields south of the peninsula. To the east it extends to the River Leven, to the south it extends into the

Kirklevington Kirklevington (also known as Kirk Leavington) is a village in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 809. The civil parish had a population of 1,361. The village shares it ...

parish ( is in said parish). Low Worsall is to the newer area's west. Yarm bridge marked the river's furthest tidal-flow reaching until a barrage opened to regulate the tide in 1995. It was previously the last bridge before the sea, having been superseded multiple times since. It was first superseded by a toll bridge in 1771, crossing into

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

The town's historic county is

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, the

North Riding 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 ...

sub-division. The three sub-divisions had gained separate county status in 1889 before these were abolished in 1974. It is in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees; first when the borough was a

county of Cleveland Cleveland was a ceremonial county located in northern England. It was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and named after the historic area of Cleveland, Yorkshire. The county was abolished in 1996. The area was partitioned ...

district (1974-1996) and second (from 1996) in its present

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

structure. The borough is a constituent member of the

Tees Valley Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around the River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley. The LEP was established in 2011 and the combined authority was establish ...

combined authority.

History

The name ''Yarm'' is thought to be derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''gearum'', dative plural of ''gear,'' 'pool for catching fish' (source of the modern dialect word ''yair'' with the same meaning), hence 'at the place of the fish pools'. Yarm was first mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, and was originally a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

in the

parish in 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 ...

; it later became a parish in its own right. The

Yarm helmet The Yarm helmet is a ca 10th-century Viking age helmet that was found in Yarm in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is the first relatively complete Anglo-Scandinavian helmet found in Britain and only the second relatively complete/inta ...

is a

Viking age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

that was found in Yarm. It is the first relatively complete Anglo-Scandinavian helmet found in Britain and only the second Viking helmet discovered in north-west Europe. It is displayed nearby in Preston Park Museum,

Preston-on-Tees Preston-on-Tees, locally called Preston, is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 1,689. It is home to Preston Hall and it's accompanying pub ...

. Dominican Friars settled in Yarm about 1286, and maintained a friary and a hospital in the town, until 1583. Their memory is preserved in the names of Friarage and Spital Bank. The Friarage was built on top of the cellars of a Dominican friary in 1770, for the Meynell family. It is now at the centre of

Yarm School Yarm School is a co-educational independent day school in Yarm, North Yorkshire in the North East of England. The school accepts pupils aged 3–18 years old and has a Nursery Pre-Prep, Preparatory School, Senior School and Sixth Form. The Sch ...

. Bishop Skirlaw 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 N ...

built a stone bridge, which still stands, across the Tees in 1400. An iron replacement was built in 1805, but it fell down in 1806. For many years, Yarm was at the tidal limit and head of navigation on the

. On 1 February 1643, during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

, a small

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

force attempted to halt the progress of a large waggon-train of arms, landed at

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...

and destined to bolster the Royalist war effort in Yorkshire and beyond. Heavily outnumbered and outflanked by Royalist ford crossings, the Parliamentarians were quickly routed and the Royalists gained the bridge, crossing into Yorkshire. On 12 February 1821, at the ''George & Dragon Inn'', the meeting was held that pressed for the third and successful attempt for a Bill to give permission to build the

Stockton & Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near Shildo ...

, the world's first public railway. In 1890, Bulmer & Co listed twelve

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

s in Yarm: Black Bull, Cross Keys, Crown Inn, Fleece, George and Dragon, Green Tree, Ketton Ox, Lord Nelson, Red Lion, Three Tuns, Tom Brown, and Union. Also listed was Cross Keys beside the Leven Bridge. In the 13th century, Yarm was classed as a borough, but this status did not persist. It formed part of the Stokesley Rural District under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, and remained so until 1 April 1974 when, under 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 ...

, it became part of the district of Stockton-on-Tees in the new non-metropolitan

. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 under the

Banham Review The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary C ...

, with Stockton-on-Tees becoming a

.OPSI
– ''The Cleveland (Further Provision) Order 1995''

Geography

Yarm is bordered by two rivers, the

to the north, and the River Leven to the east. The Leven is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the Tees. Yarm was once the highest port on the Tees. Two road bridges cross the river, Yarm Bridge crossing from the High Street to

Eaglescliffe Eaglescliffe is a village in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It is in the civil parish of Egglescliffe. The village was formerly known as Eaglescliffe Junction, being formed around . In 2011, the Office for National S ...

