Barnard Castle was a county constituency centred on the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 1885 general election and abolished for the 1950 general election. Boundaries 1885–1918 The Sessional Divisions of Barnard Castle and Staindrop, Stanhope (except the parishes of Hunstanworth and Edmondbyers) and Wolsingham, and part of the Sessional Division of Bishop Auckland. The constituency was created for the 1885 general election by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as one of eight new single-member divisions of the county of Durham, replacing the two 2-member seats of North Durham and South Durham. See map on Vision of Britain website. The seat was located in the west of County Durham, in North East England. To the north of the constituency (moving from west to east) were the Northumberland division of Hexham and then North West Durham. To the east (moving from north to south) were Mid Durham, Bishop Auckland and South East Durham. To the south was Richmond (Yorks). To the west of the constituency (moving from south to north) were the Westmorland divisions of Appleby and Kendal. 1918–1950 The Urban Districts of Barnard Castle and Stanhope; the Rural Districts of Barnard Castle and Weardale; and parts of the Rural Districts of Auckland and Lanchester. The constituency was expanded northwards, absorbing the western part of the abolished North West Durham seat (Lanchester). Crook and Tow Law were added to the new constituency of Spennymoor and a small area in the east was transferred to Bishop Auckland. Abolition In 1950 the Barnard Castle urban and rural districts were included in the Bishop Auckland constituency. Other parts of the former constituency returned to the re-established North West Durham seat. Members of Parliament Election results Elections in the 1880s Elections in the 1890s Elections in the 1900s Elections in the 1910s Elections in the 1920s Elections in the 1930s Election in the 1940s See also History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Durham References Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972) Notes Sources Parliamentary constituencies in County Durham (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950 Barnard Castle