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Coordinates: 54°30'20?N 1°20'54?W? / ?54.5055, -1.3483
Yarm is a small town in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the south bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in North Yorkshire. Yarm marked the end of the tidal section of the River Tees until the Tees Barrage was built in Stockton. The oldest part of the town around the high street is situated in a loop of the river, and the newer parts of the town extends to the point where the River Leven meets the River Tees.
[edit] History
The name of the town is thought to be derived from the old Norse word yarum meaning an enclosure to catch fish. Yarm was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was originally a chapelry in the Kirklevington parish in the North Riding of Yorkshire; it later became a parish in its own right.[1]
Bishop Skerlaw of Durham built a stone bridge across the Tees in 1270. It still stands. An iron replacement was built in 1805, but it fell down in 1806. For many years Yarm was the head of the tide and of navigation on the Tees.
On 12 February 1821 at the George & Dragon Inn, the meeting was held that pressed for the third, and successful, attempt for a Bill to give permission to build the Stockton & Darlington Railway, the world's first public railway.
At one point Yarm was a classed as a borough; this status did not persist. It formed part of the Stokesley Rural District under the Local Government Act 1894, and remained so until 1 April 1974 when, under the Local Government Act 1972 it became part of the district of Stockton-on-Tees in the new non-metropolitan county of Cleveland.[citation needed] Cleveland was abolished in 1996 under the Banham Review, with Stockton-on-Tees becoming a unitary authority.[citation needed]
[edit] Local government
The Yarm ward of Stockton (which includes Kirklevington) has three local councillors sitting on Stockton Borough Council, all of whom are Conservatives. As of 3 May 2007 they are Jennie Beaumont, Jackie Earl and Andrew Sherris.
The town has a town council which is responsible for certain aspects of the town's administration, including allotments and the cemetery. They meet once a month in the Town Hall.[2]
Yarm Town Council is made up of 9 Conservative and 2 Independent Town Councillors.
[edit] Geography
Yarm is divided into five estates, and the peninsular area where the town centre is situated. The estates are Willey Flatts, Layfield Farm, The Kebbell (locally known as Spitalfields), Leven Park, and Levendale (occasionally referred to as Ingleby Grange).
A map of Yarm showing main roads and estates
[edit] Rivers
Yarm is bordered by two rivers. The River Tees is located to the north, and the River Leven to the east. The Leven is a tributary of the Tees. In its past, Yarm was the highest port on the Tees, with merchant vessels travelling up the tidal river to Yarm from the North Sea to unload their cargo.[citation needed]
[edit] High street
The small town hall, situated in the high street was built in 1710 by Thomas Belasyse who was Lord of the Manor. In 2007, Yarm High Street was voted the best in Britain by viewers of the BBC's Breakfast Programme.[3] The many Georgian-style old buildings, with their red pantile roofs, fronting the high street and its cobbled parking areas add to the visual appeal of the town.
The A67, which runs through the High Street, was previously classified as the A19 until a new dual carriageway was built in the 1970s - this is about 3 miles to the south of the town near the village of Crathorne.[citation needed] When the A19 ran through the High Street, the traffic was heavily congested and very busy. The road is still used by heavy goods traffic travelling both ways as a shortcut to Teesside Airport.[4] The classification of the road as an 'A'-road means that it is not possible to place a ban on heavy goods vehicles; however the town council has made efforts to come up with voluntary agreements with many haulage firms.[5]
[edit] Churches
Yarm Parish Church is the Anglican parish church, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. It is situated on West Street, where there has been a church on the site since at least the 9th century. The Catholic church of St Mary and St Romuald is at the south end of the High Street. Yarm Methodist Church was John Wesley's "favourite chapel"[citation needed]. This unique octagonal church is to be found on Chapel Yard, on the east side of the town by the river.
[edit] Woodland
Yarm has multiple areas of woodland. Most of these woodlands are part of private estates.
The Rookery is a public area of woodland next to the River Tees situated at the bottom of Goose Pasture. The ash, sycamore, and lime woodland is estimated to be about 200 years in age and is owned by Yarm Town Council.[6] In 2002 a walkway was constructed around the wood to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Within the woodland, close to the river, BMX riders have created numerous dirt ramps which are regularly used during summer months.
