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Grade I listed historic building.
"The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.
The museum contains paintings by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher, together with a sizable collection of decorative art, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks and costumes, as well as older items from local history. The early works of French glassmaker Émile Gallé were commissioned by Joséphine, wife of the founder John Bowes. A great attraction is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
The Bowes Museum was purpose-built as a public art gallery for John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier, Countess of Montalbo, who both died before it opened in 1892. Bowes was the son of John Bowes, the 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, although he did not inherit the title as he was deemed illegitimate under Scottish law.
It was designed with the collaboration of two architects, the French architect Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson of Newcastle. The building is richly modelled, with large windows, engaged columns, projecting bays, and mansard roofs typical of the French Second Empire, set within landscaped gardens. An account in 1901 described it as "... some 500 feet in length by 50 feet high, and is designed in the French style of the First Empire. Its contents are priceless, consisting of unique Napoleon relics, splendid picture galleries, a collection of old china, not to be matched anywhere else in the world, jewels of incredible beauty and value; and, indeed, a wonderful and rare collection of art objects of every kind."
Among those with less favourable opinions was Nikolaus Pevsner, who considered it to be "... big, bold and incongruous, looking exactly like the town hall of a major provincial town in France. In scale it is just as gloriously inappropriate for the town to which it belongs (and to which it gives some international fame) as in style".
The building was begun in 1869 and was reputed to have cost £100,000 (equivalent to £9.3 million in 2019). Bowes and his wife left an endowment of £125,000 (£11.6 million in 2019) and a total of 800 paintings. Their collection of European fine and decorative arts amounted to 15,000 pieces.
A major redevelopment of the Bowes Museum began in 2005. To date, improvements have been made to visitor facilities (shop, cafe and toilets); galleries (new Fashion & Textile gallery, Silver gallery and English Interiors gallery); and study/learning facilities. The three art galleries, on the second floor of the museum, were updated at the same time.
The museum hosts an internationally significant programme of exhibitions, recently featuring works by Monet, Raphael, Turner, Sisley, Gallé, William Morris, and Toulouse-Lautrec.
The BBC announced in 2013 that a Portrait of Olivia Boteler Porter was a previously unknown Anthony van Dyck painting. It had been found in the Bowes Museum storeroom by art historian Dr. Bendor Grosvenor who had observed it on-line at the Your Paintings web site. The painting itself was covered in layers of varnish and dirt, and had not been renovated. It was originally thought to be a copy, and valued at between £3,000 to £5,000. Christopher Brown, director of the Ashmolean Museum, confirmed it was a van Dyck after it had been restored.
Barnard Castle (locally [ˈbɑːnəd ˈkæsəl], BAH-nəd KASS-əl) is a market town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it was built. It is the main settlement in the Teesdale area, and a popular tourist destination. The Bowes Museum has the best collection of European fine and decorative arts in the North of England, housed in a magnificent 19th-century French-style chateau. Its most famous exhibit is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, and its artworks include paintings by Goya and El Greco.
Barnard Castle sits on the north bank of the River Tees, opposite Startforth and 21 miles (34 km) south-west of the county town of Durham. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland to the north-east, Darlington to the east and Richmond in North Yorkshire to the south-east.
Barnard Castle's largest single employer is GlaxoSmithKline, which has a manufacturing facility on the town outskirts.
Before the Norman conquest the upper half of Teesdale had been combined into an Anglo-Norse estate which was centred upon the ancient village of Gainford and mortgaged to the Earls of Northumberland. The first Norman Bishop of Durham, Bishop Walcher, was murdered in 1080. This led to the surrounding country being attacked and laid waste by the Norman overlords. Further rebellion in 1095 caused the king William II to break up the Earldom of Northumberland into smaller baronies. The Lordship of Gainford was given to Guy de Balliol.
The earthwork fortifications of the castle were rebuilt in stone by his successor, Bernard de Balliol I during the latter half of the 12th century, giving rise to the town's name. The castle passed down through the Balliol family (of which the Scottish king, John Balliol, was the most important member) and then into the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville, but it fell into ruins in the century after his death.
The remains of the castle are a Grade I listed building, whilst the chapel in the outer ward is Grade II* listed. Both sets of remains are now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public.
