Announcement of the Appointment of Revd Canon Eileen Harrop as Priest-in-Charge of Ingleton St John the Evangelist and Staindrop St Mary

Bishop Paul is delighted to announce that Revd Canon Eileen Harrop has been appointed Priest-in-Charge of Ingleton St John the Evangelist and Staindrop St Mary. Eileen will continue to serve Gainford St Mary and Winston St Andrew, however she will be laying down her half time role as Entrepreneur Priest in Bishop Auckland in order to now serve Staindrop and Ingleton. It has for some years been part of the Barnard Castle Deanery Plan for the four parishes to be served by one full-time Priest-in-Charge. Eileen is excited about the opportunities to proclaim the Gospel and share the love of Christ in these parishes. She was licensed in December 2022.

(December 2022)

Do remember the alternate service from the Church of England is a freephone telephone service offering music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services at the end of a telephone line for those without broadband.

Nestled in the valley between Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle on the main A688, Staindrop has been described as “quite simply one of the prettiest villages in County Durham.”  It stands as one of the gateways into Teesdale, with its long village greens making it a typical rural Durham village.  The village is also one of great antiquity with some evidence of neolithic activity, but it gained importance in the time of King Canute when he gave his manor at Staindrop and its surrounding ‘appendages’ (hamlets and houses) to the newly founded priory at Durham Cathedral in 1031.

The village has a number of businesses operating and two schools, the Church of England Primary school is about 100 metres from the church and the secondary school ‘Staindrop Academy’ which lies at the western extremity of the village.

The church itself stands at what was once the Easternmost end of the village next to the Langley Beck, just past the magnificent Raby Castle.

It is a mediaeval gem, based on an 8th Century Saxon foundation with some of the earlier Saxon churches incorporated into the ‘newer’ building.