The Castle at Barnard Castle
Three years ago, Raby acquired the old NatWest Bank building at 28 The Market Place, Barnard Castle, to create a link between the Market Place and the Castle at Barnard Castle, which lies to the rear of the premises. The project aims to bring into use the Outer Ward of the Castle, to enhance the Castle’s profile and contribution to the economic life of the town. 28 Market Place offers a potential gateway and resource. The Castle at Barnard Castle was built soon after 1093 on a dramatic site above the River Tees. The Castle was built to control a river crossing between the Bishop of Durham’s territory and the Honour of Richmond. Much of the present Castle was built during the 12th and early 13th centuries by the Balliol family. From the 14th century onwards, the Castle belonged to the Earls of Warwick, and from 1471 to 1485 to the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III. After a fierce siege during the Rising of the North in 1569, when the Castle was bombarded by rebels, the Castle went into steep decline and was effectively abandoned by the early 17th century. It has remained an imposing ruin ever since.
Ownership of the site is complex but much of the Inner and Outer Wards are owned by Raby with the Inner Ward being occupied by English Heritage Trust under a series of Guardianship Agreements. Working with partners such as Cultura Trust, Durham County Council, English Heritage Trust, Historic England and Barnard Castle Town Council, we now hope to raise the profile and footfall of the Castle as a tourism asset for visitors and amenity for residents. This should in turn improve the economic, cultural and social connectivity between the Castle and the town.
The project is intended to introduce public access to the Outer Ward of the Castle, an area of about two acres in the heart of the town, which currently has no use and therefore delivers no tangible benefits. We are currently considering and consulting on alternative uses for this area to test and conclude on those most viable, sustainable, and beneficial, recognising it is part of the Castle’s scheduled monument. By bringing the Outer Ward into public use we also hope to fill a gap in the historical and archaeological understanding of the Castle in the context of life in the town, and ultimately attract funding for the repair of the curtain walls overlooking the river. This is with the aim of removing the Castle from the Historic England Heritage at Risk register. We hope to make public engagement an integral part of all activities through consultation and volunteering opportunities, which will help to inform the business case and build capacity for future sustainability.
We also believe we should explore options for creating direct access into the Castle and/or a resource for activity in the Outer Ward as well as increasing the cultural, community, economic and tourism value of the Castle for the town. To this end, we are planning to devise and test the viability of a residential ‘guildhouse’ for traditional skills training and heritage learning in the disciplines required to support the Castle, historic town and associated sites, including showcasing skills demonstrations and providing career and employment support, especially for marginalised and disadvantaged groups. The project is in its early stages, but we look forward to keeping you updated on progress.