, which is Grade II* listed, and Leven Bridge crossing the Leven between Yarm and

Low Leven Low Leven is a hamlet within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located at the bottom of Leven Bank towards the mouth of the River Leven. Until 2007, Low Leven was dominated by the ruin ...

, which is Grade II listed. On 26 February 2010, Leven Bridge was closed after cracks appeared in it. Repairs took less time than expected, and the bridge re-opened on 18 June 2010.

Yarm Town Hall Yarm Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Yarm, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Yarm Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first building on the site was a medieval ...

in the High Street was built in 1710 by Thomas Belasyse, 3rd Viscount Fauconberg who was

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

. In a poll taken for the BBC's Breakfast programme on 19 January 2007, Yarm's High Street was voted the 'Best High Street': the street and its cobbled parking areas is fronted by many

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

-style old buildings, with their red pantile roofs. The A67, which runs through High Street was previously classified as the A19 until a dual carriageway was built in the 1970s, about three miles south of the town near the village of Crathorne. When the A19 ran through High Street, it was heavily congested. The road was used by heavy goods traffic as a shortcut to

Teesside International Airport Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East, ...

. The classification of the road as an 'A'-road meant that it was difficult to place a ban on heavy goods vehicles; however the town council made efforts to come up with voluntary agreements with many haulage firms until 2012, when all HGV traffic was banned from the route through Yarm and Egglescliffe.

The Rookery is a public area by the River Tees situated at the bottom of Goose Pasture. The

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...

and

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

woodland is about 200 years old and owned by Yarm Town Council. In 2002, a walkway was constructed around the wood to celebrate the

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. Within the woodland, close to the river, BMX riders have created numerous dirt ramps which are regularly used during summer months.

Governance

House of Commons

Yarm is part of the Stockton South Parliamentary Constituency which is represented 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. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

since 14 December 2019 by

Matt Vickers Matthew Alexander Vickers (born 24 September 1983) is a British politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton South since 2019 and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party since 2022. Early life Vickers was born in Universi ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP. It was represented from 8 May 2017 by Dr Paul Williams (Labour), "a local GP" who lost his seat at the 2019 General Election. From 2010 to 2017 the constituency was represented by James Wharton (Conservative); He was elected on 6 May 2010 for Stockton South. James Wharton was re-elected with an increased majority on 7 May 2015. In August 2016 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development. From 1997 to 2010, the constituency was represented by Dari Taylor (Labour).

House of Lords

On the morning of 2 September 2020, the former MP, James Wharton, was created Baron Wharton of Yarm, after being nominated in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's 2020 Dissolution Honours List. He was introduced on 10 September, becoming the youngest member of the House of Lords at 36, and the first member of the House of Lords to retrieve their title from the area.

Borough Council

The Yarm ward of Stockton, which includes

, has three local

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s sitting on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. From 5 May 2011, Conservatives Mark Chatburn, Ben Houchen, and Andrew Sherris became the councillors on the Stockton on Tees Borough Council for the Yarm Ward. Mark Chatburn subsequently defected to

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

on 22 March 2013.

Town council

Yarm has a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

which is responsible for certain aspects of the town's administration, including allotments and the cemetery. It meets once a month in the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. The council has eleven seats with a chairman who, for ceremonial purposes, is 'Mayor'. The Standing Orders of the Council restrict the chairman's period of office to two years in any four-year period. The 2015 chairman was Clr Jason Hadlow. Elections for the council are held every four years. December 2008 by-election A

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

was held for two vacant seats on the council after the resignation of one, and disqualification of another Conservative councillor. The

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

fielded two candidates against two Independent candidates who stood under the banner 'Former Councillor'. The Labour Party and Liberal Democrats chose not to field any candidates, the former instead backing the Independents. Turnout for the election was low, with the Conservative candidates elected by a small margin. October 2009 by-election After the departure of a Conservative councillor, a

was held on 15 October 2009 for one seat on the town council. Peter Monck, a former town councillor and

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

candidate for Stockton South in the 1997 general election stood as an independent candidate against Paul Smith, a Conservative party candidate.

Transport

Rail

The

Yarm railway station Yarm is a railway station on the Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line, which connects the East Coast Main Line and Tees Valley Line. The station, situated north-east of Northallerton, serves the market town of Yarm, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in ...

, opened in 1996, is located on Green Lane near

Conyers' School Conyers School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, in Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, England. History The Free Grammar School was founded in 1590 by Thomas Conyers of Egglescliffe, who was issued letters patent ...

