Eggleston’s first mention in history is in the Domesday Book (1086) as Eghiston and later in the Tax records of 1196 as Egleston. The name could have come from the 4th century Anglo/Saxon settlers and in particular ECGWULFTON, meaning the settlement (town) of Ecgwulf/. The earliest evidence of Human activity consists of flint tools of Mesolithic date, probably left by bands of nomadic hunters who passed through the area at particular times of the year to hunt, fish and gather wild resources. Although a Bronze Age Urn was found 2km west of the village no trace of the Iron Age has been found to date. A large number of Neolithic flints, including ‘waste flakes’ that demonstrate flint working was taking place have been recovered from a site at Blackton Beck Chimney, this may have been a permanently occupied settlement but is perhaps more likely to have been occupied seasonally. Neolithic life was about much more than food production. Most medieval buildings would have been of timber rather than stone, and none survive within today’s village although evidence of them may survive below ground. There was undoubtedly complex spiritual side to life, and this is hinted at by the mysterious ‘cup-and-ring’ stones, of which four are recorded within Stob Green Plantation and seven at Brackenheads, just south of Stob Green. In 603 a battle that took place between Ethelfrith, King of Northumberland, and Adan, King of the Scots, at a place called `Egesan -stane.`is mentioned by the historian William Hutchinson. Stable Court at High Shipley is a Grade II listed property and is close to another historic property thought to be the Manor House, once reputed to have been used by King James II in the days when the surrounding area was a deer forest. The Estate is thought to have belonged to Richard III and given to Miles Forrest for his alleged part in the murder of the Princes in the Tower. In 1583, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I was informed that Anthony Arrowsmith and others `being weaponed with swords, daggers, lances, javelins, bills and other unlawful weapons, assembled on Eggleston Moor and made perambulation about certain parcels thereof and claimed all the ground within the same perambulation to be within the township of Egleston.` What became of this we don't know but this land to the west of Egglesburn is still in the Middleton parish today. Anthony Arrowsmith must have been a troublemaker, because in 1599 Jerome Bowes obtained a grant for the property of Anthony Arrowsmith, who was found guilty of felony at Durham Assizes. During the Plague of the 17th Century, the villages of Teesdale including Eggleston placed a Butterstone on the outskirts of the village. A Butterstone was an unofficial market place where the Merchants would leave their wares and then the customer would leave payment in a bowl of vinegar on the stone for the merchant to collect. Vinegar killed the Plague germs and so made the handling of coins safe. It can be found today on the Middleton road at Whistle Crag. The Hamlet remained no more than a few houses until 18 years after the London Lead Company owned by members of The Society of Friends arrived in Teesdale in 1753 when the population increased ten fold to meet the labour demands, the 1881 Census shows 747 occupants. Many of the cottages built in the 18th century for Estate workers and lead miners, mainly the supervisors and lower management, still exist today. To live in such a house the residents had to abide by a strict rule of temperance, which was enforced by either a fine or eviction or even losing their job. The work was treacherous and many were maimed or lost their lives. When the smelting mills closed in 1904 due to the lead ore diminishing and competition from cheap imports, it left business’ to collapse and houses left unoccupied. In the early and mid 18th century a lot of upper Teesdale families, some from Egglestone, emigrated to Wyoming in the USA in search of a better life, some found it and some didn't. Eggleston can boast 17 grade II listed buildings. The stone between two seats celebrating the millennium depicts the 150ft Blackton Smelting Mill chimney, which was demolished one misty day in November 1931,
By the 10-ton bridge (now the weight limit has been reduced to 7.5 Tons) just outside the village to the north is The Saddle House, a small building that was used for storing saddles and other horse tack and where repairs to mining equipment took place. Prospect Terrace and South Terrace are the only Miners’ cottages in the country with front gardens. The manor of Egglestone was forfeited to the Crown by Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmoreland as a consequence of his part in the Rising of the North in 1569. It was granted by the Crown to the City of London and thereafter passed through several hands until the Hutchinson family acquired it early in the 18th century. Squire Hutchinson had a full size cast iron stag positioned at the bottom of the Haughs near to the river. It was believed that the squire used it for target practice, it