Stanhope, County Durham

Stanhope
Stanhope Castle
Stanhope  Stanhope shown within County Durham
Population	1,633 (2001 Census)
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
List of places: UK • England • County Durham

Stanhope (pronounced in the regional dialect "Stanup" or "Stan'ope") 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 trans-Pennine 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 was formerly much larger, with an area of 221 km². 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.

Stanhope is also the current terminus of the Weardale Railway. However Trains do no longer run regularly to Frosterley and Wolsingham because of lack of income. 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 stepping stones 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.

Businesses in Stanhope

This is an incomplete list. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Shop/Business/Company Name	Sells/Specialises in	Opening date	Formerly called
Joan Woodhalls	Fruit & Vegetables, Flowers, Drinks, and other every day items.	1965??	n/a
The Weardale Bakery & Tearooms	Bakery has items like Breads, Pies, Sandwiches, Cakes, Hot Beef Sandwiches, Drinks, Jams. Cafe has Meals as well as Drinks etc	??	The Bakers Loaf, The Old Weardale Tearooms. (Same Business)
Truly Scrumptious	Old Fashioned Sweets and goods	2010?	n/a
paper shop

Notable residents

• Joseph Butler (1692-1752) in 1726, the year in which he published his important Fifteen Sermons, Butler was appointed to the rich rectory at Stanhope. Little is known of Butler's life at Stanhope, beyond his great charity and his habit of riding a black pony very fast. Nevertheless, his three years there were to produce, in 1736, his Analogy of Religion, the greatest theological work of his time. Butler became Bishop of Durham in 1750.
• William Percival Crozier - (1879-1944) Scholar and journalist. Editor of the Manchester Guardian 1932-1944.
• George Boateng lived in Stanhope in the golden days of his Middlesbrough playing career.

Stanhope gallery

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  Durham Dales Centre. Stanhope, Co. Durham (in Weardale). Arts and Crafts Centre

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  The preserved railway station and tearoom(Summer)

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  Scurfield House near to Stanhope, County Durham (Winter)

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  St. Thomas, Stanhope

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  Stone Bridge. A single arch bridge over the River Wear carrying the B6278 over the River Wear

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  Ford in Stanhope, County Durham

See also

• Battle of Stanhope Park

External links

Media related to Stanhope, County Durham at Wikimedia Commons