Eggleston is a village in
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 â€About North East E ...
, in
England. The population of the
civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 448. It is situated in
Teesdale, a few miles north-west of
Barnard Castle.
Etymology
The second element of ''Eggleston'' is
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 ...
''tün'', 'enclosure, estate, settlement'. The first element could be the
Cumbric word represented today by Welsh ''eglwys'' 'church'. However, the first element could also be from the Old Norse personal name ''Egill'' or an Anglo-Saxon personal name like ''Ecgwulf'' or ''Ecgel'', in which case the name means 'Ecgel's estate'.
Local lore notes the presence of a large stone (near
Eggleston Hall
Eggleston Hall is a privately owned 19th-century English country house in Eggleston, Teesdale, County Durham. It is a Grade II* listed building. Photograph and architectural description.
Overview
The manor of Eggleston was forfeited to the C ...
) with iron eyelets affixed. The story is that eagles to be used in
falconry
Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...
, while in training, were tied to the stone with long leads. According to local knowledge the stone long ago was known as the Eagle Stone which over the centuries evolved into current place name Eggleston.
History
The village is first mentioned in tax records of 1196. The remains of ridge and furrow from the medieval period can still be seen. One of the oldest structures in the village is Eggleston Bridge, which crosses into the neighbouring village of
Romaldkirk. The bridge dates to the 15th century but was mostly rebuilt in the 17th century. It originally featured a chapel at the south end. Many of the cottages date from the 18th century and were built by the
Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
, who owned lead mines in the area. Forty men were employed as miners until 1904 when the company closed the smelting mills.
[http://www.explorenorthpennines.org.uk/sites/default/files/activity/downloads/enp059.pdf ]
See also
*
Egglestone Abbey
Egglestone Abbey is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey on the southern (Yorkshire) bank of the River Tees, in northern England, south-east of Barnard Castle. The abbey was historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire, but since 1974 has ...
References
External links
Villages in County Durham
{{Durham-geo-stub
