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.
| Brignall | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church, Brignall | |
  Brignall Location within County Durham | |
| Population | 54 (2021) |
| OS grid reference | NZ066122 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Barnard Castle |
| Postcode district | DL12 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
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
editThe 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
editThe 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
editAt 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
edit
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
editCitations
edit- ^ "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
edit- 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
edit
Media related to Brignall at Wikimedia Commons