Sir, - Harry Mead's very interesting article about Arthur H Norway's book Highways and Byways in Yorkshire (D&S, Feb 20) asked for information about the derivation of the "coward of Barney Castle".

As I understand it, this coward was Sir George Bowes (1527-80) of Streatlam Castle. He supported Queen Elizabeth I's anti-Catholic persecutions which caused the Rising of the North of 1569. His neighbour, though, in Raby Castle, was Charles Neville, the Earl of Westmoreland, who was one of the leaders of the rebellion. Neville marched from Raby to Durham Cathedral where he burnt some Protestant books and conducted a Catholic service.

Sir George feared that Neville would turn on him next, so he fled Streatlam and barricaded himself inside Barnard Castle(above). Neville indeed captured Streatlam and on December 3, laid seige to Barnard Castle.

Sir George found himself out-numbered and out-gunned, and so did what any sensible person would: he stayed put. As the days went by, Neville's men outside the castle walls got rather bored and so started inventing playground rhymes with which to taunt Sir George inside. Their favourite, apparently, was: "A coward, a coward of Barney Castle Daren't come out to fight a battle."

By December 14, Sir George had had enough of the bad rhyming scheme, and surrendered. Rather surprisingly, Neville did no more than send him packing with a flea in his ear, so Sir George rushed to Croft Bridge where, on December 17, he met up with the Queen's leader, the Earl of Sussex. Sussex had 7,000 men, and the Earl of Warwick was fast approaching with 12,000. They moved from Croft towards Darlington, and in the face of such large armies Neville's rebels fled, melting in cowardly fashion into the anonymity of the northern dales.

CHRIS LLOYD

Croft,

Darlington.