John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (now demolished). His Streatlam stud never had more than ten breeding mares at one time, but produced no fewer than four Derby winners in twenty years. The last of these, "West Australian", was the first racehorse to win the Triple Crown, in 1853.
Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier founded the Bowes Museum, which is of national status. Housed in its own ornate building, the museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Goya, Canaletto, Boucher, Fragonard and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
Although never a major manufacturing centre, in the 18th century industry centred on hand loom wool weaving, and in the early 19th century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
Now on Instagram.
Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.
January 2017
Inspired by JK Brickworks, Pegasus Automation by Amida Na, and Laputa: Castle in the Sky music box by Hwang Byeong Jun.
Grade I listed historic building.
"The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.
The museum contains paintings by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher, together with a sizable collection of decorative art, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks and costumes, as well as older items from local history. The early works of French glassmaker Émile Gallé were commissioned by Joséphine, wife of the founder John Bowes. A great attraction is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
The Bowes Museum was purpose-built as a public art gallery for John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier, Countess of Montalbo, who both died before it opened in 1892. Bowes was the son of John Bowes, the 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, although he did not inherit the title as he was deemed illegitimate under Scottish law.
It was designed with the collaboration of two architects, the French architect Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson of Newcastle. The building is richly modelled, with large windows, engaged columns, projecting bays, and mansard roofs typical of the French Second Empire, set within landscaped gardens. An account in 1901 described it as "... some 500 feet in length by 50 feet high, and is designed in the French style of the First Empire. Its contents are priceless, consisting of unique Napoleon relics, splendid picture galleries, a collection of old china, not to be matched anywhere else in the world, jewels of incredible beauty and value; and, indeed, a wonderful and rare collection of art objects of every kind."
Among those with less favourable opinions was Nikolaus Pevsner, who considered it to be "... big, bold and incongruous, looking exactly like the town hall of a major provincial town in France. In scale it is just as gloriously inappropriate for the town to which it belongs (and to which it gives some international fame) as in style".
The building was begun in 1869 and was reputed to have cost £100,000 (equivalent to £9.3 million in 2019). Bowes and his wife left an endowment of £125,000 (£11.6 million in 2019) and a total of 800 paintings. Their collection of European fine and decorative arts amounted to 15,000 pieces.
A major redevelopment of the Bowes Museum began in 2005. To date, improvements have been made to visitor facilities (shop, cafe and toilets); galleries (new Fashion & Textile gallery, Silver gallery and English Interiors gallery); and study/learning facilities. The three art galleries, on the second floor of the museum, were updated at the same time.
The museum hosts an internationally significant programme of exhibitions, recently featuring works by Monet, Raphael, Turner, Sisley, Gallé, William Morris, and Toulouse-Lautrec.
The BBC announced in 2013 that a Portrait of Olivia Boteler Porter was a previously unknown Anthony van Dyck painting. It had been found in the Bowes Museum storeroom by art historian Dr. Bendor Grosvenor who had observed it on-line at the Your Paintings web site. The painting itself was covered in layers of varnish and dirt, and had not been renovated. It was originally thought to be a copy, and valued at between £3,000 to £5,000. Christopher Brown, director of the Ashmolean Museum, confirmed it was a van Dyck after it had been restored.
Barnard Castle (locally [ˈbɑːnəd ˈkæsəl], BAH-nəd KASS-əl) is a market town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it was built. It is the main settlement in the Teesdale area, and a popular tourist destination. The Bowes Museum has the best collection of European fine and decorative arts in the North of England, housed in a magnificent 19th-century French-style chateau. Its most famous exhibit is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton, and its artworks include paintings by Goya and El Greco.
Barnard Castle sits on the north bank of the River Tees, opposite Startforth and 21 miles (34 km) south-west of the county town of Durham. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland to the north-east, Darlington to the east and Richmond in North Yorkshire to the south-east.
Barnard Castle's largest single employer is GlaxoSmithKline, which has a manufacturing facility on the town outskirts.
Before the Norman conquest the upper half of Teesdale had been combined into an Anglo-Norse estate which was centred upon the ancient village of Gainford and mortgaged to the Earls of Northumberland. The first Norman Bishop of Durham, Bishop Walcher, was murdered in 1080. This led to the surrounding country being attacked and laid waste by the Norman overlords. Further rebellion in 1095 caused the king William II to break up the Earldom of Northumberland into smaller baronies. The Lordship of Gainford was given to Guy de Balliol.
