Stanhope, County Durham
Stanhope | |
Stanhope Castle |
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Stanhope |
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Population | 4,581 (2011 Census)[1] |
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OS grid reference | NY995395 |
Shire county | County Durham |
Region | North East |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Bishop Auckland |
Postcode district | DL13 |
Dialling code | 01388 |
Police | Durham |
Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
Ambulance | North East |
EU Parliament | North East England |
UK Parliament | North West Durham |
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Coordinates: 54°44′50″N 2°00′22″W / 54.7471°N 2.006°W
Stanhope (pronounced in the regional dialect "Stanup") is a small market town in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the River Wear between Eastgate and Frosterley on the north east side of Weardale. The A689 road meets the B6278 road from Barnard Castle to Shotley Bridge here.
Description
The civil parish of Stanhope has a population of 4,519 in 2001, and also includes Rookhope, Westgate, St John's Chapel, Ireshopeburn, Wearhead, Cowshill, Cornriggs, Eastgate, Frosterley all on the A689 road, along with Crawleyside, Hill End and White Kirkley. The parish council area is the largest in England with 221 km².[2] It shares some land in common with the neighbouring Wolsingham civil parish.
Stanhope is surrounded by moorland in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - the second largest of the current 40 AONBs in England and Wales.
Features of interest include
- a petrified tree stump in the churchyard which was discovered with two others. One of the others resides in the Hancock Museum in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
- the Durham Dales Centre which incorporates a tea room, tourist information and craft shops
- a ford with a step-stone bridge for pedestrians
- the eighteenth century Stanhope Castle in the centre of the town stands on the possible site of a medieval castle.
- one of only two heated open air swimming pools in the North East.
Stanhope Agricultural Show is held on the second weekend of September each year. It was founded in 1834 and has been held annually since, with the exception of the war years, the foot and mouth crisis and times of bad weather.[3]
Weardale Railway
Stanhope is also the current terminus of the Weardale Railway, a heritage railway operating primarily on weekends from Bishop Auckland with stations at Frosterley, Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear.
Notable residents
- Joseph Butler (1692–1752), theologian and cleric
- William Percival Crozier (1879–1944), Scholar and journalist. Editor of the Manchester Guardian 1932-1944.
- George Boateng, professional footballer
Stanhope gallery
- Durham Dales Centre. Stanhope, Co. Durham (in Weardale). Arts and Crafts Centre
- The preserved railway station and tearoom(Summer)
- Scurfield House near to Stanhope, County Durham (Winter)
- St. Thomas, Stanhope
- Stone Bridge. A single arch bridge over the River Wear carrying the B6278 over the River Wear
- Ford in Stanhope, County Durham
See also
References
- ↑ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ http://website.lineone.net/~pjoiner/genuki/DUR/Stanhope/
- ↑ http://www.stanhopeshow.com/
External links
Media related to Stanhope, County Durham at Wikimedia Commons