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 authorit ...

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 N ...

, 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 ...

between Eastgate 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; 18 miles west of Durham City and 26 miles southwest of Newcastle ...

, 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. Th ...

. 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. Common ...

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.

Civil parish

The civil parish includes the settlements of Cornriggs, Cowshill,

Daddry Shield Daddry Shield is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated on the south side of the River Wear in Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fal ...

, Eastgate,

, Ireshopeburn,

Lanehead Lanehead is a hamlet in County Durham, England. It lies at the head of Weardale, approximately 2 km west of Cowshill. It is also located near to Killhope, and the boundary of the county of Cumbria. In the 2001 census Lanehead had a popul ...

, St John's Chapel, Wearhead and Westgate, all on the A689 road, and also Bollihope, Bridge End,

Brotherlee Brotherlee is a small village in County Durham, England situated on the south side 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 Penn ...

, Copthill,

Crawleyside Crawleyside is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Stanhope, in Weardale. In the 2001 census Crawleyside had a population of 170. The Crawley Edge Cairns, in a field to the west of the village are a series ...

East Blackdene East Blackdene is a hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of the River Wear, on the opposite side of Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large ...

, Hill End,

Lintzgarth Lintzgarth is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the west of Rookhope. The Lintzgarth smeltmill was built in 1737 and was used for smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It i ...

, New House,

Rookhope Rookhope is a village in County Durham, in England. A former lead and fluorspar mining community, it first existed as a group of cattle farms in the 13th Century. It is situated in the Pennines to the north of Weardale. W. H. Auden once called ...

and

West Blackdene West Blackdene is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of the River Wear, opposite Ireshopeburn Ireshopeburn ( ''EYE-sup-burn'' ) is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the south side of We ...

. Other places it includes are

Killhope Killhope is a small settlement at the very highest end of Weardale in County Durham, England. Killhope Pass, the road linking Killhope, County Durham to Nenthead, Cumbria, reaches 627m (2057 feet) above sea level. This makes it the highest paved ...

, Shittlehope, Unthank and White Kirkley. This gives it the largest parish area in England, at 221 km². 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 ...

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 ...

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. 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 p ...

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

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 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 to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...

. *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 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, Thom ...

, 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 (1739–1 ...

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

and Witton-le-Wear. 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 Tarr ...

Notable residents

In order of birth: *

(1692–1752), theologian and cleric * William Greenwell (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 G ...

'' in 1932–1944. * Muriel Young (1923–2001), television continuity announcer, presenter and producer, died in Stanhope.

Gallery

File:Durham Dales Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1119.jpg, Durham Dales Centre. Stanhope, Co. Durham (in Weardale). Arts and Crafts Centre File:Stanhope_Railway_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2531690.jpg, The preserved railway station and tearoom (summer) File:Scurfield House.jpg, Scurfield House near to Stanhope, County Durham (Winter) File:St. Thomas, Stanhope - geograph.org.uk - 148447.jpg, St Thomas's Church, Stanhope 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, Ford in Stanhope, County Durham

References

External links

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