Mickleton, County Durham Explained

Country:England
Static Image:Blacksmiths Arms, Mickleton - geograph.org.uk - 227574.jpg
Static Image Caption:Blacksmith's Arms pub, Mickleton
Coordinates:54.6088°N -2.0557°W
Official Name:Mickleton
Population:413
Population Ref:(2011)[1]
Unitary England:County Durham
Region:North East England
Lieutenancy England:County Durham
Constituency Westminster:Bishop Auckland
Post Town:Barnard Castle
Postcode District:DL12
Postcode Area:DL
Os Grid Reference:NY965237

Mickleton is a village and civil parish in Teesdale, County Durham, England, situated 8.5miles north west of Barnard Castle. Lying within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the village along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District has been administered with County Durham since 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972

History

In 1086, the village was recorded in the Domesday Book, with a population of 37 households.[2]

In 1870-72 John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Mickleton as:

"a township in Romald-Kirk parish, N. R. Yorkshire; on the Tees river and Tees Valley railway, 7¼ miles NW of Barnard-Castle. It has a post office under Darlington, a r. station, a chapel of ease, chapels for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists, and a free school. Acres, 4,890. Real property, £3,169. Pop., 688. Houses, 122. Most of the surface is high moorland.[3]

A railway station on the Tees Valley Railway served the village between 1868 and 1964.[4]

Mickleton is situated by the meeting of the Lune River, as it leaves Lunedale, and joins the Tees, behind Mickleton on the Lunedale Hills looms the Bronze Age burial site of Kirkcarrion.

Governance

Mickleton was part of the local government district of Teesdale from 1974 before it was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. For the purposes of Durham County Council elections, Mickleton is located in the Barnard Castle West ward.

The village lies within the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which is under the control of the Conservative Party. The current Member of Parliament, since the 2019 general election, is Dehenna Davison.

Community and culture

Mickleton village hall was built in 1993, and formally opened in 1994 by the Earl of Strathmore Michael Bowes-Lyon,[5] it is a multi-purpose venue, hosting monthly parish council meetings, private functions and entertainment events such as Mickleton Live, which has seen performances from acts such as guitarist Albert Lee[6]

The village has two public houses, The Crown and The Blacksmith's Arms, as well as an independently owned filling station.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parish population 2011. 7 July 2015.
  2. Web site: Mickleton Domesday Book. 2021-04-13. opendomesday.org.
  3. Web site: Mickleton - Vision of Britain. Vision of Britain.
  4. Web site: Disused Stations: Mickleton Station. 2021-04-13. www.disused-stations.org.uk.
  5. Web site: Mickleton Village Hall – The Village Hall Association. 2021-04-13. en-GB.
  6. Web site: Guitar legend pencils in return to the dale. 2021-04-13. www.teesdalemercury.co.uk. en.
  7. Web site: Mickleton Service Station – Mickleton, Barnard Castle, DL12 0JY. 2021-04-13. en-US.