Yarm Castle
In A-Z last year I wrote about the Yorkshire town of Yarm. In doing so I mentioned Yarm Castle. I make no apologies for repeating the Castle again as castles have been my theme this year.
The Georgian town of Yarm has a High Street that has been voted the best in Britain in previous years. It's not surprising then that we are on a tourist trail. Of course tourists are told that the Castle is something they must see.
The tourist 'trail' starts with the Town Hall which dominates the High Street.
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| Yarm Town Hall - built in 1710 |
To get to the Castle you cross the road at the traffic lights and proceed to High Church Wynd, which runs at right angles to the High Street and down which you can see one arch of a railway viaduct built with 7 million bricks.
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| High Church Wynd |
Half way down the Wynd you will pass Flood Cottage which has a line above its garage door denoting the height of flood water in 1851.
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| Flood Cottage |
At the far end of the Wynd should you look back, this is the view:
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| High Church Wynd - looking back |
The building on the left is Hope Cottage.
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| Hope Cottage & 4 of 43 viaduct arches |
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| Probably the oldest dwelling in Yarm |
The front of Hope Cottage is in West Street where castle seekers will find success, but they need to keep their eyes open:-
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| Yarm Castle silhouetted against the sky |
No-one can tell you who built it or when. It has many windows it seems, but not a single room.
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| The splendour of Yarm Castle. |
It has a commanding view of West Street from its position on a garage or shed roof.
If you are wondering what the tower is to the right of the keep, perhaps you can work it out from a different angle.
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| Yarm Castle on the left |
On the right is the Town Hall which you might like to compare with the one where you started from on this tourist trail. Hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have being you guide.
Hilary Melton-Butcher used X for X Castles yesterday to give us a potted history of castle development; I wonder where Yarm would have fitted in.
6 comments:
Hi Bob .. what a great idea showing us Yarm - I loved your tour .. a very picturesque town that we'd all like to have nearby or live in ...
Isn't the castle wonderful - wish we knew more about it - any idea at all when it was built?
Great tour and obviously a tourist trap - I love the railway viaduct - amazing arches and building .. that flood must have been devastating ..
Excellent Y post - cheers Hilary
Interesting spot. Never heard of it before.
You had me flummoxed, Bob. I used to go to Yarm regularly and I didn't know it had a castle. Now I know why I didn't know.
Brilliant guided tour.
Since I haven't grown up around many castles, and castle that comes within my path, is one that I must see! Thanks for such a picturesque town...to brighten my winter-like day here!
Thank you for your lovely tour of yet another unexpected and unique castle!
It was built by David Doughty who lived in Commondale House in the 1880s and has individual windows originally lit by gas light. The Town Hall was added by his son Henry Doughty.
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