Staindrop is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately north east of

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 automa ...

, on the A688 road. According to the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

the population was 1,310, this includes the hamlets of Cleatlam and Killerby.

History

Around the year 1018, King Canute gave the manors of Raby and Staindrop to

Durham Priory Durham Priory was a Benedictine priory associated with Durham Cathedral, in Durham in the north-east of England. Its head was the Prior of Durham. It was founded in 1083 as a Roman Catholic monastery, but after Dissolution of the Monasteries i ...

. In 1131 Prior Algar granted the manor to an Anglo-Saxon named Dolfin "son of Uhtred", the earliest recorded direct male ancestor of the great

Neville family The Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in English politics in the later Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England and played a ...

which built as their seat Raby Castle in the north part of the manor. The grant was possibly merely a confirmation of the holding by this family from before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

of 1066. When doing homage to the Prior for his holding he reserved his homage to the kings of England and of Scotland and to the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durha ...

and was "no doubt a man of consequence", probably an aristocratic Northumbrian of high birth. In February 1203-4 King John confirmed to the prior and convent all their privileges and vast possessions, including "Staindrop and Staindropshire with the church".

Notable buildings

Perhaps the most famous building in Staindrop is that of

Raby Castle Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings ...

, a medieval castle surrounded by 200 acres of deer park, situated north of the village, it was built in the late 14th century by

John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville, (c.1337 – 17 October 1388) was an English peer, naval commander, and soldier. Origins He was born between 1337 and 1340 at Raby Castle, County Durham, the eldest son of Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville ...

and remains a private home, the seat of the Vane family, the Barons Barnard. Raby Old Lodge dates back to the 14th century, and was once an outpost of Raby Castle, it was extensively altered between 1897-1899, it is now used as holiday accommodation. Other buildings and historic features of note include Scarth Hall, built as the village hall in 1875 and used during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

to provide NAAFI facilities to soldiers stationed in Staindrop, it is now used as a community hub after undergoing refurbishment in 2016. Snotterton Hall was a former fortified manor house dating back to the 15th century, demolished in 1831 and now rebuilt as a farmhouse.

Religion

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

(formerly dedicated to

St. Gregory Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

) is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

. The first church on the site is recorded as having been built in the 8th century (771AD) and the church has been extended and remodelled across the centuries. The church contains

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

including effigies of members of the

, it underwent restoration around 1849. A

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs it ...

chapel also stood from 1868 until the 1970s.

Governance

Staindrop was part of the local government district of

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls ...

from 1974 before it was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. For the purposes of

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, ...

elections, the village is located in the Barnard Castle East ward. The village lies within the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which is under the control of the Conservative Party. The current Member of Parliament, since the 2019 general election, is

Dehenna Davison Dehenna Sheridan Davison (; born 27 July 1993) is a British Conservative Party politician and broadcaster serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up since September 2022. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for ...

Community and culture

The village has two schools, Staindrop Church of England

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

with approximately to 170 pupils aged 3–11, and

Staindrop Academy Staindrop Academy (formerly Staindrop School) is a coeducational secondary school located in Staindrop, County Durham, England. Previously a community school administered by Durham County Council, Staindrop School converted to academy status i ...

, a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

secondary school with over 500 pupils aged 11–16, which also houses a community gym, opened in 2020. The last remaining

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, ''The Wheatsheaf'' is a former

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

, former pubs include ''The Black Swan'', and ''The Royal Oak''. Other amenities in the village include a

SPAR SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well ...

convenience store, a newsagent housing the local post office, tea rooms, hairdressers and several holiday cottages. The Staindrop Carnival, an annual parade and fair, celebrated its centenary in 2020. The village football team, Staindrop F.C. play in the Darlington Sunday invitation league, an affiliate of the Durham County Football Association in 2020-2021 they completed a famous double by winning the Alan Rusk trophy as well as the league cup. Raby Castle

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

Club play in the Darlington & District Cricket League A, having remained unbeaten and winning the league title in the 2019 season.

Notable people

The surveyor

Jeremiah Dixon Jeremiah Dixon FRS (27 July 1733 – 22 January 1779) was an English surveyor and astronomer who is best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason–Dixon line. Early life an ...

, who with

Charles Mason Charles Mason (April 1728 Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virgini ...

in North America, is buried in Staindrop. His unmarked grave is in the Quaker burial ground adjoining the old Friends' Meeting House.

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, Literary genre, genres and Theme (narrative), them ...

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...

novel ''

Mason & Dixon ''Mason & Dixon'' is a postmodernist novel by American author Thomas Pynchon, published in 1997. It presents a fictionalized account of the collaboration between Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in their astronomical and surveying exploits i ...

'' mentions Staindrop as containing Jeremiah Dixon's favourite public house. * Birthplace of

Charles Bungay Fawcett Charles Bungay Fawcett (25 August 1883 – 21 September 1952)Charles Wilbraham Watson Ford Brigadier Charles Wilbraham Watson Ford (1896-1972) was a senior officer in the British Indian Army during World War II. He was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and ...

, on 17 July 1896 * Major William Kemp Trotter, a former Deputy Lieutenant of County Durham, and his wife Mary Holcroft

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in County Durham Civil parishes in County Durham Burial sites of the House of Neville