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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It lies on the River Wear between Eastgate and Frosterley, in the north-east of Weardale. The main A689 road over the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

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, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit ...

and Shotley Bridge. 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: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

with the neighbouring Wolsingham civil parish. If Stanhope was a district it would be the 135th largest in England and would be 94th if only counting districts that are 2 tier thus excluding unitary authorities and similar, 2 ceremonial counties namely the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

cover a smaller area. 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 which contained Stanhope Urban parish, on 1 April 1937 the urban district was abolished and merged with Weardale Rural District. On 1 April 1946, 2,396 acres (969.6 ha) were transferred to the parish from Wolsingham. Stanhope Town Hall was completed in 1849.

Description

Stanhope is surrounded by moorland in the North Pennines 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 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, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. * 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 town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

. * 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 (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 from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

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 1692 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 16 June 1752 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Anglican bishop, Christian theology, theologian, apologist, and philosopher, born in Wantage in the English count ...

, 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 a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

(1797–1867) and Member of Parliament for Gateshead. Ignatius Bonomi (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 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 Frosterley, Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear. Stanhope station stood in for the fictional Partlington Station in an episode of the criminal drama series Vera.

Notable residents

In order of birth: *

(1692–1752), theologian and cleric *

William Greenwell 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, Lanchest ...

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

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

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

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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

Gallery

File:Stanhope Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 987689.jpg, Stanhope Town Hall 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