Barnard Castle is a market town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it grew up. It is the main settlement in the Teesdale area, and is 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, though art includes work 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 the pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline, who have a manufacturing facility on the outskirts of town.
Locally known as 'Barney', the town boasts beautiful Georgian stone buildings, a cobbled market place, riverside and woodland walks. The area known as 'the Bank' is one of the best centres in the region for antique collectors and has historic associations with Charles Dickens, JMW Turner, Sir Walter Scott and Oliver Cromwell.
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