[edit] Viaduct and railway stations
The imposing 2,280 ft long railway viaduct was built between 1849 and 1851 for the Leeds Northern Railway company. Its designers were Thomas Grainger and John Bourne. It comprises 7 million bricks, and has 43 arches. The original Yarm railway station, now closed, used to be situated on the Eaglescliffe side of the river at the north end of the viaduct.[citation needed] The current un-manned modern station, opened in 1996, is located to the south of Yarm off Green Lane.
[edit] Location
- Road access: The A67 leading to Durham Tees Valley Airport and Darlington in the north west, the A135 leading to the A66 and Stockton in the north, the B1265 leading to the A167 and Northallerton in the west, the A1044 leading to the A174 and Middlesbrough in the east, the A67 leading to the A19 and Thirsk in the south.
- Rail access: Yarm Station
- Nearest airport: Durham Tees Valley Airport
[edit] Events
Many events are held in the town each year such as a fair and a 5 km fun run.
A fair is held in the High Street in the third week in October. It starts on the Tuesday evening and lasts until Saturday night. It was once a commercial fair that traded in cheese and livestock, but is now primarily a funfair. Travellers still attend the fair, and ride horses up and down the street on the Saturday. The travellers have to wait outside the town until 6:00 pm on the Tuesday, at which point they are allowed to cross the bridge over the River Tees into the town.[citation needed]
[edit] Fun run
Yarm has an annual fun run. The 5 km run starts at Conyers School, and ends on Snaiths Field. It used to end outside Yarm Parish Church, but this changed some time around 1998.[citation needed] The 2008 Fun Run will take place on Sunday the 20th April.
[edit] Charities fair
Yarm and District Lions Club run a charities fair on the High Street every year. This mostly takes a market-like approach.
[edit] Lighting of the Christmas tree
A ceremony takes place each Advent to light up the town's Christmas tree. Carols are sung to a band, and the high street is temporarily closed for the event. It is free to attend the event.
[edit] Schools
There are three primary schools in the town: Levendale, Yarm Primary, and Layfield School.
Conyers School is a mixed comprehensive school and also has a sixth-form. It was founded in 1590 as "The free Grammar School" by Thomas Conyers. Following the change to comprehensive education it was renamed to reflect its founder. Conyers is a specialist school for Maths and Computing.[citation needed]
The town is home to the private Yarm School, the senior school being situated at the Friarage and the Preparatory School, Pre-Prep and Nursery at the old Yarm Grammar School. The school was formed some time after the redesignation of the original grammar school. The school has plans to relocate within the next decade to a site near to their playing fields on Green Lane, south of the town. This is subject to planning permission being granted for the sale of the listed Friarage site for development.[citation needed]
[edit] People
People associated with the town include John Wesley, founder of Methodism, and Tom Brown, hero in the Battle of Dettingen.
It is home to professional footballers such as Middlesbrough and Holland International George Boateng and former Valencia and Spain International Gaizka Mendieta. Former England boss Steve McClaren also regularly visits the town,[7] as his family home is situated in the neighbouring village of Aislaby. Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers lives here.
Over the years many famous people have visited Yarm, they include Diana, Princess of Wales and Sir John Major. Diana's son, Prince Harry, also visited the town on Tuesday 7 August 2007, while making a week-long army visit to RAF Leeming. He was spotted drinking with friends in the Black Bull pub and later moving onto The Keys nightclub.[8] Rock band Oasis famously drank in the Black Bull in the mid-nineties.[citation needed]
[edit] Twinned towns
Yarm is twinned with two other European towns:
There is also an agreement with Olkusz, in Poland.[9]
On 2 July 2005, two trees were planted to the north of the town hall to mark the 20th anniversary of the twinning between Yarm and the two towns. The trees were marked with plaques.[citation needed]
[edit] Photo Gallery
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View of Yarm including viaduct
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Yarm Town Hall and High Street
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[edit] References
- , YARM: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1890. Genuki. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.
- , Yarm and Eaglescliffe History. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
- , High Street Blues. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
- , Clerk to Yarm Town Council, Town Council Minutes, Yarm Town Council, Autumn 2006.
- , Clerk to Yarm Town Council, Town Council Minutes, Yarm Town Council, Autumn 2006.
- , The board erected at the entrance to the woodland
- , {{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7100000/newsid_7107900?redirect=7107991.stm&news=1&nbwm=1&nbram=1&bbram=1&bbwm=1&asb=1}
- , Harry's out for a good Yarm. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- , Welcome to Schwalbach am Taunus. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
(Source: Wikipedia) |