This quaint image shows the last thatched house to have existed in Barnard Castle, in Bridgegate, a narrow winding street between the castle walls and the river.

This lovely building was demolished in the late 1950s, along with most of the other early buildings in Bridgegate. It is clear from this photograph, which is probably circa 1900, that the cottage was already in very poor condition and was very typical of the standard of housing in Bridgegate, which had suffered a series of cholera outbreaks and other diseases.

The thatch is made from heather, and is a feature that would have been common in Teesdale in the 17th and 18th centuries, but is now virtually unknown.