The earthwork fortifications of the castle were rebuilt in stone by his successor, Bernard de Balliol I during the latter half of the 12th century, giving rise to the town's name. The castle passed down through the Balliol family (of which the Scottish king, John Balliol, was the most important member) and then into the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville, but it fell into ruins in the century after his death.
The remains of the castle are a Grade I listed building, whilst the chapel in the outer ward is Grade II* listed. Both sets of remains are now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public.
John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (now demolished). His Streatlam stud never had more than ten breeding mares at one time, but produced no fewer than four Derby winners in twenty years. The last of these, "West Australian", was the first racehorse to win the Triple Crown, in 1853.
Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier founded the Bowes Museum, which is of national status. Housed in its own ornate building, the museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Goya, Canaletto, Boucher, Fragonard and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
Although never a major manufacturing centre, in the 18th century industry centred on hand loom wool weaving, and in the early 19th century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
Now on Instagram.
Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.
These guards are automatons, imbued with a simple spirit who follows simple commands. They are a heavy leather suit that is coated in a thin metallic substance (makes them fire and corrosion resistant). Their "mouth" is not a mouth but rather an orafice that can discharge 1. Fine sand or water to put out fires. 2. Fire 3. Acid. They have simple 3 digit disarticulated "hands" that can spin around and grasp objects from either direction. Each carries a metal-filled quarterstaff that they wield as well as a fighting expert. This staff is a formidable weapon and a tool used for fire fighting.
In the course of prepping old opera costumes to be offered at our shop sale on Oct. 9th, we came across these incredible "automaton" pieces from a production of The Flying Dutchmen designed by the brilliant Constance Hoffman. Inspired by the stunning design and craftsmanship, six of us spent our lunch break collaborating on the photo shoot that resulted in this image. The setting is a parking lot next to the building our costume shop is in, and the models are all my co-workers. Another colleague of mine wrote a blog entry for the opera and used a couple of the shots in her post.
If you're in Los Angeles, come check out the LA Opera costume shop sale (and say hi, I'll be there working :)!
Lighting: An SB-900 with a 1/4 CTO gel and a diffusion dome camera left.
39/52
Celebrate Second Life’s 13th Birthday with Us!
community.secondlife.com/t5/Featured-News/Celebrate-Secon...
Visit this location at The Automaton: SL13 Stupendous Stage Left in Second Life
SELFIE AUTOMATON
Commissioner: Attila Kim. Curator: Tiberiu Bucsa. Exhibitor: Tiberiu Bucsa, Orsolya Gal, Stathis Markopoulos, Adrian Arama, Oana Matei, Andrei Durloi.
Venue: Giardini and Nuova Galleria dell'Istituto Romeno di Venezia Palazzo Correr, Campo Santa Fosca, Cannaregio 2214
Paper model by "Rob Ives". Modification of me with "Look under water". I accidentally wrote modification with German "k"
Download: www.robives.com/blog/sharkattack
Who are we? Where do we come from? And, above all, where are we going?
The future evolution of the universe is not such an easy thing to predict... and speaking about predictions you can read here what can happen to the simplest possible universe, the one invented by Cristopher Langton in 1986.
Watch the complete video on youtube.
(leggete qui la versione italiana)
Romania's exhibition at the 2016 Venice Biennale of Architecture. Work in progress photographed in Athens, April 2016.
Audiences were so captivated by Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still, producers scrambled to find the next big automaton for the screen. Republic created Tobor (that's robot spelled backwards) as a test pilot for future space exploration. The film also borrowed from the prior year's success with Invaders From Mars by telling the story through a young boy's perspective.
Starring Charles Drake, Karin Booth, Billy Chapin, Taylor Holmes, and Steven Geray. Directed by Lee Sholem.
It was a "boy and his robot" movie where scientists develop a robot spaceman with the intention of substituting it for real astronauts on early test flights. It was a bit cliched, but the producers thought that Robot spelled backwards would make a great name for the film.
