Holwick | |
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Location within County Durham | |
Population | 75 (2021 census) |
OS grid reference | NY905269 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Barnard Castle |
Postcode district | DL12 |
Police | Durham |
Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
Ambulance | North East |
UK Parliament | |
Holwick is a hamlet [1] and civil parish in Teesdale, County Durham (district), England. Located in the Pennine hills, the hamlet consists of a few houses spread along a road in the pattern of a linear settlement. The population of the parish taken at the 2021 Census was 75. [2]
Being south of the River Tees, Holwick lies within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. [3] Along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District it was transferred to County Durham for administrative and ceremonial purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972. In May 2013, the newly registered flag of the North Riding was first unveiled at the village, owing to its being one of the most northerly settlements in Yorkshire. [4]
It has a public house, the Strathmore Arms, named after local landowner, Lord Strathmore, who owned Holwick Hall. [5] New York businessman Harry Payne Whitney leased Holwick Hall for a grouse shooting party on the moors in 1911, [6] while in 1923 the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth holidayed at the hall. [7]
Holwick sits not far from the south bank of the River Tees, about 2 miles north-west of Middleton-in-Teesdale and opposite Newbiggin, both villages on the other side of the river. The village itself is situated along Holwick Beck, a tributary of the Tees. The Tees forms almost all the northern parish boundary; the River Lune its eastern and Blea Beck its western. Bleabeck Force is a series of waterfalls along Blea Beck before it joins the Tees opposite Force Garth Quarry. [8] Nearby are the High Force and Low Force waterfalls. The surrounding landscape is high moorland and fells.
The earliest evidence of habitation in the area comes from Mesolithic microliths dating back at least 6000 years. The people who left them, however, were not settled in the area, but hunted there during the summer. Agriculture began in the Neolithic period, and the remains of a Bronze Age hut circle and burial cairns are on Holwick Fell. [9] Evidence of a native settlement in Roman times in the form of groups of circular huts and field system has been found west of the Wynch Bridge. [10] The present-day village of Holwick was first recorded in 1235. The origin of the name is uncertain, but believed to mean either "dairy farm in a hollow" or "in the holly". In addition to hill farming of sheep, lead mining and iron smelting was conducted in the mediæval period, with lead mining and stone quarrying increasing in importance throughout Teesdale in the 18th century. The Wynch Bridge, thought to be the first suspension bridge in Britain, was built across the Tees near Holwick in 1704, and collapsed in 1802, killing one. It was repaired but finally replaced in 1830. A map of the area surveyed in 1854 notes a chapel of ease and school as well as a Primitive Methodist chapel. There are also wells, a pinfold, and two foot bridges over Holwick Beck. The surrounding area contains numerous sheep pastures as well as several limestone and sandstone quarries and lead mines. The names of nearby farms include Cross House, Pikestone House, Castle House, Mizzes House, Mire House, Hield House, Westclose House, Low Way, and Hungry. [11] Substantial quarrying and lead mining did not continue into the 20th century, and the economy of the village has since returned to sheep farming. [12]
Holwick has a parish meeting rather than a parish council, owing to its small electorate. [13]
The parish falls within the Barnard West electoral division of County Durham district and Bishop Auckland UK Parliament constituency. [14]
The local police force is Durham Constabulary. Holwick is in the Wear and Tees division and its nearest police station is in Barnard Castle.
Low Force is an 18-foot (5.5m) high set of falls on the River Tees, England, UK. Further upstream is the High Force waterfall. Low Force is also the site of the Wynch Bridge, completed in 1830. It is suggested by signs at each end that only one person at a time should cross the bridge as it may be unstable.
Startforth Rural District was a rural district in the North Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire in the Pennines of northern England.
Teesdale is a dale, or valley, located principally in County Durham, North East England. It is one of the Durham Dales, which are themselves part of the North Pennines, the northernmost part of the Pennine uplands.
Bowbank is a hamlet in Lunedale, a side valley of Teesdale in County Durham, England. It is within Lunedale civil parish and is situated on the B6276 road, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Middleton-in-Teesdale and 8 miles (13 km) north west of the town of Barnard Castle.
Mickleton is a village and civil parish in Teesdale, County Durham, England, situated 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north west of Barnard Castle. Lying within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the village along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District has been administered with County Durham since 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972
Wycliffe is a village on the south bank of the River Tees in the North East of England, situated a short distance to the east of Barnard Castle. Wycliffe is in the civil parish of Wycliffe with Thorpe.
High Dyke is a hamlet in County Durham, England. It is a short distance to the north of Middleton-in-Teesdale and within the civil parish of the same name. It is named High Dike on an Ordnance Survey map published in 1920 and lies on and around the 1,000 feet (300 m) contour line. Silver-lead ore was mined here in the 19th-century by the London Lead Company; several old shafts are marked on the map.
Merrybent is a linear village in the civil parish of Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the A67 road to the west of Darlington, a short distance to the north of the River Tees and the Teesdale Way. At the beginning of the 20th century there were hardly any buildings here, and its main feature at that time was Merrybent Nurseries with its many glasshouses. The nursery was cut through by the A1 road in the 1960s; at this point it runs on the trackbed of the old Merrybent railway. The village is now a settlement of modern housing.
Newbiggin is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. At the 2011 census the parish had a population of 146. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale, opposite Holwick. An influx of Derbyshire lead miners into the area in the late 18th century may have brought the name from Biggin. The village is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Middleton-in-Teesdale is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is in Teesdale, on the River Tees's north banks, and surrounded by the North Pennines. The town is between Eggleston and Newbiggin, a few miles to the north-west of Barnard Castle. In 2011 it had a population of 1137.
Headlam is a hamlet and civil parish in County Durham, England. It lies to the west of Darlington. In 2021 the parish had a population of 41. The hamlet has 14 stone houses plus 17th-century Headlam Hall, now a country house hotel. The village is set around a village green with a medieval cattle-pound and an old stone packhorse bridge across the beck. Headlam is classed as Lower Teesdale and has views to the south as far as Richmond and to the Cleveland Hills in the east.
Ettersgill is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated at the top of Teesdale, on the north side of the Tees between Newbiggin and Forest-in-Teesdale, and is in the civil parish of Forest and Frith. The village consists of scattered farms and farmhouses, centred on the fertile valley created by Etters Gill Beck, which flows from the mooorland into the Tees south of High Force.
Forest-in-Teesdale is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated in upper Teesdale, on the north side of the Tees between Newbiggin and Langdon Beck, and is in the civil parish of Forest and Frith.
Cliffe is a small village and civil parish in Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. A stream called the Glen runs through the village to the Tees. It is in the Teesdale and Yorkshire Dales national park. It is about 6 miles (10 km) west of Darlington, 10 miles (16 km) north of Richmond and near Piercebridge.
Lunedale is the dale, or valley, of the River Lune, on the east side of the Pennines in England, west of Middleton-in-Teesdale. Its principal settlements are Grassholme, Thringarth and Bowbank.
Wynch Bridge or Winch Bridge is a suspension bridge over the River Tees. The original Wynch Bridge was said to be the first suspension bridge in Britain, being built in 1741.
Forest and Frith is a civil parish in the County Durham unitary authority, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. In the 2011 census it had a population of 163.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Media related to Holwick at Wikimedia Commons