# Merrybent

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Merrybent
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Merrybent.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrybent
> Source revision: 1341662738
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Merrybent** is a [linear village](/source/Linear_village) in the [civil parish](/source/Civil_parishes_in_England) of Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent in [County Durham](/source/County_Durham), in England. It is situated on the [A67 road](/source/A67_road) to the west of [Darlington](/source/Darlington), a short distance to the north of the [River Tees](/source/River_Tees) and the [Teesdale Way](/source/Teesdale_Way). At the beginning of the 20th century there were hardly any buildings here, and its main feature at that time was Merrybent Nurseries with its many [glasshouses](/source/Greenhouse). The nursery was cut through by the [A1 road](/source/A1_road_(Great_Britain)) in the 1960s; at this point it runs on the [trackbed](/source/Trackbed) of the old Merrybent railway.[1][2] The village is now a settlement of modern housing.

## Geography

This is a [linear village](/source/Linear_village) arranged in a north-west to south-east alignment on the [A67 road](/source/A67_road) where it crosses the Motorway [A1](/source/A1_road_(Great_Britain)), 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the edge of [Darlington](/source/Darlington). Although the A1 is part of the landscape, there is no access to it from the A67. The underlying geology is [glacial](/source/Glacial_period) [clay](/source/Clay) with areas of [gravel](/source/Gravel), [sand](/source/Sand), [peat](/source/Peat) and [alluvium](/source/Alluvium), and outcrops of [dolomite](/source/Dolomite_(rock)) and [carboniferous limestone](/source/Carboniferous_limestone).[1] Gravel extraction south of the village in the fields bordering the river Tees occurred in the early 20th century. This has left regular shaped treeless field boundaries and a stepped relief pattern.[citation needed]

## History

### Road and rail

The late 19th century [milepost](/source/Milestone) is [listed](/source/Listed_building). It is on the south side of the road in front of number 12, near the east end of the village, and was possibly associated with a previous [turnpike](/source/Toll_road) road. It is triangular in plan, of [cast iron](/source/Cast_iron) with raised black-painted letters on a white-painted background. It says *[Durham County](/source/County_Durham)* on the back, *[Barnard Castle](/source/Barnard_Castle) 13 miles* with hand pointing west, and *[Darlington](/source/Darlington) 3 miles* with hand pointing east.[3][4]

The '***was authorised by the [Merrybent and Darlington Railway Act 1866](/source/Merrybent_and_Darlington_Railway_Act_1866) ([29 & 30 Vict.](/source/29_%26_30_Vict.) c. lxxv)It was built in 1870 as a [branch line](/source/Branch_line) which left the [Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway](/source/Darlington_and_Barnard_Castle_Railway) near Newton Lane (Branksome) Darlington to carry limestone from [Barton Quarry](/source/Barton_Quarry) within the Low Merrybent estate near [Scotch Corner](/source/Scotch_Corner) [North Yorkshire](/source/North_Yorkshire).[1] It was closed by the '*** ([41 & 42 Vict.](/source/41_%26_42_Vict.) c. xciii) when the company went bankrupt, but the line and quarries were re-opened by [North Eastern Railway](/source/North_Eastern_Railway_(UK)) in 1890.[2][5] A coal depot was opened where the railway (now named The Merrybent Branch) passed under the A67 road on the outskirts of Darlington and this became Merrybent Depot. A market garden grew up alongside this, known as Merrybent Nursery. In the 20th century, houses began to grow around these facilities which gradually extended west. The village is hence named after the original terminus of the railway line some six miles south of its actual location. The railway was abandoned in 1938, and later dismantled.[1]

The [A1](/source/A1_road_(Great_Britain)), built 1963–1965,[6] now follows the old rail [trackbed](/source/Trackbed) as far as Barton quarries.[2][5] The A1 was first proposed in 1929 but postponed due to the 1930s [recession](/source/Great_Depression) and [World War II](/source/World_War_II).[7] After the Merrybent railway was abandoned, the road plan was associated with the [Darlington bypass](/source/A66_road) as a motorway in 1949, and was moved eastwards onto the old trackway in 1950. After various planning adjustments, construction of this stretch of the A1 started officially by Dowsett Engineering Ltd. of [Gateshead](/source/Gateshead) on 6 May 1963.[1] Peak production occurred in 1964, involving up to 800 men, and the road was opened on 14 May 1965 at a final cost of £6.5 million.[7] Because the road followed the rail trackway, the only property affected on this part of the A1, apart from the station house at [Barton](/source/Barton,_North_Yorkshire), was the [glasshouses](/source/Greenhouse) at Merrybent Nurseries.[1]