Dr. Harrison and Prof. Nordstrom develop the robot Tobor for space flight, intending that he should be controlled by ESP. They announce their plans at a press conference which will spread the news worldwide, then they become concerned that press conference security was breached because an extra person attended and they wouldn't want the information falling into the wrong hands! The extra person was a spy; he and his henchmen kidnap Nordstrom and his grandson, but Nordstrom cleverly signals Tobor to charge to the rescue. The spies tear open the boy's shirt and threaten to use a blowtorch on him, and the composition makes the torch appear to be pointed at the boy's temple while he concentrates on summoning his hero Tobor. .
Niche market movies were not a new concept in the 50s. Tobor was designed for pre-teen matinee audiences. Knowing this, the film needs to be cut some slack for not grappling with deep concepts or dramatic action. It's a kids' movie. As such, Tobor amounts to a sort of sci-fi "lite." Nonetheless, it's worthwhile viewing for its expansion on the robot archetype.
Synopsis
Dr. Harrison quits his job at a (pre-NASA) space agency because he doesn't believe humans should go into space. He joins an older scientist, Dr. Nordstrom, who agrees and is working on a super robot to do that task instead. They work together in Nordstrom's basement lab, eventually unveiling their creation to a select group of fellow scientists. Tobor (robot spelled backwards) has the strength and durability to withstand the harshness of space. He can be controlled remotely, but also has enough onboard intelligence to operate independently. He's also been given some fuzzy abilities to "sense" emotions and read thoughts.
A communist spy had infiltrated the group of scientists. The spies decide they must steal Tobor before he's handed over to the American government. Meanwhile, Nordstrom's grandson, nicknamed "Gadge" has become fascinated with Tobor. Since Tobor has reasoning and emotions, he and Gadge develop a friendship bond. Nordstrom's home security thwarts the spies' attempt to steal Tobor. They then arrange a kidnapping of Nordstrom and Gadge to at least learn his secrets. Nordstrom has Tobor's remote controls with him (an ear piece and special pen), so instructs Tobor to rescue them. The spies figure out that Nordstrom is stalling, get angry and destroy the pen. Tobor stops cold. Harrison switches Tobor to telepathic mode. Tobor resumes, following Gadge's thoughts. Tobor breaks into the spies hideout and fights them. Harrison and the military arrive and all is well. Tobor has proven his abilities and given a deep space mission. Nordstrom and Gadge watch the liftoff. The end.
Tobor is a Disney-esque variety of sci-fi, which has a certain charm. It has the same simpler ethos as the old serials, Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers. Tobor himself is totally the star and reasonably well done for a low-budget film. Given the evolution of the robot archetype within sci-fi, Tobor adds some qualities which are somewhat ahead of the curve. The movie's wide-eyed adoration of science and technology is interesting, especially given the decades of technophobia movies which will crop up later. In Tobor, technology is our steadfast friend -- and savior.
This, while shallow, is very clear. The communist spies want to steal Tobor. Dr. Nordstrom worries that Tobor's advanced programming to be subverted into destructive uses.
Robot Power! -- Prior to Tobor, robots had been by typified as strong, silent brutes -- usually with destructive powers.
Tobor is endowed with the ability for independent thought AND to sense emotions. This moves Tobor out of the typical realm of mindless mechanical minion and closer to the role of artificial human. For decades, writers and audiences would remain fascinated with the idea of a robot which is almost human (Star Trek TNG's "Data" character, Robin Williams in Millennium Man, and the little boy in Spielberg's A.I., etc.). This is aided by Tobor have a sort of face too. Compare Tobor to Gog and Magog in Gog released earlier in 1954. Gog's design was intentionally NOT humanoid.
Tobor panders to its audience, in this case 8 to 12 year olds. Pandering movies are interesting for how the protagonist(s) tend to be superlative and their antagonists are bumbling fools. This will be a frequent undercurrent in teen pandering movies to come. The teens are the smart ones who save the world, while the adults are all idiots who should never be trusted with the world. Tobor isn't quite that flagrant, but is clearly geared towards a point of view from a 12-year-old in the 50s.
While the sub-genre of technophobia would be gearing up in the years to come, Tobor stands out as one of the technology-through-rose-colored glasses movies. Unlike the rather customary robot rampage scene, Tobor remains under control of his human masters -- he only looks like he's rampaging. With his artificial intelligence and emotional programming, Tobor is a technological expression of Nietzsche's übermensch -- the "superman" which mere man was supposed to "evolve" into.