, about a mile south of Yarm High Street. Yarm is also serviced by the

Eaglescliffe railway station Eaglescliffe is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between and via . The station, situated east of Darlington, serves the village of Eaglescliffe, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is owned by Netw ...

. Viaduct The railway

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

was built between 1849 and 1851 for the Leeds Northern Railway Company. Its designers were

Thomas Grainger Thomas Grainger FRSE (12 November 1794 – 25 July 1852) was a Scottish civil engineer and surveyor. He was joint partner with John Miller in the prominent engineering firm of Grainger & Miller. Life Grainger was born at Gogar Green near R ...

and John Bourne. It comprises seven million bricks, and has 43 arches, with the two that span the River Tees being

skewed In probability theory and statistics, skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable about its mean. The skewness value can be positive, zero, negative, or undefined. For a unimoda ...

and made of stone.

Air

(MME) between Yarm and Darlington, operates internal and external flights near

Middleton St George Middleton St George is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated approximately east of Darlington. According to the 2011 UK Census the population was 3, ...

Road

North

The high street of Yarm is currently numbered as the (formerly A19). North of Yarm High Street leads to a fork just outside the high street with heading north-east, to

, and A67/Durham Road going north-west, the goes to the airport and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. Durham Road goes to the , this name separation is through a roundabout in

. South The south of the high street links to the current . It also forks west as leading to the and

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...

. The roundabout and heads east to the Blue Bell roundabout in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and west towards

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Bus

Religion

St Mary Magdalene Parish Church - geograph

Yarm Parish Church St Mary Magdalene is a Church of England parish church in the town of Yarm, in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England, which is dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. Administratively, it is a parish of the Diocese ...

is the

Anglican parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

, dedicated to

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

. It is situated on West Street, where there has been a church on the site since at least the 9th century. It was last rebuilt from the remains of the second, Norman, church in 1730. It is a Grade II* listed building. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

(RC) church of Ss Mary and Romuald, built in 1860, is at the south end of High Street. It is a Grade II listed building.

Yarm Methodist Church Yarm Methodist Church is a Methodist church in the town of Yarm in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, England. It is octagonal in shape. Built in 1763, John Wesley wrote in his Journal : :I preached about noon at Potto and in the evening in the N ...

, an

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

al church built in 1763, is on Chapel Yard, on the east side of the town by the river, and is the oldest octagonal church in current use in Methodism. It is a Grade II listed building.

Sport

Yarm Rugby Club is based at Wass Way, Eaglescliffe. The club has grown significantly since forming in February 1998. They run teams and training sessions for most ages from youth to seniors. Currently playing in

Durham/Northumberland 3 Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland, previously known as Durham/Northumberland 3, is an English rugby union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and is currently the basement league of club rugby in North East England. Any club ...

. Yarm Wolves is a team of the

North East Rugby League The North East Rugby League Premier Divisions is the top league in a 2 division structure in rugby league's tier 4. It is competed for by teams in the North East of England, Cumbria and North Yorkshire though in the past occasionally teams from W ...

. Yarm Cricket Club is situated on Leven Road, and has been in existence since 1814. It runs three senior teams in the

North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League The North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League, commonly abbreviated to NYSD, is the top level competition for recreational club cricket in the north of Yorkshire and south of Durham, England. The league was founded as long ago as 1892, th ...

, and four junior sides – under 11s, under 13s, under 15s and under 17s – who all play competitive cricket throughout the season. In recent years, Yarm's third team, who play on a Sunday, have been the most successful team in the club, winning the NYSD Sunday Division 1 on several occasions, along with the League and Cup double in 2008. Yarm and Eaglescliffe FC play in the

North Riding Football League The North Riding Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2017 by the merger of the former Teesside Football League and Eskvale & Cleveland League. The league has four divisions – the Premier Division (which stand ...

, it was established in 2017. Other sports facilities within Yarm include 4G football pitch, located at Conyers' School. This facility is operated by the Go-Sport group and has been the home ground for local adult and youth football clubs, including Yarm FC and Yarm Town Juniors. In 2016, the Go-Sport group hosted an FA-accredited 11-a-side Midweek Football League, contested by various local clubs, including TIBS F.C. from Thornaby and Ingleby Barwick. The winners of this inaugural trophy were L&H F.C., who had a 3–1 victory in the final.

