Barnard Castle Witham Hall

The Hall

The Buildings are now CLOSED for renovations, but we continue to operate in other facilities around the town

The Witham in Barnard Castle has moved to Woodleigh, by the Post Office, while the Witham's building is being renovated. This will take 18 months if things go well. THe Witham are still running nearly all of the usual activities and have also taken on the Tourist Information Point for which the building is well known. The telephone number remains the same - 01833 631107

The Witham Hall is named after Henry Witham of Lartington. He was a benevolent and generous person and withdrew to Edinburgh where he became a distinguished geologist pioneering the study of fossils under the microscope. In 1832 on the death of his mother Henry and his family returned to Lartington and he founded the Barnard Castle Mechanics Institute and assisted in the provision of a Dispensary Society. He died in 1844 and in 1854 the Witham Hall was built by public subscription as a testimonial to him to house Barnard Castle Mechanics Institute and the Dispensary Society. The architect was ‘Green of Newcastle.’ In the beginning the Hall was managed by Trustees, with two other separate management committees for the Mechanics’ Institute and Dispensary. This was complex and ultimately unworkable. Declining income prevented the Trustees from repairing the building. In the early 1980s, the hall was repaired with help from the local authorities, while use was managed first by the YMCA and then by a Witham Hall Community Association, with financial assistance from Durham County Council. The historic organisations still existed. In the late 1990s, all parties merged into one organisation, called The Witham, while ownership of the Hall building passed to the Charity Commission. The Witham is now a registered charity, with individual and group membership.

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Hire Charges: Contact the hall directly Registered Charity Number: 1076111

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