Brignall is a village 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 south-west of

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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is located in an elevated position adjacent to the River Greta, upstream from

Greta Bridge Greta Bridge is a hamlet on the River Greta in the parishes of Rokeby and Brignall in County Durham, England. The bridge (now bypassed by the A66 trunk road) is over the River Greta, just south of its confluence with the River Tees. The Nort ...

. The nearest town is the market town of

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 ...

. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 54. The village is known for the scenic valley section of the River Greta known as

Brignall Banks Brignall Banks is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of south-west County Durham, England. It consists of a narrow belt of woodland on the steep slopes of the valleys of the River Greta and its tributary, Gill Beck ...

, which is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

Name

The name means "Bridge by the nook of land between the stream and the river". ''Brig'' is from

Medieval English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

''brig'' and

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''brycg'', meaning bridge; ''en'' is a common abbreviation of

''atten'' ("at the, by the"); ''hale'' is from

''healh'' ("corner, nook, secret place, corner of land left by the stream in a river valley"). The name was recorded as ''Bringhenale'' in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

Stone Bridge over Brignall Beck - geograph

History

The village was recorded in the

(1086) as a settlement in the hundred of land of

Alan Rufus Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz ( Breton), Alain le Roux ( French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II o ...

in the county of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

.* The village had: * Households: 16 villagers. 3 freemen. 6 smallholders. 1 men * Ploughland: 152.5 ploughlands. 6 lord's plough teams. 12.5 men's plough teams. * Other resources: Meadow 12 acres. Woodland 1 * 1 leagues. 1 fishery. 2 churches.

Governance

At the upper tier of local government, Brignall is in the

unitary authority. For elections to

Durham County Council Durham County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham (district), County Durham in North East England. The council is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, bein ...

, it is part of the Barnard Castle East

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

. At the lower tier, Brignall is a

, which has a joint parish council with the neighbouring Rokeby and

Egglestone Abbey Egglestone Abbey is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey in County Durham, England. It is located south-east of Barnard Castle, on the south bank of the River Tees, and was historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire. The site buildings a ...

parishes. Historically, Brignall was in the

Startforth Rural District Startforth Rural District was a rural district in the North Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire in the Pennines of northern England. It was formed in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. It constituted the part of the Teesdale Rura ...

of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

from 1894 to 1974. It was then in the Teesdale district of County Durham from 1974 to 2019.

Art and culture

The River Greta and the Brignall area were painted by

John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English Marine art, marine and Landscape painting, landscape painter, Etching, etcher, illustrator, and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a si ...

and

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

Yorkshire, Brignall Church, after Turner, 1855
Steve Bartrick Antique Prints and Maps. Retrieved 10 March 2008. amongst others. The area features in Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

’s 1813 poem 'Rokeby': "Oh Brignal banks are wild and fair/ and Greta woods are green".

Name

History

Governance

Art and culture

References

Citations

Sources

External links