No Babes -- A minor point. Tobor does not carry off a swooned shapely babe as shown in the poster. This abducting-our-women trope gets a lot of exposure in 50s sci-fi -- especially the posters. Sometimes the poster fits, such as the ones for Creature from the Black Lagoon ('54). There, the gill-man does abduct the beautiful woman. Or Robot Monster ('53) in which Ro-Man does carry off young Alice with the intent of "having" her. All too often, however, the only babe abducted is the one on the poster. The movie has no such scene. Given Tobor's target audience,
This is also interesting example of (2+1)-D cellular automaton : A simulation of "Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction". Similar algorithm to the "Game of Life". Only difference is the rule, and the cell's possible states. There are three states; healthy, infected, and ill. The ill cell will be cured in next time step. After a while, we see spiral waves appears spontaneously, and the center of spiral keep survive.
Download : Source Code (Gauche Format, Zipped, 4 KB)
See also :
- Cyclone
My robot factor on display at Brickworld.
The interesting thing about this display was, it was originally where the Grace Jones is - Iain's ship on top. We had the 'brilliant' idea of putting it on a box to make the ToroLUG display more interesting...
The box started to sag and the factor broke for an hour...
Lesson is - never put anything on a box. (unless you had a box of plate to build a flat surface).
See it in action here: www.flickr.com/photos/si-mocs/6027349129/in/set-721576273...
Steampunk Gentleman-Bot and Autocratic Automaton Carriage MOCs.
The Gentleman-Bot's chest opens to fit a driver, I'll add a shot of that later. Hope you enjoy them :)
P.S. the entire build started with the two diver helmets as seed parts for the bi-periscope!
So Shiny!!
Long before the Iron Giant began hurtling towards Rockwell, there was a prototype model, which landed on Earth close to 64 years earlier than the Iron Giant's 1957 landing. They were very similar robots, made by an Ancient race of beings that wanted to gather as much information about the Universe as possible. They first created this prototype model which was made mostly of brass, copper, and iron, but was powered by a highly advanced Fusion reactor that was powered by metals the robot consumed, usually uninhabited asteroids floating through space. Unlike the Iron Giant, this prototype was not able to re-assemble itself as it had a error in it's programming.
In the year 1893, the then un-named Brass Automaton landed in the Pacific Ocean near the long-forgotten Dino Island. It created a tsunami and unhinged the island from the Earth's crust and as such the land began to slowly sink. The robot was first sighted by nearby Australian military sailors, who upon seeing the giant being arise from the water, tried to describe the being the best way they could through their wireless telegraph: they named it the Brass Automaton. Johnny Thunder and his Adventurers crew would later go looking for this great metal being after saving as many dinosaurs as possible from the sinking primeval island in 1923, but never saw it, as it was hiding in South American coastline to gather information on the dominant beings of Earth, also known as Humans.
After staying relatively hidden in various secluded ocean floor places around the globe for around thirty years, the Brass Automaton was finished reading the minds off people for information on humans as a species: Our past, our present as of 1924, our origin (as it was then known), and our many languages, along with defenses, politics, and technology. After gathering all that intelligence, the Brass Automaton headed to the North Pole along the sea floor to transmit the required information to it's home planet using a faster-than-light sub-dimensional beacon. (Basically, a fancy radio) That is just about when a major solar storm hit the Earth, with the radiation hitting the atmosphere of the Earth and scrambling the outgoing signal into nonsense.
Now the garbled signal was received by the home base, and as a precaution, the Iron Giant version of the Brass Automaton was dispatched as fast as possible to earth. (That would take it nearly 35 years for it to get there at all possible speed, which would require it to refuel once arriving on Earth, which is why the Iron Giant was at the power plant at the beginning of the movie, whereupon it's memory was scrambled by the high-voltage electricity.)
After sending the garbled message and being struck by a passing icebreaker-ship on his trip southwards, the Brass Automaton was temporarily incapacitated. It was then discovered washed ashore at the southern tip of Greenland by Dr. Harold Wormwood and brought back in pieces to his stately laboratory / mansion in Legorado, Colorado, where he ran test after test on the alien visitor. By 1926, the mad scientist-type Doctor Wormwood had the resembled robot nearly reassembled, and was preparing to restart it when a Lord Sam Sinister came upon rumors of the robot and wanted it for his own nefarious desires, with Johnny Thunder close on his heels...
