Frank (Frankie) shield -The Barnard castle Hermit Who was the last resident of Barnard castle , a king no , a Duke no , Shall I tell you. The last resident of Bernards castle was Frank Frankie shield -The Barnard castle Hermit . 1856 and in the small Market town of Barnard castle,High up on the Limestone cliffs . The last resident of Bernards castle is wandering around his home in the Baliol/Bowes Tower. This fortress that had been the home of kings and Lords was now the home of one Frank shields. A native of Barnard castle . He had been employed as a Stable boy and Post boy at the Kings Head as a youth of Fifteen . Now an aged man he had been Lord of the castle for more than twenty years.How he had come to be there was speculated upon by the knowing ones (gossips). Some said he had been spurned in love and had taken a vow of celibacy living away from other people. Others told of him Having a disagreement with the world .and wanting to be away from his fellow man . Choosing the castle as his refuge against the world.Dressed in his long Preachers overcoat and sporting a full beard. He could often be found tending his vegetable garden in the inner Bailey of the castle. He grew and cooked his own food, Well versed in the art of cooking , He would often eat his food completely raw! Mutton being the only meat he could not stomach raw. Some clues to where Frank had been in the years leading to his return to the castle . I think can be found in How he lived There .Frank must have had some skills as an engineer . He rigged up a drawbridge type door that would open to the outside but when closed opened up the second window door that looks up the Tees valley.His Bed was the stone slab. He Declared to his friend the editor of the Teesdale mercury if they were to seize upon my fury niter; they wad find mare trouble than common if they wanted to shift it! This Philosopher , Photographer and Historian was no fool .being very good with his hands as well as his mind. He constructed a stove and chimney that worked perfectly , He had made quite the little home for himself. The walls were adorned with Native African spear and shield a sharks skin and some medals hinting at a military past. Views of the finest scenes in all of Teesdale Frank would tell his visitors . Frank or Frankie as he was known about Barney . Considered himself Aristocracy. He was the Duke of all Teesdale and the guardian of its past.Sometimes quick to temper he was known to turn like a disturbed sleeping dog if anyone trespassed in his castle without prior consent. When asked about the Dukes and Barons in his neighbouring Castles Frank had this to say Thy is a better fellow than any o them. What wad they be without their servants and their retainers—why, there isnt yan o them knaws how to cook his awn dinner! What Lord Barnard thought of his neighbour in his castle is lost to history , However he did allow Frank to stay there for just over twenty years . So possibly he liked Frank . So how did Frank make his living ,Well first he would sell vegetables he grew in his garden . However The Hermit was more well known for threw out the land .Were his historical monologues on the history of Barnard castle. Giving visitors a tour of his home .One of his more known visitors one Lewis Carol Author of Alice in Wonderland , Perhaps he get the idea for the white Rabbit while watching the many Rabbits about the castle or maybe Frank himself inspired a certain tea party in his book . Carol himself sharing one of Franks meals. Again we shall never know.People came in there Hundreds to see the Hermit of Barnard castle . The Hermit left the castle sometime around 1874 dates for his comings and goings are hard to find as Frank kept no written records just the reports from the Teesdale mercury .He however did not go far making Egglestone Abbey his home. While there he set about returning the Abbey back to its original state. A task the ministry of works finished in the 1950s. Frank continued to give his tours around the Abbey giving detailed accounts of its past.However should anyone venture to his home the now very old man was known to chase people away covered in a sheet causing more than one women to faint and in my opinion giving rise to another Barnard castle Ghost .(The Mad Monk). While Frank was living at the Abbey and he was setting about his work at the Abbey a new Grand building was being built in Barnard castle. Frank watched this building grow and I think began to question its place in his Dale. Then on the 16th of October 1876 a very strange sight could have been beheld by anyone who was watching the new building project . The Bowes Museum. For The Hermit had ascended the main staircase of this new building and was demanding access to the roof . So as he could determine the effects of this building on his Dale Mr Kyle chief Clerk of the works managed to talk Frank into the Basement and away From the roof . In flash Frank grabbed Mr Kyle by his whiskers and was off again up the stairs . Pretty spry for an old guy who had been living as a Hermit for twenty years ! Upon receiving assistance from others at the works . Mr Kyle managed to Get Frank escorted from the grounds and led to the Market cross where a committee of Teesdale Guardians to take the Hermit into the care of the Town . Which probably meant the last Duke of Teesdale ended up in The Cambridge Workhouse or Newgate Hospital. Frank disappears from history for a couple of years then in around 1881, While visiting his favourite Public House The Burns at the top of the Bank (now Raby D ) He slipped on the stone steps and was found dead at the bottom the next day. He was one of at least three people who suffered this fate . Those steps are still there today , The whereabouts of Frank Frankie Shield - The Barnard castle Hermit is however is unknown to me . The last resident Of Barnard castle . Source Teesdale Mercury archive And a special Thanks to Martin Paul For his efforts in finding the article for me Thank you Pics Frank Shields at Egglestone Abbey by himself in 1856
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 09:10:55 +0000
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