Passing time in Dracula's castle

Today, Chris Lloyd looks at what is on offer in Darlington, and gives a glimpse into the history of one of our noisy neighbours.

ONLY the shadows cast by the beechwood hands on the white glass seem to be moving. The cogs, the wheels, the weights and the gears are creeping so slowly that they seem to be standing still.

But, from down below, comes a solemn click as the mechanism prepares itself, and then the bells are struck with a reverberating rumble that rocks the tower.

Another hour has passed.

It is a sound that has reminded generations of Darlington people of the passage of time for nearly 140 years and, this weekend, a handful of people have the chance to climb the 100 steep stairs from High Row to witness time in motion.

The clock tower is one of 250 buildings in the North-East taking part in the Heritage Open Days, which allow people inside the historic buildings they walk by every day.

Joseph Pease, whose family owned most of south Durham's railways and coalmines, decided the town needed a clock tower after admiring one on a continental visit. By happy coincidence, the renowned architect Alfred Waterhouse was designing a covered market - the old one, open to the smoke churned out by Mr Pease's industrial enterprises, was thought to be too grubby to be healthy - and the two projects were combined.

Mr Pease, whose statue stands at the northern end of High Row admiring his tower to the south, paid nearly £1,000 for the bells and the clock.

Work started in May 1862 and the first bells were hoisted to the top of the tower on July 21, 1864.

The Darlington Telegraph reported: "The soundness and quality of the metal was tested, the sonorous sounds quite startling the residents in the peaceful locality of the hall."

The five bells in the tower, plus two in St Cuthbert's that were, for some reason, not up to the standards Mr Pease set for his tower, are all inscribed "Cast by John Warner and Sons, London, 1863".

Mr Warner was an ironfounder in neighbouring Norton until he became a national figure in 1856 by volunteering to cast a bell for London that was so large it would become known as Big Ben.

Darlington's original clockface was red and the hands were golden. Even with gas-lighting, some of which was green so the tower was nicknamed Dracula's castle, townspeople on the street below were unable to tell the time.

So, with Mr Pease's agreement, the white face that we see today was put up.

The clock that turns the hands and rings the bells is one of only four in the country that was made by Thomas Cooke of York.

Originally, it was hand-wound three times a week, the two lead weights each requiring 70 turns on a huge handle to drag them back to the top of the tower.

Markets manager Peter Wilson said: "I took over in February 1973 from the old clockwinder, Bob Allan.

"He was an oldish chap, looked completely unfit with a big red hooter. Here was I, a young, fit bloke, and I set off at it like a bull at a gate. After 20 turns I was knackered. I had to learn all about Bob's economy of effort."

In 1977, the clock was electrified and Mr Wilson, who will be conducting tours on Sunday, laments the change. He said: "I felt like I was an integral part of the town's heritage."

Although the tours are fully booked, plenty of other fascinating pieces of the town's heritage remain to be explored this weekend.

Read tomorrow's Northern Echo as we focus on open days in another part of the region. Find out how you can see inside a former leper house, a Second World War air raid shelter, look around the oldest purpose-built prison in England, and how you can see some Egyptian mummies.

English Heritage Open Days in Darlington

Crown Street

Library Tours

Guided tours of the Crown Street Library building, including some of the basement areas. The original 1885 structure was extended in 1933.

Tours Friday and Saturday 2pm, next Monday 2pm and 5.30pm. Book on (01325) 388 666. Maximum 12 people per tour. Booking required.

Darlington Arts Centre

Guided tours of Darlington Arts Centre, in Vane Terrace, giving the history of the building to its current use. The centre is a superb Victorian building.

Tours Saturday and Sunday 10am and 2pm. Booking required on (01325) 388 666.

Darlington Civic Theatre

Guided tours of the 1907 Edwardian Civic Theatre, in Parkgate. To include history of theatre in Darlington and Civic Theatre, also backstage and technical information.

Tours Saturday and Sunday 10am and 2pm. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Paid-for parking at Park Place car park.

Darlington Clock Tower

A unique opportunity to gain a bird's eye view of Darlington and surrounding countryside. Bells cast by Warner and Sons, which also cast Big Ben. Meet at the base of the tower in the covered market in West Row.

Tours Sunday 10am, 10.30am, 11am, 11.30am, 1pm, 1.30pm, 2pm, 2.30pm. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Maximum four people per tour. No children under five.

Darlington County Court

Built in Italian Renaissance style in 1869, Darlington County Court, in Coniscliffe Road, represents a period town court building. Come visit unrestricted areas. Meet at the court public entrance.

Tours Saturday 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Maximum six people per tour.

Darlington Heroes Heritage Walks

Guided heritage walks by renowned local historian George Flynn to commemorate the two Victoria Cross Bradford Brothers, and history of Darlington (War) Memorial Hospital.

Meet at the Cenotaph in front of Darlington Memorial Hospital, Hollyhurst Road. Tours 11am and 2pm on Monday.

Darlington Railway Centre and Museum

Museum about the history of railways in Darlington and the North-East. Housed in original Stockton and Darlington Railway station of 1842, in North Road. See Stephenson's Locomotion on display.

Tours Saturday 11am, Sun 11am and 2pm. Book (01325) 388 666. Maximum 25 people per tour. Booking required.

Elm Ridge Methodist Church

Mellow stone Quaker mansion built in Carmel Road South, behind Elm Ridge Garden Centre, in 1867 for John Pease, eldest son of Edward Pease, the pioneer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The house was converted into a Methodist church in the early 1900s.