January 2017
Inspired by JK Brickworks, Pegasus Automation by Amida Na, and Laputa: Castle in the Sky music box by Hwang Byeong Jun.
Hedgehog Steambot Walker
by Brassbottom Workshop
"Hedgehog Steambot Walker: The AI companion in every battle."
(AI = Automaton Intelligence)
Sir Phileas Brassbottom prepares to present his automaton to the visitors as his assistant - Greasegob - welcomes them.
SELFIE AUTOMATON
Commissioner: Attila Kim. Curator: Tiberiu Bucsa. Exhibitor: Tiberiu Bucsa, Orsolya Gal, Stathis Markopoulos, Adrian Arama, Oana Matei, Andrei Durloi.
Venue: Giardini and Nuova Galleria dell'Istituto Romeno di Venezia Palazzo Correr, Campo Santa Fosca, Cannaregio 2214
Paper model by "Rob Ives". Download with payment on: www.robives.com/blog/caterpillar
This mechanically interesting paper automaton used here for horizontally moving the slider a double crank throw (90 ° offset) with knee lever. With the white pattern can make your own color scheme.
Barnard Castle is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit and paintings by Goya and El Greco.
It sits on the opposite bank to Startforth and is 21 miles (34 km) south-west of the county town of Durham. Nearby towns include Bishop Auckland to the north-east, Darlington to the east and Richmond in North Yorkshire to the south-east. The largest employer is GlaxoSmithKline, with a manufacturing facility on the town's outskirts.
Before the Norman conquest the upper half of Teesdale had been combined into an Anglo-Norse estate which was centred upon the ancient village of Gainford and mortgaged to the Earls of Northumberland. The first Norman Bishop of Durham, Bishop Walcher, was murdered in 1080. This led to the surrounding country being attacked and laid waste by the Norman overlords. Further rebellion in 1095 caused the king William II to break up the Earldom of Northumberland into smaller baronies. The Lordship of Gainford was given to Guy de Balliol.
The earthwork fortifications of the castle were rebuilt in stone by his successor, Bernard de Balliol I during the latter half of the 12th century, giving rise to the town's name. The castle passed down through the Balliol family (of which the Scottish king, John Balliol, was the most important member) and then into the possession of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. King Richard III inherited it through his wife, Anne Neville, but it fell into ruins in the century after his death.
The remains of the castle are Grade I listed, whilst the chapel in the outer ward is Grade II listed. Both sets of remains are now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public.
John Bowes lived at nearby Streatlam Castle (now demolished). His Streatlam stud never had more than ten breeding mares at one time, but produced no fewer than four Derby winners in twenty years. The last of these, "West Australian", was the first racehorse to win the Triple Crown, in 1853.
Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier founded the Bowes Museum, which is of national status. Housed in its own ornate building, the museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Goya, Canaletto, Boucher, Fragonard and a collection of decorative art. A great attraction is the 18th century silver swan automaton, which periodically preens itself, looks round and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
Although never a major manufacturing centre, in the 18th century industry centred on hand loom wool weaving, and in the early 19th century the principal industry was spinning and the manufacture of shoe thread.
Walter Scott frequently visited his friend John Sawrey Morritt at Rokeby Hall and was fond of exploring Teesdale. He begins his epic poem Rokeby (1813) with a man standing on guard on the round tower of the Barnard Castle fortress.
Charles Dickens (Boz) and his illustrator Hablot Browne (Phiz) stayed at the King's Head in Barnard Castle while researching his novel Nicholas Nickleby in the winter of 1837–38. He is said to have entered William Humphrey's clock-maker's shop, then opposite the hotel, and enquired who had made a certain remarkable clock. William replied that his boy Humphrey had done it. This seems to have prompted Dickens to choose the title "Master Humphrey's Clock" for his new weekly, in which The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge appeared.
William Wordsworth, Daniel Defoe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Hilaire Belloc, Bill Bryson and the artist J. M. W. Turner have also visited the town.
