New village bench is bridge to its past

A new bench in a Teesdale village is a bridge to the past.

Visitors to Whorlton, as well as locals, now have a gleaming seat outside the village hall made from parts of the old bridge.

A plaque on the backrest reads: “This bench was made for Whorlton and Westwick Parish Council using reclaimed timbers from the original Whorlton suspension chain bridge to commemorate major restoration works completed in 2026 carried out by VolkerLaser for Durham County Council.”

The timber is recycled planks of ekki, the extremely hard-wearing wood once used as the bridge carriageway.

The project is the result of team effort, as Cllr George Stastny, chairman of the parish council – the catalyst for the project along with Durham County Council – pointed out.

“A lot of people helped to make this happen,” he said. “VolkerLaser painted the metal legs free of charge using the same paint that has been used for the bridge.

“Neile Fox, from East Shaws Farm, transported the timber from the site, cleaned it and took it to Atkinsons Joiners, in Barnard Castle.

“Atkinsons did a very good job cutting the timber very quickly for us because it was a very difficult wood to work with.”

County councillor Jill Campbell, who represents Lower Teesdale, was able to provide funding of £321 that enabled the bench to be manufactured and installed.

Mary Stastny of Whorlton Village Community Association helped prepare the groundworks for the bench and Annalisa Ward, Durham County Council’s community development officer, was an important link between the authority, VolkerLaser and the parish council.