| Bearpark | |
|---|---|
 The centre of Bearpark village | |
  Bearpark Location within County Durham | |
| Population | 2,283 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NZ238431 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DURHAM |
| Postcode district | DH7 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
| UK Parliament | |
Bearpark is a village and civil parish in County Durham in England. It is situated two and a half miles west of Durham, and a short distance to the north of Ushaw Moor. The name may be a corruption of the French term Beau Repaire – meaning "beautiful retreat". Half a mile to the north of the present village lies the ruins of Beaurepaire Priory, built in 1258 by the Prior of Durham, Bertram de Middleton, as a retirement residence. The building was extended in the subsequent three centuries, becoming a retreat for the Durham monks in a similar way to the nearby Finchale Priory. The manor was largely destroyed by the Scots in 1640 and 1644 during the British Civil War.[2][3] In 1872, Theodore Fry was involved in founding the Bearpark Coal and Coke Company, which established a coal mine in Bearpark until 1984, when the mine was closed.
Bearpark Community Centre is at the hub of the local village, a red brick building originally built in 1921 as a miners' welfare hall. An old pit wheel stands in front of the building, a memorial to the village's mining history.
Bearpark featured on the BBC radio and television series Uncanny, citing the case of a Victorian boy haunting a house in the village.
Bearpark is the subject of a song by Durham-based band Prefab Sprout.[4]
- ^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ^ "Chapel of Beaurepaire, Bearpark, Witton Gilbert (Bearpark)". Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth (1985). The Buildings of England: County Durham. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978 0 300 09599 9.
- ^ Prefab Sprout - BearPark. Retrieved 31 March 2024 – via www.youtube.com.