In May 2020 Barnard Castle came to national attention when Dominic Cummings, the chief adviser of the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was discovered to have driven to the town with his family during the COVID-19 pandemic, while at a significant risk of having the disease himself owing to contact with the infected Prime Minister. (Cummings developed symptoms the next day.) Following media allegations that he had broken lockdown regulations by driving to the town, he told how he drove there to test his eyesight to reassure his wife that he was able to drive them back to London the next day.
Barnard Castle is for all purposes (historic, ceremonial and unitary authority) located in County Durham. Barnard Castle has a Town Council governing a civil parish. The Town Council elects a ceremonial Town Mayor annually.
It is part of the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which as of 2019 is represented in parliament by Dehenna Davison of The Conservative Party. All four Durham County Councillors whose wards (Barnard Castle East and Barnard Castle West) include part of Barnard Castle are Conservative.
The local police force is Durham Constabulary. The town is the base for the Barnard Castle division, which covers 300 square miles (780 km2). This division is within the force's south area.
Between 1894 and 1974 the town was administratively part of Barnard Castle Urban District. The administrative and ceremonial county boundary was adjusted in 1974. Barnard Castle became administrative centre of the Teesdale district of County Durham non-metropolitan county until its abolition on 1 April 2009 and the county council became the unitary authority of County Durham.
The most important employer in Barnard Castle is GSK, which has a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the town which employs around 1,000 people. GSK has invested £80 million into the plant since 2007. Barnard Castle School follows GSK in second place, employing 183 people.
Barnard Castle has road connections to Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor and central County Durham via the A688 and Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, and Middlesbrough by the A67. Barnard Castle is also four miles (6.4 km) from the A66, with access to the M6 to the west and the A1(M) to the east. The B6278 also connects Barnard Castle with Middleton-in-Teesdale. The old road bridge over the River Tees was built in 1569 and is Grade I listed.
Barnard Castle railway station was closed for passenger trains in 1964. A Bill was approved in 1854 for a line from a junction with the Stockton & Darlington Railway at Darlington to Barnard Castle and opened on 9 July 1856, with intermediate stations at Broomielaw, Winston, Gainford and Piercebridge. The terminus at Darlington only lasted five years. In 1856 the South Durham & Lancashire Railway proposed a line from Bishop Auckland to Tebay via Barnard Castle and Kirkby Stephen but only the western section was built with the Company receiving its Bill in 1857.
The line opened on 8 August 1861 from a second terminus at Barnard Castle to a junction with the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway at Tebay with intermediate stations at Lartington, Bowes, Barras, Kirkby Stephen, Ravenstondale & Gaisgill. The two stations at Barnard Castle were some distance apart; the earliest station became a through station and closed to passengers on 1 May 1862, but remained in use as a goods depot. The second station was closed for passenger trains under the Beeching cuts in 1964 and completely on 5 April 1965 and the site was eventually built on by GlaxoSmithKline.[30] Today rail access is via Bishop Auckland, or Darlington. There are two bus routes provided by Arriva North East which connect Barnard Castle to Darlington, the X75 (Via Staindrop) and X76 (Via Winston) and there is also the 79, provided by Hodgsons Coaches, which travels from Barnard Castle to Richmond.
Barnard Castle School is an independent co-educational boarding school located on the eastern edge of the town. Teesdale School is an 11–18 comprehensive school on the outskirts of the town, just off the A688.
There are three primary schools serving the town. Green Lane school is a primary school for 4–11 year olds. St Mary's is a Roman Catholic school situated on Birch Road near the church of the same name. Montalbo Primary School and Nursery is for 3-11year olds.
The Bowes Museum was purpose-built to house the collection of John and Josephine Bowes. The museum is built in the style of a French chateau, in extensive grounds, and is by far the largest building in the town. It contains paintings by El Greco, Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher, together with a sizable collection of decorative art, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks and costumes, as well as older items from local history. It is famous for the Silver Swan automaton, which played every day at 2pm until it seized up in 2020, it is currently undergoing repairs.
The Witham Arts Centre on the Horse Market, presents a variety of events, including drama, cinema, music, spoken word and children's events as well as being the town's visitor information centre.
