Location: Teesdale, County Durham Map
Constructed: 11th century
Barnard Castle is a city in Teesdale, county of Durham, England,
where a castle named in the same way is placed. Barnard Castle,
gave its name to the city, since the name of the castle comes
from the Scottish Barnard de Balliol. Around the castle grew a
village of the same man who is now a prosperous and industrial
city. The castle has the Tees River to the north, 55 km to the
southeast, Newcastle, 48 km to the east, Middlesbrough, and 34
km to the southwest the county of Durham. Apart from the castle
there is also the Bowes Museum (Bowes Museum) within the city.
The castle was built in 1125 by Bernard or Barnard de Balliol the Elder shortly after the conquest of the northern lands of England by the Normans, it had its heyday with Barnard de Balliol the Younger in 1198 and during the second half of the 12th century. The castle passed into the hands of the Balliol family (of which the King of Scotland, John or Juan Balliol, was the most important member), after which in 1340 Guy de Balliol publicly rebuked and insulted his father, for handing over Scotland to the English, ignoring him as a king and even as a father, despising the surname Balliol. Because of this he adopts his grandfather's name Barnard as his new surname and retires to the Barnard castle inherited by his grandfather, which belonged to the Barnard Family. Much later the castle became the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville, but it fell into ruin in the 17th century. The castle ruins are now in the care of English Heritage.
The Barnard Castle Band, founded in 1860, is one of the large
Bands based in the town, well known outside of the area as a
result of advertising for Goff Richards and Barnard Castle.
Barnard Castle has an annual carnival festival which is
always held on the weekend of the second week in May, all
schools take part as summer begins. "El Encuentro", as it is
known locally, dates back to 1885 and since the early 1900s the
city has been the scene of a carnival and large procession
through the center of the city. This always happens over the
holiday period the "weekend" is now probably the biggest event
on the Barnard Castle and Teesdale calendar. The "weekend"
includes about twenty different events that a committee is
responsible for preparing and can reach all corners of the
community. In recent years the weekend festival has organized
its own music event using local and national talent, with full
musical and technical support from Teesdale Community Resources.