Q: Please can you give me some information on how Castle Eden gets its name? Was there ever a castle there? - Scott Barnes, Darlington

A: The Castle at Castle Eden is still there. It is a large house and was built on the site of an earlier manor that may have been known as the castle. The Burdon family purchased the manor house from William Bromley in 1757 and the site has a long history. It was one of two places in the neighbourhood called Eden or, in earlier times, Yoden.

The village of Yoden is a lost medieval village which lies somewhere near the centre of the modern town of Peterlee. Castle Eden lies close to the coastal valley called Castle Eden Dene and was originally the settlement of South Yoden. The Yodens were once one property but South Yoden was separated from Yoden by a certain Adfrid around 900 AD and is thought to have been defended against the Danes.

The present house, called Castle Eden, was built by the first Rowland Burdon (the first of many of that name to live here), as a family residence in the late 18th Century. It is built in the style of a mock castle. Sir John Soane probably made modifications to the building. The property is now in private hands and is regarded by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.

A: Further to your recent Burning Question on fairy rings in North Yorkshire near Lealholm, the two dales Great Fryup and Little Fryup form almost a horsehoe . In the middle is a flat area called Fairy Cross Plain. There is a story associated with the fairy rings that grow here. A young lad from Lealholm, called Tom, was dismissive of the superstition that it was an insult to the fairies to run nine times "widdershins" (anti-clockwise) around such a ring. He performed this act and on the final lap was dragged down to the fairy underworld where he was made a captive slave to the fairy folk. He escaped with the help of a fairy princess who felt sorry for him. She showed him the location of a piece of iron stone. As no fairy can withstand the power of iron he was able to fend them off and escape. - Vic Wood, Yearby near Redcar.

Q: What is the difference between a Liger and Tigon. I understand that they are both crosses between Tigers and Lions. - Bill Hutchinson, Chester-le-Street.

A: Ligers and tigons do not occur in the wild, as their habitats do not extensively cross over and their lifestyles are such that they avoid each other. Ligers and tigons are therefore zoo-bred. Both ligers and tigons are a result of artificial insemination.

A liger is a cross between a lion and a tigress, while a tigon is a cross between tiger and a lioness. Ligers are generally bigger than lions and tigers while tigons are generally smaller. Both cross-bred species are rarely fertile. Ligers and tigers both usually display tiger stripes but generally display more lion features than tiger. In 1985 the Indian government banned such cross-breeding .

* If you have a Burning Question, or can improve on any of the answers above, please write to Burning Questions, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF

Published: Monday, April 30, 2001