The Barnard Castle Meet is an annual carnival festival held on the second bank holiday weekend in May, the schools' summer half-term week. The Meet, as it is known locally, has grown from the North East Cyclists' Meet dating back to 1885, and since the early 1900s the town has staged a carnival and grand procession through the town centre on the bank holiday Monday. The weekend is now probably the largest event in the Barnard Castle and Teesdale calendar. There are around twenty separate events that the Meet Committee asserts 'reach every corner of the community'. In recent years the committee has staged its own music event showcasing local and national talent on the Sunday and Monday, with all technical and musical support from Teesdale Community Resources (TCR).
The TCR Hub is a community centre on the edge of the town with a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities.
The Barnard Castle Band, founded in 1860, is a brass band based in the town, well known outside the area as a result of the march Barnard Castle by Goff Richards.
Notable people
Anne Fine – children's writer. Twice Whitbread Prize winner
Arthur Henderson – Winner of Nobel Peace prize (1934). Former MP for Barnard Castle and first Labour cabinet minister
David Harper - BBC TV Antiques Presenter
Glenn Hugill – television presenter and producer
David Jennings – composer
Ian Usher – traveller, adventurer, writer and speaker. Sold "entire life" on eBay in 2008
Former residents
Joshua Harold Burn, 1942, Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at Oxford University
Bob Chatt, footballer for Aston Villa
Siobhan Fahey, singer/songwriter from Bananarama/Shakespears Sister lived here for a short time as a child
Hannah Hauxwell, English farmer who was the subject of several television documentaries
William Hutchinson, 18th-century historian
Roderick Murchison, President of both the Royal Geological and the Royal Geographical Societies
Cyril Northcote Parkinson, writer and inventor
Henry Witham, geologist and philanthropist
I found this "fantastic beast" in the delightfully eclectic Helston Museum. It's a coin-operated automaton. It's not too clear in my photograph, but there's a baby dragon just emerged from its egg at the base.
I wanted to make something with a grey and gold color scheme, as I hadn't really tried doing that before. I gave it a silver arm simply because I don't have 2 golden Lewa masks and also because Jetstream Sam is cool.
Steampunk Gentleman-Bot and Autocratic Automaton Carriage MOCs.
The Gentleman-Bot's chest opens to fit a driver, I'll add a shot of that later. Hope you enjoy them :)
P.S. the entire build started with the two diver helmets as seed parts for the bi-periscope!
So Shiny!!
Old Father Time flanked by figures representing England Scotland Wales and Ireland. The bells ring on the quarter hour.
Sentient Combat Automaton specializing in long range sniping and marksmanship. Aquila Omen rarely enters the battlefield, instead striking from a safe distance using its Sniper Arm. It's rifle uses special Phase-Tech bullets that can phase through all obstacles between Omen and its target. The scope on Omen's arm can switch between IR and X-ray modes, making it nearly impossible to hid from Omen's piercing shots. Omen is not suited for close combat, instead relying on support from other Vanguard automatons such is Bolide to protect it. Omen is particular calm in its demeanor. It is often seen staring at trees, birds, and flowers with an almost human-like sense of wonder.
Build notes;
Another quick build. This one only took a few hours to put together. I tried scaling down my standard Vanguard frame for Omen's torso and legs, and I am really happy with the result. I feel this one has a bit more personality than some of the others. Since Omen is so small, it poses really well. Also, the clip on the sniper rifle can be removed. And... teal parts! yay! I finally got a chance to use this rare color! What fun. Now, time to get back to those bonkle builds I've been putting off.
This is known as the "Picture clock with Alster panorama" (Bilderuhr mit Alsterpanorama), with an alternative title "Coffee party on the Alster with view over Lombard Bridge to the city" (Kaffeegesellschaft an der Alster mit Blick über die Lombardsbrücke aud die Stadt".
It is an 1830 oil painting made in around 1830 by Viennese artists depicting Hamburg. What is interesting is this this is a painting with mechanical automaton and an integrated musical box.
The mechanical elements include:
- working clocks on several church towers
- the windmill turning
- two children playing cup-and-ball
- a harpist's and a violinist's arms moving
- various boats moving across the lake
- horse-borne and foot traffic crossing the bridge
- a fisherman's rod
Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte. Museum for Hamburg History.
Rijksmuseum. Table Automaton in the shape of Diana Astride a Deer. Jacob Miller, Augsburg, c. 1613-15.
My first attempt at a Lego automaton. A video of it in motion can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE3Nyb0XSVQ&t
Let me know how I did :)