Barnard Castle

Barnard Castle is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin.

Barnard Castle takes its own name from Bernard de Balliol, who began the stone fortress here in the 12th century. His successors raised the mighty round tower, before losing the castle after a failed attempt to become kings of Scotland.

Later owners included Richard of Gloucester, (who later became Richard III) whose white boar emblem is carved above a window in the great chamber. Search out this royal badge and then enjoy great views from the window of the winding tree-lined river below.

Stretching from the huge outer ward to the innermost stronghold towering above the gorge, there’s lots to see and plenty of room to explore and play in this big castle.

Barnard Castle was begun soon after 1093 on a dramatic site above the river Tees. The castle was built to control a river crossing between the Bishop of Durham’s territory and the Honour of Richmond. Much of the present castle was built during the 12th and early 13th centuries by the Balliol family. The clifftop inner ward shows the remains of fine domestic buildings, including a magnificent round tower of around 1200.

From the 14th century onwards, the castle belonged to the earls of Warwick, and from 1471 to 1485 to the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III. After a fierce siege in 1569, when the castle was bombarded by rebels, the castle went into steep decline and was effectively abandoned by the early 17th century. It has remained an imposing ruin ever since.