Barnard Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Barney Castle, Bernard's Castle

In the civil parish of Barnard Castle.
In the historic county of Durham; County Palatinate of (Modern Authority of Durham, 1974 county of County Durham).

Multi-phase castle, probably originally built as a ringwork by Guy de Baliol circa 1095, later fortified as a shell keep castle by 1135. In disrepair through C15-C16, it was partly dismantled in C17. Sold for stone in 1630 but disused before that. A large castle it stands on a cliff above the River Tees. It has four courtyards surrounded by a wall and ditch. In the Inner Ward the Great Hall and Great Chamber survive well, and the ruins of the Bakehouse and the Guardhouse can also be seen. In godd condition considering it has been used as a quarry. Durham Bishops claim on the castle rarely bore fruit. Scheduled and listed, the castle itself is listed Grade 1 and the chapel in the outer ward is listed Grade 2*.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle
Palace.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 388833)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ04911641

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 19875

Web site links

http://members.rott.chello.nl/tjemmes/barn.html
http://www.bispham2.freeserve.co.uk/castles/barnard.htm
http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/barnard%20castle.htm
http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/barnard/barnard.php#castle
http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_barnard.htm
http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=D1970
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.115
http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/92/barnardcastle.htm
http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=21
http://members.rott.chello.nl/tjemmes/barn.html0

Books

Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles and Tower Houses of County Durham (Malvern) p10-14
Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p174
Jackson, M.J., 1996, Castles of Durham and Cleveland (Carlise) p13-6 [plan]
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p25-6
Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p58, 189, 278, 355
Corfe, Tom (ed), 1992, 'The Visible Middle Ages' in An Historical Atlas of County Durhan p28-9
Pevsner, Nikolaus (revised by Elizabeth Williamson), 1983, Buildings of England: County Durham (Harmondsworth) p85-7
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p134
Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p183-4
Hugill, Robert, 1979, The Castles and Towers of the County of Durham (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p30-36
Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King's Works, vol3: 1485-1660 (part 1) (London) p226, 404
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p558
Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p117-9
Evans, Herbert A., 1912, Castles of England and Wales (London) p306-12
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Gould, Chalkley, 1905, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Durham Vol1 p355
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p335-9
Whellan, F., 1894 (2edn), History, Topography and Directory of the County of Durham p535-6
Boyle,J.R., 1892, Comprehensive Guide to the County of Durham: its Castles, Churches, and Manor-Houses (London) p682-9
Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England (Wyman and Sons) Vol1 p204-213
Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p276-8
Surtees, W., 1816 [1972 Reprint], History and Antiquities of Durham Vol4 p50-68, 87-91
Brayley, E. and Britton, J., 1803, Beauties of England and Wales; Durham Vol5 p235-8
Hutchinson, Wm, 1785-94, The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham Vol3 p296-9
Grose, Francis, 1787, The Antiquities of England and Wales (London) Vol2 p88-92
Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p79

Journal Articles

Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p320
Austin, D., 1984, ‘The castle and the landscape: annual lecture to the Society for landscape Studies, May 1984' Landscape History Vol6 p 69-81
Austin, D., 1982, 'Barnard Castle' Château Gaillard Vol9-10 p293-300
Austin, D., 1980-1, ‘Barnard Castle, County Durham' CBA Newsletter and Calendar Vol4 p122
Austin, David et al, 1980, ‘Barnard Castle, Co Durham. Second interim report: excavations in the inner ward 1976-8: the later medieval period’ Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol133 p74-96
Austin, David, 1979, 'Barnard Castle, Co Durham. First Interim Report: Excavations in the town ward 1974-6' Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol132 p50-72
Austin, D., 1978-9, ‘Barnard Castle, County Durham' CBA Newsletter and Calendar Vol2 p126
[Austin] in Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1977, ‘Medieval Britain in 1976' Medieval Archaeology Vol21 p234
Austin, David, 1975. 'Town Ward, Barnard Castle' CBA Group3 Vol9 p5-6
King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
[Ritchie], 1964, Medieval Archaeology Vol8 p252
Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
1957, Medieval Archaeology Vol1 p156
1912-3, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol22 p411-13
1901-2, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol10 p335-42
1889, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p74-5
Pritchett, 1887, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol43 p233-4 [plan]
Robinson, 1887, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol43 p27-43 [reprint of 1862 article without the fine illustrations]
Clark, G.T., 1873, The Builder Vol31 p482-4 [reprinted in MMA]
Robinson, 1862, Transactions of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland Vol1 p88-99

Guidebooks

Austin, David, 2001, Barnard Castle in Teesdale (English Heritage)
Kenyon, Katy, 1999, Barnard Castle, Egglestone Abbey, Bowes Castle (English Heritage)
Austin, David, 1988, Barnard Castle (English Heritage)
Saunders, A.D., 1979, [2edn] Barnard Castle (HMSO)
Saunders, A.D., 1959, Barnard Castle (HMSO)

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/durhameng.html#durham4]
Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p154-5, 156
Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p77

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

¤¤¤¤¤