Bishop Middleham

Bishop Middleham lies in a dry valley about 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Durham. Although much of County Durham had probably first been settled in the Mesolithic period, the first evidence for occupation in the parish dates to the Neolithic or Bronze Age. At least two simple flint tools, including an arrowhead, have been found in the area. The arrowhead was probably used by an early hunter, though by the Bronze Age farming would have been widespread. By the Iron Age we have our first evidence for burials in the parish- at least six graves were found in a small cave. A small glass bead decorated with white spiral patterns may also have come from an early or middle Iron Age grave, though it…

Bishop Middleham Castle was erected at the end of an inland promontory overlooking a dry valley and a maze of watercourses draining into the River Skerne. Today the site is used for agriculture and there is no access to the remains, which are principally a complex series of earthworks indicative of a series of buildings along the steep eastern side of the promontory, some of which have visible masonry extending well above the turf. The later history of the site is unknown, the last standing structures being demolished in 1823.