### Settlement

The [Ordnance Survey](/source/Ordnance_Survey) map of 1912–1913 shows the area almost without buildings.[8] During [World War II](/source/World_War_II) there were landgirls from the [Women's Land Army](/source/Women's_Land_Army) working at Merrybent Nurseries. There were 56 [glasshouses](/source/Greenhouse) owned by the [Co-operative Society](/source/The_Co-operative_brand); the girls grew tomatoes, controlled the rats, and were [billeted](/source/Billet) in [Darlington](/source/Darlington).[9]

## Merrybent today

The present village was built mostly in the 20th century, and in 2008–2009 new houses cost £95−320k.[10] A [strategic](/source/Strategic_planning) [greenfield](/source/Greenfield_land) [building site](/source/Construction) was identified on fields at the south-east of Merrybent by [Darlington Borough Council](/source/Darlington_(borough)) in 2009.[11] There is no school here, but the village is on the [Barnard Castle School](/source/Barnard_Castle_School) bus route.[12] The [Teesdale Way](/source/Teesdale_Way) passes along the north bank of the meandering [River Tees](/source/River_Tees) to the south of the village.[13]

## References

1. ["The motorway archive"](http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/a1durdarl.htm). *Region: North East A1(M) & A66(M). The Darlington By-Pass motorway (J56 to J59)*. Motorway Archive Trust. Retrieved 8 April 2010.[dead link]

1. Lloyd, Chris (15 June 2005). ["Encyclopedia.com"](http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-10278095.html). *Echo memories: End of the line at Merrybent.*. Northern Echo. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. ["Keys to the past"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110616202320/http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=D11566). *Milepost in front of number 12 (cedar ridge); Listed building (Merrybent)*. DCC. 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=D11566) on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. Lloyd, Chris (27 October 2009). ["Northern Echo"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120928232713/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/blogs/staff/echomemories/4704898.Existence_proved_of_the_yeti_of_mileys/). *Existence proved of the yeti of mileys*. Archived from [the original](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/blogs/staff/echomemories/4704898.Existence_proved_of_the_yeti_of_mileys/) on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. ["History of railways in County Durham"](http://sites.google.com/site/waggonways/history-durham). *Iron railways*. 4 October 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. Lloyd, Chris (2 December 2009). ["The Northern Echo"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120929121407/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/history/books/4773185.Read_all_about_it/). *The Motorway Achievement: Building the Network in the North-East of England, by FA Sims*. Archived from [the original](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/history/books/4773185.Read_all_about_it/) on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. Lloyd, Chris (12 October 2009). ["The Northern Echo"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120929121532/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/blogs/staff/echomemories/4676881.Of_policemen_and_motorways/). *Darlington: Of policemen, motorways and town centre street names*. Newsquest Media Group. Archived from [the original](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/blogs/staff/echomemories/4676881.Of_policemen_and_motorways/) on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2010.

1. ["Francis Frith"](http://www.francisfrith.com/merrybent/maps/). *Old maps of Merrybent*. 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. Yeadon, Hazel (30 December 2005). ["BBC"](https://archive.today/20130419193859/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/80/a8132780.shtml). *WW2 people's war*. Archived from [the original](http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/80/a8132780.shtml) on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. ["House prices"](http://www.houseprices.co.uk/merrybent-drive-merrybent-darlington-dl2/). *Merrybent Drive Merrybent Darlington DL2*. 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. ["Darlington Borough Council"](http://www.darlington.gov.uk/dar_public/documents/Development%20and%20Environment/Development%20and%20Regeneration/Planning%20Services/Policy/SHLAA/dec09/Appendix_3f.pdf). *Strategic housing land availability assessment: Merrybent and High Coniscliffe*. DBC. September 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2010.

1. ["Barnard Castle coeducational and day boarding school"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100327032901/http://www.barnardcastleschool.org.uk/admissions-bus-routes.asp). *Bus routes for day pupils*. 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.barnardcastleschool.org.uk/admissions-bus-routes.asp) on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

1. ["Walks around the borough of Darlington"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716143904/http://www.darlington.gov.uk/dar_public/documents/Development%20and%20Environment/Countryside/coniscliffemoorandteesdaleway.pdf). *No. 5: Coniscliffe Moor and Teesdale Way (leaflet)*. Darlington Borough Council. 2 August 1999. Archived from [the original](http://www.darlington.gov.uk/dar_public/documents/Development%20and%20Environment/Countryside/coniscliffemoorandteesdaleway.pdf) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2010.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Merrybent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrybent) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrybent?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.