was removed along with the Village Green railings during the Second World War to be used in the production of munitions. The house that stands today was built on the site of the old manor house in 1812-1817 for William Hutchinson, who inherited it from Timothy Hutchinson (High Sheriff of Durham in 1858) to a design by architect Ignatius Bonomi. During WW1, Eggleston Hall was used as a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers, their uniform was blue with white lapels and so they became known as the 'Blue Boys'. Just after WW1 in 1919 it was acquired by Sir William Creswell Gray, 1st Baronet. Another significant event in the formation of the village was the sale of the Egglestone Estate. The Hall, farms, various properties and moorland changed hands and the opportunity was given to many to become businessmen in their own right. Photos from the Estate Sale catalogue for Eggleston Hall, the Bridge and Neamour can be found on this page. With the passing of Sir William Gray and the second Lady Gray, the estate was handed to Sir William's son 'Billy' William Talbot Gray (High Sheriff of Durham 1971), who was killed in a road accident shortly afterwards. From 1972 to 1991 his widow Mrs Rosemarie Gray opened a finishing school for young ladies and made a business with the Hall Gardens, now leased by Malcolm & Lisa Hockham. The gardens and nursery flourished, but with the decline in debutants, the school closed only to be featured some years later in the TV series 'Ladette to Lady'. and has now been returned to residential use and since 2008, it has been the seat of Sir William Hume Gray, 3rd Baronet and his wife Lady Juliet Gray. Another house of eminence is Foggerthwaite Farm, which once belonged to the powerful baronial family of the Scropes. The forgotten Cricket Pavillion by the Haughs, was built by late Sir William Talbot Gray for the Eggleston Cricket Club which was disbanded in 1999 due to falling membership. A blacksmiths shop owned by Thomas Lamb and Sons is now the house and garages next to the Three Tuns Inn. The Raine family had a mineral water factory at Gate House, which previously had been another blacksmith’s workshop. There was also a mineral water factory on Church Bank, which is now called The Bottle Store. On Church Bank was a Grocer and Draper shop owned by Coats, which later became Chapman’s. The Post Office, which was situated in a house that is now called Carrisbrook, was in later years relocated to 1 Greenbank but this too has since closed. You will see that Carrisbrook has 1761 carved on the front door lintel and until 2017 had the original canopy similar to the one on the Three Tuns. On the site of Stobb Green Bungalow was T & H Adamson’s Saw Yard, Thomas and Hugh later became undertakers when Isaac Walton retired in the 1950s. Stobb Green House was the Gaol for the area where many a drunk was put up for the night. By the Moorcock Inn on Gordon Bank there was a cobblers shop owned by Tom Raine, a shop run by Lizzie Bainbridge and also a small shop run by Ethel Brigham. The Victorian School on the site opposite the village hall was demolished and replaced by a new building in 1964, this subsequently closed in 1984. The Mechanics Institute completed in 1845 transferred to the Jubilee Rooms, which was built in 1889 this then became the Village Hall in 1944. It is said that during a Home Guard drill one day in WW11, Ken Smiles fired two shots into the ceiling of the hall. On a plaque in the Holy Trinity Church are the names of residence who fought and some who gave their lives during World War One and the Second World War. There is also a centenary commemorative stone to the start of the First World War outside the Village Hall. There has been five places of worship in Eggleston parish, the Holy Trinity Church was built in 1869 replacing the smaller chapel in the grounds of Eggleston Hall, the Wesleyan Chapel built in 1828 and the Primitive Methodist Chapel at the top of Gordon Bank built in 1857. The Baptist Chapel at Egglesburn built in 1870. only the Anglican Church Holy Trinity remains in use today (2022). The population today is approx 380 living in approx 185 dwellings. Nowadays the populace of Eggleston are retired or earn their living from 21st century white-collar jobs, Tourism (Holiday Lets) and sheep farming. The Tap on the village green and the trough for the animals along with similar facilities at Gordon Bank and Town Head were for many years the only water supplies in the village. Mains water was not installed until 1950 and electricity replaced paraffin and candlelight in 1934. Apart from the building of Greenbank in the 1980s and the addition of extensions or bay windows, the architecture and general appearance of the old parts of Eggleston has changed very little over the years. The living room of 5 Greenbank used to be a cow byre where cows were milked until the 1950's by Arthur Bainbridge. like many others who had cows in byres behind their houses he used to water them by letting them out to wander off to the drinking trough at the bottom of the village Green.