Tours Saturday 11am to 3pm. Tea, coffee and biscuits.

Friends (Quaker) Meeting House and Burial Ground

The meeting house, at 6 Skinnergate, has been in Darlington since 1678 but has been developed over the years. The front was designed by Joshua Sparkes and built in 1839. Friends prominent in the growth of Darlington's industries, education and the promotion of peace are buried in the burial ground.

Tours Friday and next Monday 10am to noon (school only). Saturday 2pm to 5pm. For disabled access, enter at rear.

Heritage Bus Tour Number One

Bus tour in vintage vehicle, taking in Elm Ridge Church, a former Quaker mansion and Tees Cottage Pumping Station, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with optional lunch.

Tour Saturday 10am to 3.30pm. Meet 9.45am at the Old Bus Station, Feethams. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Maximum 35 people per tour.

Heritage Bus Tour Number Two

Bus tour in vintage vehicle taking in Tees Cottage Pumping Station, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with optional lunch, then Darlington Railway Centre and Museum.

Tour Saturday 10.45am to 3.30pm. Meet 10.45am at the Old Bus Station, Feethams. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Maximum 35 people.

Heritage Bus Tour Number Three

Bus tour in vintage vehicle taking in majestic Grade A1 Walworth Castle with optional carvery lunch and heritage lecture at St Michael's Church, Heighington.

Tour Sunday 10.30am to 4.30pm. Meet at 10.30am at Old Bus Station, Feethams. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Maximum 35 people, lunch must be booked.

Heritage Bus Tour Number Four

Bus tour taking in tours of Grade II-listed country house Mowden Hall, with optional lunch, then Tees Cottage Pumping Station, a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Tour Sunday 10.45am to 3.50pm. Meet 10.45am at the Old Bus Station, Feethams. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Maximum 31 people. Lunch must be booked.

King's Head Hotel

Originally a 1611 coaching inn, the King's Head, at 9-12 Priestgate, was rebuilt in 1893 by Hoskins and housed the first railway offices in the world.

Tours Friday, Saturday, Sunday, next Monday 2pm. Booking required on (01325) 380 222.

Mowden Old Hall

A Grade II-listed country house in Staindrop Road built in 1881 for a member of the Pease family, a prominent Darlington Quaker family. It was designed by Alfred Waterhouse.

Tours on the hour from noon to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday (no tour at 2pm on Sunday). Entrance via Barnes Road.

Northgate United Reformed Church

Flower festival, live organ music on Saturday, guided mystery tours (every day except Sunday) of the building, in Northgate, which has some interesting features. Worship and refreshments on Sunday.

Visits Friday 2pm to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 3pm, Sunday 10am to 1pm, Monday 10am to 2pm. Free parking for one hour in Northgate.

St Andrew's Church

An ancient Norman Church listed Grade A, with Saxon relics, two miles north-east of Darlington on the B6279. The oldest church in Darlington. Very rare woodwork designed by the Right Reverend Cosin, and ancient brasses.

Visits Friday and next Monday 10am to 4pm, and 7pm to 9pm. Saturday 10am to 2pm. Sunday 2pm to 4.30pm. Guided tours every two hours. Parking across the road.

St Cuthbert's Church Belfry Tours

A Grade I-listed building in the Market Place, begun in 1180 by Bishop Puiset, is fondly known as The Lady of the North. Boasting Norman foundations, 14th-Century belfry, 15th-Century misericords and John Dobbin's 19th-Century mosaic reredos.

Tours Sunday 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm and 3.30pm. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Maximum 12 people per tour.

St Cuthbert's Church

Open Doors, Tours and Treasure Hunt

A Grade I-listed building in the Market Place, begun in 1180 by Bishop Puiset, is fondly known as The Lady of the North. Boasting Norman foundations, 14th-Century belfry, 15th-Century misericords and John Dobbin's 19th-Century mosaic reredos.

Tours Saturday 2pm and 2pm. Treasure hunt throughout the afternoon. Friday and next Monday 11am to 2pm. Saturday 11am to 4pm. Sunday noon to 4pm. Book tour and treasure hunt on (01325) 388 666. Parking at Town Hall for 80p an hour.

St Michael's Church

Grade I-listed building, on the green in the centre of Heighington, with interpretive material and heritage.

Lecture at 3pm on Sunday. Visits Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 2pm to 5pm.

Stockton and Darlington Railway Heritage Walk

Guided heritage walk by renowned local historian George Flynn of Darlington Railway Centre and Museum and the world's first railway sites.

Saturday 2pm to 4pm. Meet 2pm at Darlington Market Cross.

Tees Cottage

Pumping Station

Scheduled Ancient Monument in Coniscliffe Road two miles west of town centre on A67. Victorian and Edwardian waterworks with fine buildings and two large historic pumping engines in full working order.

Tours hourly on Saturday from 10am to 5pm (except 1pm and 2pm). Tours hourly on Sunday from 10am to 5pm (except 11am). Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Photography allowed, but no tripods.

Darlington Town Hall

A guided tour of the Town Hall, off the Market Place, including the council chamber and mayor's parlour. Also includes viewing of mayor's chains, civic regalia and silver collection.

Tours Friday and next Monday at 10am and 2pm. Tour at 10am on Saturday. Meet reception. Booking required on (01325) 388 666.

Walworth Castle Hotel

12th-Century castle set in 18 acres of lawns and woodlands at Walworth. Original features include 16th-Century coving, arrow slits, four-poster beds and turrets.

Tour Friday at 11am. Booking required on (01325) 388 666. Carvery lunch at 1pm is optional and must be booked.