Brignall

Brignall
Brignall
	St Mary's Church, Brignall
	Brignall Location within County Durham
Population	54 (2021)
OS grid reference	NZ066122
Unitary authority	County Durham;
Ceremonial county	County Durham;
Region	North East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Barnard Castle
Postcode district	DL12
Police	Durham
Fire	County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance	North East
	List of places UK England County Durham 54°30′21″N 1°53′54″W / 54.50577°N 1.89846°W

Brignall is a village and civil parish in the south-west of County Durham, England. It is located in an elevated position adjacent to the River Greta, 1.2 miles (2 km) upstream from Greta Bridge. The nearest town is the market town of Barnard Castle.

At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 54.^[1]

The village is known for the scenic valley section of the River Greta known as Brignall Banks, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.^[2]

Name

The name means "Bridge by the nook of land between the stream and the river". Brig is from Medieval English brig and Old English brycg, meaning bridge; en is a common abbreviation of Medieval English atten ("at the, by the"); hale is from Old English healh ("corner, nook, secret place, corner of land left by the stream in a river valley").^[3]

The name was recorded as Bringhenale in the Domesday Book.^[4]

History

The village was recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) as a settlement in the hundred of land of Alan Rufus in the county of Yorkshire.^[5] The village had:

Households: 16 villagers. 3 freemen. 6 smallholders. 1 men
Ploughland: 152.5 ploughlands. 6 lord's plough teams. 12.5 men's plough teams.
Other resources: Meadow 12 acres. Woodland 1 * 1 leagues. 1 fishery. 2 churches.

Governance

At the upper tier of local government, Brignall is in the County Durham unitary authority. For elections to Durham County Council, it is part of the Barnard Castle East electoral ward.^[6] At the lower tier, Brignall is a civil parish, which has a joint parish council with the neighbouring Rokeby and Egglestone Abbey parishes.^[7]

Historically, Brignall was in the Startforth Rural District of the North Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was then in the Teesdale district of County Durham from 1974 to 2019.

Art and culture

Greta Bridge, John Sell Cotman, c. 1806.

The River Greta and the Brignall area were painted by John Sell Cotman^[8] and J. M. W. Turner^[9]^[10]^[11] amongst others.

The area features in Sir Walter Scott’s 1813 poem 'Rokeby': "Oh Brignal banks are wild and fair/ and Greta woods are green".

References

Citations

^ "Parish Profiles". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
^ "MAGiC MaP : Brignall village and Brignall Banks". Natural England – Magic in the Cloud.
^ Clark Hall 1916, p. 323.
^ *"Eurvikscire : Page XXIII". Open Domesday. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
^ *"BRIGNALL". Open Domesday. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
^ "My property". Durham County Council.
^ "Brignall, Egglestone Abbey & Rokeby Parish Plan 2008" (PDF).
^ Brignall Banks on the Greta – John Sell Cotman, Leeds Art Gallery. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
^ The Turner Gallery. A Series of One Hundred and Twenty Engravings Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine, Antiquarian Maps and Prints. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
^ Brignall Church by J.M.W. Turner Archived 2006-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, Antiquarian Maps and Prints. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
^ Yorkshire, Brignall Church, after Turner, 1855, Steve Bartrick Antique Prints and Maps. Retrieved 10 March 2008.

Sources

Reaney, P H (1969). The Origin of English Place Names. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Clark Hall, John R. (1916). A Concise Anglo−Saxon Dictionary, Second Edition. The Macmillan Company.
Page, W.H., ed. (1914). 'Parishes: Brignall' ,in A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1. Victoria County History. British History Online. pp. 49–51. Retrieved 1 November 2022.

External links

Media related to Brignall at Wikimedia Commons

[census2021-1] "Parish Profiles". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 August 2024.

[2] "MAGiC MaP : Brignall village and Brignall Banks". Natural England – Magic in the Cloud.

[FOOTNOTEClark_Hall1916323-3] Clark Hall 1916, p. 323.

[Brignall_opendomesday-4] *"Eurvikscire : Page XXIII". Open Domesday. Retrieved 1 November 2022.

[brignall_NZ0712-5] *"BRIGNALL". Open Domesday. Retrieved 1 November 2022.

