Bishopton | Village Notes | Rural Communities and Businesses in the North East of England (original) (raw)

Bishopton is a village in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of County Durham. It is situated 6 miles to the North West of Stockton-on-Tees. The village is currently made up of 199 households and has a total population of 501 people, of which: -

• 96 people (19%) are children aged 0-15
• 323 people (65%) are of working age
• 82 people (16%) are retired

Located within the village there are two public houses called The Blue Bell and The Talbot and a church. The notable business in Bishopton is a service garage that is located at one of the entrances to the village

Origins of Bishopton

Bishopton originated as a farming community with rows of cottages and several farms forming a long wide village street, with an adjacent green. St Peter's Church stands at the centre of the village and is a very beautiful building that in enclosed by a little stone wall that also surrounds the graveyard. There is an early, possibly 9th century, internal window in the church.

Castle Hill Bishopton

A fortification known as Castle Hill is situated just outside the village, although there is no remaining castle. The mound is rumoured to be sinking.Bishopton Beck flows round the village. The hamlet of Little Stainton and the village of Great Stainton were formerly part of the parish of Bishopton.

The castle was built in the twelth century AD and successfully repelled an attack that is known to have taken place in 1143. You can read more about Bishopton Castle on our history pages.

Bishopton History

The township of Bishopton was given to Roger de Conyers by Bishop Rannulf of Durham in the early 12th century AD.

In 1141 the Bishopric of Durham was seized by William Cumin with Scottish support and Roger de Conyers became the leader of resistance to Cumin. In 1143 he fortified his manor house at Bishopton and successfully withstood an attack there in the summer of 1143.

Following this the rightful Bishop, William de St. Barbe used Bishopton as his base to regain the Bishopric.

Bishopton Castle

Bishopton Castle is a Motte and Bailey Castle constructed during the 12th century A.D. by the Conyers family. The Motte is the great mound (see picture), while the Bailey is the enclosed surrounding area. This type of fortification was built by the Norman's following their conquest of Great Britain after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.