Bishop Middleham is a village in County Durham, in England. The population of the parish as taken at the 2011 census was 1,275 [1] It is close to Sedgefield.
Bishop Middleham lies in a dry valley about 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Durham. Although much of County Durham had probably first been settled in the Mesolithic period, the first evidence for occupation in the parish dates to the Neolithic or Bronze Age. At least two simple flint tools, including an arrowhead, have been found in the area. The arrowhead was probably used by an early hunter, though by the Bronze Age farming would have been widespread. By the Iron Age we have our first evidence for burials in the parish- at least six graves were found in a small cave. A small glass bead decorated with white spiral patterns may also have come from an early or middle Iron Age grave, though it may have been lost in another way.
It is clear that Bishop Middleham was on an important Roman period routeway; the road known as Cades Road runs through the centre of the parish. Despite the presence of this important communication route, no Roman buildings have been found in the parish. Nonetheless several other Roman objects have been uncovered in the area, including a small bronze statue of a Roman god. More unusually a group of four Roman pans stacked one inside each other have also been discovered. They were decorated so as to give them a silver appearance. It is possible they may have had a religious use, as such pans are often shown carved on the site of Roman altars. The discovery of these objects and the small statue may suggest that an as yet undiscovered Roman temple is still to be found.
There is little hard evidence for Anglo-Saxon settlement in the parish, though as Middleham is an Old English name for 'middle settlement or farm' there was certainly some kind of occupation in the area by the 9th or 10th centuries.
In 1146 Osbert, the nephew of Bishop Flambard, gave the Church of Middleham to the Prior and Convent at Durham, this is the first recorded mention of the village. In 1183 the Boldon Book, a survey of all the land owned by the Bishop of Durham, records that there were some 32 households in the village, which was surveyed along with neighbouring Cornforth. The survey was particularly detailed and names a number of individuals such as Arkil, Ralph and William the Headborough. Bishop Middleham was one of the favourite residences of the Bishops of Durham, two of whom died here. The residence of the Bishops now only survives as earthwork remains.
By the late 14th century the Bishop of Durham appears to have no longer used the Castle as a residence and the buildings and land were let out at first to his bailiff. By 1509 this was a man named John Hall who enjoyed a lease of 31 years. The castle and deer park passed through a number of hands over the following centuries including the Eure family of Witton Castle, the Freville's and by the 18th century the Surtees family which included the notable historian Robert Surtees, who lived nearby at Mainsforth and wrote on the village and Castle in his History of Durham in 1823. He is buried in Bishop Middleham church.
By the 19th century the village contained four public houses, a brewery, and a few tradesmen's shops. The village mainly supported itself by farming, though there was some coalmining; the remains of a wagonway have been recorded. The main railway line also ran close to the village. [2]
In 2012 a community website was launched with a view to keeping the local people up to date with news and events, "Bishop Middleham". Bishop Middleham Website.
"The Church, dedicated to St. Michael, stands upon the hill south of the village, and is said to have been erected by Bishop Beck, but it is more probably the work of Bishop Poor, and of the date about 1230. It was in 1146 presented to the prior and convent of Durham by Osbert, nephew of Bishop Flambard, but it was soon afterwards annexed to the Priory of Finchale, by Bishop Robert de Insula, and so continued till the dissolution. It is a venerable structure, in the Early English style, and consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with a western bell turret." [3]
The Bishop Middleham Community Wildlife Garden (0.87 hectares) has been declared a designated Local Nature Reserve by Sedgefield council. [4]
Ranulf Flambard was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government official of King William Rufus of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flambard means incendiary or torch-bearer, and may have referred to his personality. He started his career under King William I of England, probably in the compilation of the Domesday Book of 1086, as well as being the keeper of the king's seal. On the death of William I, Ranulf chose to serve the new king of England, William Rufus.
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Darlington and 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Durham.
Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham.
Sedgefield District was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district and, borough in County Durham, in North East England. It had a population of about 87,000. It was named after Sedgefield, but its largest town was Newton Aycliffe. Other places included Shildon, Ferryhill and Spennymoor.
Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act of 1946, the town is 5 miles (8.0 km) to the north of Darlington and 10 miles (16 km) to the south of Durham. It is the oldest new town in the north of England. Together with the bordering Aycliffe Village and the north part of School Aycliffe, it forms the civil parish of Great Aycliffe. The population of the town at the time of the 2021 census was 26,415.
Ferryhill is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England, with an estimated population in 2018 of 9,362. The town grew in the 1900s around the coal mining industry. The last mine officially closed in 1968. It is located between the towns of Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe, Sedgefield, Shildon, Spennymoor and the cathedral city of Durham.
Tudhoe is a village in the civil parish of Spennymoor, in County Durham, England. It lies just outside Spennymoor, a short distance to the west of the Great North Road. Tudhoe lay at the centre of a network of roads: one ran to Durham by way of Sunderland Bridge and Croxdale, another to Kirk Merrington, a third to Bishop Auckland, a fourth to Whitworth and Byers Green, and a fifth across a ford to Brancepeth Castle and village on the far side of the river. All except the Brancepeth road are shown on the 1768 map of County Durham by Thomas Jefferys.
Satley is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England, with a population of 292 in 2001, falling to 282 at the 2011 Census. It is situated six miles to the south of Consett on the B6296 road near the A68. The village of Satley lies in a narrow valley between Lanchester and Tow Law. It was long ago part of the large parish of Lanchester, but has become a parish in its own right in 1834. The Satley Parish Council meets often and is part of the County Durham Association of Local Councils, they attempt to solve issues in the village by meeting with Durham County Council or solving them internally.
Iveston is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the east of Consett. Housing in the area consists of a mixture of traditional cottages and large, newer residential properties. Historically, farming and mining formed the chief sources of employment in the village. In 1931 the parish had a population of 6395.
Mainsforth is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bishop Middleham, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is to the east of Ferryhill. The earliest settlement in Mainsforth may have been on Marble. It has been suggested, without great historical foundation, that this was a Danish settlement. In 1961 the parish had a population of 229. From medieval times through to the early twentieth century the village was in effect a small collection of farms and farm workers' cottages.
Healeyfield is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish taken from the 2011 census was 1,544. It is situated to the south west of Consett.
Esh is a village and civil parish situated around five miles north-west of Durham in County Durham, England. The central area of the village contains a stone cross, which probably replaced a former market cross. This is locally known as St Cuthberts Cross and bears the inscription I. H. S., and the date 1687. Esh is a rural village, nestled between a number of working farms; it has two primary schools, a pub and two churches, St Michael and All Angels and St. Michael's.
Thorpe Thewles is a village which had history dating back to the 12th century. The village shares a parish with Grindon and is in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, Northern England. It lies near the A177 road between Stockton-on-Tees and Sedgefield.
Bishop Auckland is a constituency in County Durham that is represented in the House of Commons since 2024 by Sam Rushworth of the Labour Party.
Bishop Middleham Quarry is a disused quarry, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north-west of Sedgefield, County Durham, England. Quarry-working here ceased in 1934, and the site has since been colonised by vegetation. The underlying rock is Magnesian Limestone and this has had a strong influence in determining the range of plant and animal communities now found there.
Robert Surtees was a celebrated English historian and antiquary of his native County Durham.
Thomas Hutchinson was an English clergyman and classical scholar.
Hardwick Hall in Sedgefield, County Durham is a building of historical significance and is a Grade II listed building on the English Heritage Register. A major part of it was built in the late 1700s but it is possible that some of it dates from about 1634. It was the residence for many notable people for two centuries. It is now a hotel which provides accommodation and restaurant services and caters for special events particularly weddings.
County Durham is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is governed by Durham County Council. The district has an area of 2,226 square kilometres (859 sq mi), and contains 135 civil parishes. It forms part of the larger ceremonial county of Durham, together with boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, and the part of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees.
