If you’re walking through Teesdale on the Teesdale Way you’re bound to encounter – often when crossing a watercourse of some sort – pairs of what look like milk churns or chimney pots, split down the middle, usually rust-red in colour. Inscribed vertically on each is the name of the Teesdale parish for which it serves as a boundary marker. “Marking the Parish Boundaries” is a publicly-funded arts project commissioned by Teesdale District Council in 1996 at a cost of £70,000. The creator is sculptor Richard Wentworth. Its particular claim to fame is that it was the first public art project to be funded by the UK’s National Lottery.
From the top to the bottom of the dale (west to east) the inclusive parishes are: Middleton-in-Teesdale, Eggleston, Romaldkirk, Hunderthwaite, Cotherstone, Lartingon, Barnard Castle, Startforth, Marwood, Egglestone Abbey, Rokeby, Wycliffe, Westwick, Whorlton, Winston and Gainford. Often hiding in plain sight, the “chimney pots” are easy to miss but fun to find. No matter how many times I venture along the trail I always take pleasure in renewing my acquaintance with them though the Barnard Castle/Westwick and Whorlton/Winston pairs continue to elude me. If they still are – or ever were – in place and you happen to know where, please leave a comment.
Public art is ubiquitous these days so I find myself having to discriminate more than perhaps I’d like to. What connects me to “MTPB” apart from its installation on a trail I’ve undertaken to promote is its simplicity, practicality and educational qualities. It’s understated and sympathetically integrated into whichever environment you find it. It doesn’t demand attention but allows you to appreciate it on your own terms.
GALLERY
References
The 35 mm Slide. “Teesdale Way.” The 35mm Slide, 15 January 2013, https://the35mmslide.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/teesdale-way/. Accessed 08 July 2025.
Durham County Council. “Parish Markers.” I-See Public Art County Durham, no. 1973-2009, 2009. Durham County Council, http://www.durham.gov.uk/media/3804/i-see-public-artwork-County-Durham/pdf/ISeePublicArtworkCountyDurham.pdf. Accessed 08 July 2025.
Approximate W3W locations for a 11 of these Boundary Markers from North to South-East on the E2 East Route part of the Teesdale Way. It’s a long walk as some are on either side of the river. It’s about 64km to walk from Middleton to Gainford and back to go passed all of them. Have fun!
1.Middleton-in-Teesdale and Eggleston ///broadens.signs.ports
2.Romaldkirk and Hunderthwaite ///purse.elections.strays
3.Hunderthwaite and Cotherstone ///tabs.unpacked.output
4.Cotherstone and Lartington ///confusion.cloak.deform
5.Barnard Castle and Marwood ///outsmart.incensed.diggers
6.Lartington and Startforth ///roses.easily.wreck
7.Startforth and Egglestone Abbey ///competing.layers.pesky
8.Egglestone Abbey and Rokeby ///cookbooks.engages.flipping
9.Rokeby and Wycliffe with Thorpe ///houseboat.laptops.shadow
10.Westwick and Whorlton ///replaying.margin.lifts
11.Winston and Gainford ///elbowing.weep.surround
A very useful resource SpideRaY. Cheers!
Think they just about correct some might require a slight adjustment. Here is a route some of it on the railway path and some on the E2 European long distance path, about 75% unpaved the rest on roads from Middleton to Gainford and back on both sides of the river, might be shorter if the Whorlton Bridge wasn’t still under retrofit @ https://ridewithgps.com/routes/54197142?privacy_code=sR2LfVhUxVpiLJPFyRc0hzftTRkwcFiP
Thanks SpideRaY.