Lartington and Surrounds
The village of Lartington is located 3.3 km east of Barnard Castle, 1.6 km south of Cotherstone, 5 km south of Romaldkirk. The village, with a population of around 150, is located by Scur Beck, which flows into the nearby River Tees. Lartington is also a civil parish. The parish is notable for Lartington Hall, the seat of the Roman Catholic Maire family. Lartington railway station was on the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway, which is now abandoned. It opened in 1861 and closed in 1962.
Lartington Hall
After they was married, Francis (1622 - 1663) and Mary Appleby (Nee Inglilby) lived at Lartington Hall, which they built. The earliest part of the house is the three-storey four-bayed central block and projecting three-storey porch, which dates from about 1639 when the Manor of Lartington was purchased from the Duke of Devonshire. Lartington estate originally belonged to Robert de Lascelles in the 12th century.
The Applebys were a Richmondshire squirearchy family whose seat was Clove Lodge in the parish of Romaldkirk,. Clove Lodge, on the Pennine Way near Balderhead Reservoir, is 13 km west of Lartington, a village in County Durham, and 10 km north-west of Barnard Castle. Nestled on the outskirts of the pretty dale of Baldersdale near the village of Barnard Castle, Clove Lodge appears to have been established by Thomas de Appleby (1356 - 1395), who served Richard II of Bordeaux as a Man-At-Arms (knight), supressing the Peasant's Revolt of 1381, or his son, John de Appleby (b. 1396), the first recorded Appleby to live there.
Thomas de Appleby would have been well paid as a Man-At-Arms, given his exploits in the service of King Richard II, and may have have retired from military service and moved to Romaldkirk and established Clove Lodge prior to his death in 1395. Thomas died in Over Appleby, Leicestershire, his family home for at least four generations, however his son is recorded as being born in Lartington in that same year.
The main house dates back to the 1750s with parts of it dating from the 1300s when it was first built and occupied by early Appleby family members. Over the years it has been extended by its subsequent occupants. It is a Grade II listed family home with separate annexe which offers flexible accommodation over two floors. Clove Lodge has 16 acres of land. Clove Lodge occupies a stunning position overlooking Blackton Reservoir in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The property has easy access to the local towns of Barnard Castle and Darlington.
Clove Lodge Cottage was built in the Victorian era, is made of stone and adjoins the owners' farmhouse. It has an attractive garden area facing south with table, chairs and a small barbecue, all overlooking a wooded bank, waterfall and stream.
Baldersdale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in England, northwest of Barnard Castle. Its principal settlements are Hury and Briscoe. Baldersdale lies within the traditional boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Balder flows through Baldersdale before reaching Cotherstone where it joins the River Tees. The river flows through three reservoirs on the way: Balderhead Reservoir, Blackton Reservoir and Hury Reservoir. Running roughly parallel to Baldersdale to the north is Lunedale. A former railway viaduct from the now-closed Barnard Castle to Middleton-in-Teesdale line crosses the River Balder just west of Cotherstone.
Barnard Castle is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. It sits on the opposite bank to Startforth and is 21 miles south-west of the county town of Durham. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland to the north-east, Darlington to the east and Richmond in North Yorkshire to the south-east.
Before the Norman conquest the upper half of Teesdale had been combined into an Anglo-Norse estate which was centred upon the ancient village of Gainford and mortgaged to the Earls of Northumberland. The first Norman Bishop of Durham, Bishop Walcher, was murdered in 1080. This led to the surrounding country being attacked and laid waste by the Norman overlords. Further rebellion in 1095 caused the king William II to break up the Earldom of Northumberland into smaller baronies. The Lordship of Gainford was given to Guy de Balliol.
Although never a major manufacturing centre, in the 18th century industry centred on hand loom wool weaving, and in the early 19th century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread. Numerous Applebys who lived in and around Barnard Castle were weavers.
Romaldkirk is a village in Teesdale, in the English Pennines. With a population of less than 200, the village lies within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is thought that the name might be derived from St. Rumwold, a little-known Saxon saint who is said to have preached the Gospel after his baptism as an infant; his resting place is recorded as being in Buckingham. The village church at Strixton, Northamptonshire is unusually dedicated to him.
Romaldkirk's church contains surviving sections of Anglo-Saxon walls either side of the chancel arch, as well as a late medieval rood stair, a stone tomb effigy of Hugh Fitz Henry (who died on campaign with Edward I in 1305) in chain mail, a 12th-century font, and a pulpit (originally part of a three decker) from the early 18th century.
Cotherstone is a village and civil parish in historic county is Yorkshire, being just south of the River Tees. The village is between the Barnard Castle and Middleton, there was a railway station for the village on the now-closed Middleton-in-Teesdale Branch Line which ran between the two towns. The railway line crossed the River Balder at the Balder Viaduct just north of Cotherstone. Cotherstone railway station; disused and now a private residence. Cotherstone cheese is a celebrated delicacy of the village.