[6] "My property". Durham County Council.

[7] "Brignall, Egglestone Abbey & Rokeby Parish Plan 2008" (PDF).

[8] Brignall Banks on the Greta – John Sell Cotman, Leeds Art Gallery. Retrieved 10 March 2008.

[9] The Turner Gallery. A Series of One Hundred and Twenty Engravings Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine, Antiquarian Maps and Prints. Retrieved 10 March 2008.

[10] Brignall Church by J.M.W. Turner Archived 2006-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, Antiquarian Maps and Prints. Retrieved 10 March 2008.

[11] Yorkshire, Brignall Church, after Turner, 1855, Steve Bartrick Antique Prints and Maps. Retrieved 10 March 2008.

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v t e Civil parishes in County Durham
including Stockton-on-Tees (north of the river)
Darlington	Parishes Archdeacon Newton Barmpton Bishopton Brafferton Coatham Mundeville Denton East and West Newbiggin Great Burdon Great Stainton Heighington High Coniscliffe Houghton le Side Hurworth Killerby Little Stainton Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Middleton St. George Morton Palms Neasham Piercebridge Sadberge Summerhouse Walworth Whessoe Unparished areas The former Darlington County Borough
County Durham	Towns Barnard Castle Bishop Auckland Chilton Ferryhill Great Aycliffe Greater Willington Peterlee Seaham Sedgefield Shildon Spennymoor Stanley Tow Law Parishes Barforth Barningham Bearpark Belmont Bishop Middleham Bolam Boldron Bournmoor Bowes Bradbury and the Isle Brancepeth Brandon and Byshottles Brignall Burnhope Cassop-cum-Quarrington Castle Eden City of Durham Cleatlam Cockfield Cornforth Cornsay Cotherstone Coxhoe Croxdale and Hett Dalton-le-Dale Dene Valley Easington Colliery Easington Village Edmondbyers Edmondsley Eggleston Egglestone Abbey Eldon Esh Etherley Evenwood and Barony Fishburn Forest and Frith Framwellgate Moor Gainford Gilmonby Great Lumley Greencroft Hamsterley Hamsterley Common Haswell Hawthorn Headlam Healeyfield Hedleyhope Hilton Holwick Hope Horden Hunderthwaite Hunstanworth Hutton Henry and Station Town Hutton Magna Ingleton Kelloe Kimblesworth and Plawsworth Lanchester Langleydale and Shotton Langton Lartington Little Lumley Lunedale Lynesack and Softley Marwood Mickleton Middleton in Teesdale Middridge Monk Hesleden Mordon Morton Tinmouth Muggleswick Murton Nesbitt Newbiggin North Lodge Ouston Ovington Pelton Pittington Raby with Keverstone Rokeby Romaldkirk Sacriston Satley Scargill Seaton with Slingley Shadforth Sheraton with Hulam Sherburn Village Shincliffe Shotton South Bedburn South Hetton Staindrop Stanhope Startforth Streatlam and Stainton Thornley Toft Hill Trimdon Trimdon Foundry Urpeth Waldridge Wackerfield Weather Hill Wood West Auckland West Rainton and Leamside Westwick Wheatley Hill Whorlton Windlestone Wingate Winston Witton Gilbert Witton-le-Wear Wolsingham Wolsingham Park Moor Woodland Wycliffe with Thorpe Unparished areas The former Chester le Street Urban District Consett Parts of the former Durham Municipal Borough Parts of the former Bishop Auckland Urban District Crook and Willington Urban District Stanley Urban District
Hartlepool	Towns Headland Parishes Brierton Claxton Dalton Piercy Elwick Greatham Hart Newton Bewley Wynyard Unparished areas Part of the former Hartlepool County Borough
Stockton-on-Tees	Towns Billingham Parishes Aislaby Carlton Egglescliffe Elton Grindon and Thorpe Thewles Longnewton Newsham Preston-on-Tees Redmarshall Stillington and Whitton Wolviston Wynyard Unparished areas Part of the former Teesside County Borough
For further information about the above parishes, see List of civil parishes in County Durham. For the part of Stockton-on-Tees (borough) south of the River Tees, see List of civil parishes in North Yorkshire.