Barnard Castle is twenty-five miles from Durham, and lies on the north bank of the Tees. It did not form part of the Bishopric at the time of the Conquest, and was granted by William Rufus to Guy Balliol in 1093. Barnard Balliol, his son, built the castle _circa_ 1132, and apparently founded the borough, for the first extant charter, granted by his son Barnard to the burgesses of Barnard Castle _circa_ 1167, refers to the elder Barnard’s concessions to them. By this charter the burgesses were granted the customs of Richmond (Yorks). Barnard Castle was a manorial borough, and is now an urban district. The burgesses obtained charters from Hugh (1212-28), John (_circa_ 1230), and Alexander, third son of John. All the Balliol estates in England were forfeited by John Balliol, sometime King of Scotland, in 1295. Barnard Castle was claimed by Bishop Bek, but Edward I. granted it to Guy [Illustration: BARNARD CASTLE.] Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. The Bishops of Durham made frequent efforts to obtain possession of the town, and although they were unsuccessful, they obtained Parliamentary recognition of the fact that Barnard Castle was part of the Bishopric. Richard III., by his marriage with Lady Anne of Warwick, became lord of the town, which Lady Anne inherited from her father, the King-maker. Barnard Castle escheated to the crown in 1485, and was finally granted to the Earl of Westmorland. In 1569, on receiving the news that the northern Earls had risen against the Queen, Sir George Bowes of Streatlam seized and garrisoned the castle, where he was besieged by the rebels; and although he was forced to surrender after a ten days’ siege, the delay had given the royal troops time to come up, and insured the defeat of the insurgents. After the rebellion Barnard Castle escheated to the crown again, and was leased to the valiant Bowes. It was finally purchased by Sir Henry Vane in 1632 (see above). _Durham to Alston._ The road from Durham to Alston, in Cumberland, passes by the field of the Battle of Neville’s Cross, fought on St. Luke’s Eve, October 17, 1346, in which David of Scotland, who had invaded England while Edward III. and all his forces were in France, was defeated by the troops which he contemptuously called "an army of women and priests," because they were raised by Queen Philippa, and the four divisions were commanded by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of Lincoln and Durham. The cross which Ralph, Lord Neville, erected on the battle-field was destroyed in 1589.