Human settlement in England
Bearpark | |
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The centre of Bearpark village | |
BearparkLocation within County Durham | |
Population | 2,283 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | NZ238431 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | DURHAM |
Postcode district | DH7 |
Dialling code | 0191 |
Police | Durham |
Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
Ambulance | North East |
UK Parliament | |
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Bearpark is a village and civil parish in County Durham in England. It is situated two and a half miles west of Durham, and a short distance to the north of Ushaw Moor. The name may be a corruption of the French term Beau Repaire – meaning "beautiful retreat". Half a mile to the north of the present village lies the ruins of Beaurepaire Priory, built in 1258 by the Prior of Durham, Bertram de Middleton, as a retirement residence. The building was extended in the subsequent three centuries, becoming a retreat for the Durham monks in a similar way to the nearby Finchale Priory. The manor was largely destroyed by the Scots in 1640 and 1644 during the British Civil War. In 1872, Theodore Fry was involved in founding the Bearpark Coal and Coke Company, which established a coal mine in Bearpark until 1984, when the mine was closed.
Bearpark Community Centre is at the hub of the local village, a red brick building originally built in 1921 as a miners' welfare hall. An old pit wheel stands in front of the building, a memorial to the village's mining history.
Bearpark featured on the BBC radio and television series Uncanny, citing the case of a Victorian boy haunting a house in the village.
Bearpark is the subject of a song by Durham-based band Prefab Sprout.
References
- Margot Johnson. "Beaurepaire" in Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures. 1992. ISBN 094610509X. Page 33.
- "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- "Chapel of Beaurepaire, Bearpark, Witton Gilbert (Bearpark)". Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth (1985). The Buildings of England: County Durham. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978 0 300 09599 9.
- Prefab Sprout - BearPark. Retrieved 31 March 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
4. ^ "A Mining World: The Story of Bearpark County Durham". ISBN 0 900974 56 7
External links
- Bearpark-Online : Many Photos of Bearpark and Beaurepaire
- Durham Mining Museum information on Bearpark Colliery
- Subterranea Britannica entry on Bearpark Station
- Keys to the Past's notes on Bearpark.
- City of Durham Council's notes on Beaurepaire
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