Community and culture

A charter to hold a weekly market was granted by King John in 1207. It is held on the second Sunday of each month. The

market charter 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 ...

gave Yarm its historic status as a town. Many events are held in the town each year such as a Gala, Fair and a 5 km Fun Run. After lying dormant for almost 100 years the Yarm Gala restarted in 2008.

Fair

A fair is held in High Street in the third week in October. It starts on the Tuesday evening, and is officially opened on the Thursday. It lasts until Saturday night. It was once a commercial fair that traded in cheese and livestock, but is now primarily a funfair. Travellers still attend the fair and ride horses up and down the street on the Saturday. The travellers have to wait outside the town until 6:00 pm on the Tuesday, at which point they are allowed to cross the bridge over the River Tees into the town.

Venues

The Princess Alexandra Auditorium is a 750-seat venue opened in 2012 as a part of

’s redevelopment. A smaller Friarage Theatre is also on the site, with a 140-seat capacity.

Education

There are three primary schools in the town: * Levendale (single form entry) * Yarm Primary School (two form entry) * Layfield Primary School (single form entry)

, with about 1,400 pupils, is a mixed

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

; it has also a

sixth-form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-lev ...

. It was founded in 1594 as 'the Free Grammar School' by

Thomas Conyers Thomas Conyers (ca. 16664 October 1728) of Elemore Hall, County Durham was an English Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons between 1695 and 1708 and in the British House of Commons from 1708 to 1727. Early life Conyers was th ...

. Following the change to

comprehensive education Comprehensive may refer to: * Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client. *Comprehensive school, a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement ...

, it was renamed to reflect its founder. Conyers' School is a specialist school for

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

. The town is home to the independent

with about 1,200 pupils; the senior school being situated at the Friarage, and the preparatory school and nursery at the old Yarm Grammar School. The school was founded in 1978, some time after the re-designation of the original grammar school. The school had plans to move within the next decade to a site near to their playing fields on Green Lane, south of the town. However,

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

was not granted by the local council, and Yarm School is no longer planning to move, instead choosing to renovate and improve the current site.

Notable people

People associated with the town include

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, founder of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

, and Tom Brown, hero of the

Battle of Dettingen The Battle of Dettingen (german: Schlacht bei Dettingen) took place on 27 June 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession at Dettingen in the Electorate of Mainz, Holy Roman Empire (now Karlstein am Main in Bavaria). It was fought between a ...

, who consequently became the last man to be knighted on the battlefield. His old house is still located on the High Street and dates from around 1480, pre-dating the Elizabethan period and is the oldest standing dwelling in the former County of Cleveland. Yarm has also been home to professional

footballers A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

including

and Dutch international

George Boateng George Antwi Boateng (born 5 September 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is Assistant Coach of the Ghana national team. Born in Ghana, raised in Holland and he represented the Netherlands interna ...

who now works outside the UK, and former

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and Spain International

Gaizka Mendieta Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (, ; born 27 March 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A versatile player, with good technique, offensive capabilities and tackling skills, who was capable of creating goals both ...

. Former England boss

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching caree ...

also regularly visits the town, as his family home is situated in the neighbouring village of Aislaby.

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

guitarist

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...

, and West End playwright and international screenwriter

Graham Farrow Graham Ronald Farrow is an English playwright and screenwriter from North Yorkshire; living in Yarm, born in Middlesbrough, and educated at Scarborough College. His first novel, ''Speak no Evil'', was nominated for the 1989 Commonwealth Writer's ...

also live in Yarm. The cricketer William Halton was born at Yarm.

Twinned towns

Yarm is twinned with two other European towns: *

Schwalbach am Taunus Schwalbach am Taunus, a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis district, in Hesse, Germany, population about 14,000, is a dormitory town to Frankfurt, situated some 11 km east of Schwalbach. There is evidence of human habitation dating back to Neolithi ...

, Germany * Vernouillet, France (since 1985) There is also an agreement with

Olkusz Olkusz ( yi, עלקיש ''Elkish'', german: 1941-45 Ilkenau) is a town in southern Poland with 36,607 inhabitants (2014). Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998), it is the capital ...

, in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. On 2 July 2005, two trees were planted to the north of the town hall to mark the 20th anniversary of the twinning between Yarm and the two towns. The trees were marked with plaques.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* * {{authority control Market towns in North Yorkshire Towns in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Places in the Tees Valley Borough of Stockton-on-Tees