Yarm-on-Tees Yarm
Market town andcivil parish
Yarm Town Hall Hope House, believed to be the oldest building in Yarm Yarm Viaduct spanning the town Residential houses around the old market area Yarm High Street
Yarm-on-Tees Location withinNorth Yorkshire
Population	9,600 (small town, 2021 census)[1]
OS grid reference	NZ416124
Civil parish	Yarm
Unitary authority	Stockton-on-Tees
Ceremonial county	North Yorkshire
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	YARM
Postcode district	TS15
Dialling code	01642
Police	Cleveland
Fire	Cleveland
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Stockton West
Website	www.YarmTC.org
List of places UK England Yorkshire 54°30′N1°21′W / 54.5°N 1.35°W /54.5; -1.35

Yarm-on-Tees, or simplyYarm, is amarket town inNorth Yorkshire, England. It lies on ameander of theRiver Tees, extending south-east to theRiver Leven and south to the village ofKirklevington. Acivil parish in theBorough of Stockton-on-Tees, Yarm is near the towns ofStockton-on-Tees, 5 miles (8.0 km) to its northeast, andDarlington, 11 miles (18 km) to its west.

Yarm is known for its high street, voted Britain's best in a 2007BBC Breakfast poll, and theYarm Viaduct which spans across the town. It is also known locally for its annualfunfair.

The nameYarm is thought to be derived from theOld Englishgearum, dative plural ofgear, 'pool for catching fish' (source of the modern dialect wordyair with the same meaning), hence 'at the place of the fish pools'.^[2] Yarm was first mentioned in theDomesday Book of 1086, and was originally achapelry in theKirklevington parish in theNorth Riding of Yorkshire; it later became a parish in its own right.^[3]

TheYarm helmet is ac. 10th-centuryViking Agehelmet that was found in Yarm. It is the first relatively completeAnglo-Scandinavian helmet found in Britain and only the second Viking helmet discovered in north-west Europe. It is displayed nearby inPreston Park Museum,Preston-on-Tees.^[4]

Dominican Friars settled in Yarm about 1286, and maintained a friary and a hospital in the town, until 1583. Their memory is preserved in the names of Friarage and Spital Bank.^[5] The Friarage was built on top of the cellars of a Dominican friary in 1770, for the Meynell family.^[6] It is now at the centre ofYarm School.

Bishop Skirlaw ofDurham built a stone bridge, which still stands, across the Tees in 1400. An iron replacement was built in 1805, but it fell down in 1806. For many years, Yarm was at the tidal limit and head of navigation on theRiver Tees.^[7]

On 1 February 1643, during theFirst English Civil War, a smallRoundhead force attempted to halt the progress of a large waggon-train of arms, landed atTynemouth and destined to bolster the Royalist war effort in Yorkshire and beyond. Heavily outnumbered and outflanked by Royalist ford crossings, the Parliamentarians were quickly routed and the Royalists gained the bridge, crossing into Yorkshire.^[8]

On 12 February 1821, at theGeorge & Dragon Inn, the meeting was held that pressed for the third and successful attempt for a Bill to give permission to build theStockton & Darlington Railway, the world's first public railway.^[9]

In 1890, Bulmer & Co listed twelveinns in Yarm: Black Bull, Cross Keys, Crown Inn, Fleece, George and Dragon, Green Tree, Ketton Ox, Lord Nelson, Red Lion, Three Tuns, Tom Brown, and Union. Also listed was Cross Keys beside the Leven Bridge.^[10]

In the 13th century, Yarm was classed as a borough, but this status did not persist. It formed part of theStokesley Rural District under theLocal Government Act 1894, and remained so until 1 April 1974 when, under theLocal Government Act 1972, it became part of thedistrict of Stockton-on-Tees in the new non-metropolitancounty of Cleveland. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 under theBanham Review, with Stockton-on-Tees becoming aunitary authority.^[11]

In January 2025, the Town Hall clock-winder, 76-year-old Graham Tebbs, retired after 32 years of manual clock-winding. The clock mechanism was now wound electrically.^[12]

Yarm is bordered by two rivers, theRiver Tees to the north, and theRiver Leven to the east. The Leven is atributary of the Tees.^[13] Yarm was once the highest port on the Tees.^[14]

Two road bridges cross the river,Yarm Bridge crossing from the High Street toEaglescliffe, which is Grade II* listed,^[15] and Leven Bridge crossing the Leven between Yarm andLow Leven, which is Grade II listed.^[16] On 26 February 2010, Leven Bridge was closed after cracks appeared in it.^[17] Repairs took less time than expected, and the bridge re-opened on 18 June 2010.^[18]

Yarm Town Hall in the High Street was built in 1710 byThomas Belasyse, 3rd Viscount Fauconberg who wasLord of the Manor. In a poll taken for theBBC's Breakfast programme on 19 January 2007, Yarm's High Street was voted the 'Best High Street':^[19] the street and its cobbled parking areas is fronted by manyGeorgian-style old buildings, with their red pantile roofs.

TheA67, which runs through High Street was previously classified as the A19 until a dual carriageway was built in the 1970s, about three miles (five kilometres) south of the town near the village ofCrathorne.^[20] When the A19 ran through High Street, it was heavily congested. The road was used by heavy goods traffic as a shortcut toTeesside International Airport.^[21] The classification of the road as an 'A'-road meant that it was difficult to place a ban on heavy goods vehicles; however the town council made efforts to come up with voluntary agreements with many haulage firms^[21] until 2012, when all HGV traffic was banned from the route through Yarm and Eaglescliffe.^[22]

The Rookery is a public area by the River Tees situated at the bottom of Goose Pasture. Theash,sycamore andlime woodland is about 200 years old and owned by Yarm Town Council.^[23] In 2002, a walkway was constructed around the wood to celebrate theGolden Jubilee ofQueen Elizabeth II. Within the woodland, close to the river,BMX riders have created numerous dirt ramps which are regularly used during summer months.

Areas of Yarm include the housing estatesLevendale in the southeast and Leven Park in the south.

Yarm is part of theStockton South constituency, currently represented in theHouse of Commons byMatt Vickers of theConservative Party. From1997 to 2010, the constituency was represented byDari Taylor of theLabour Party.^[24] In2010, the seat was won by ConservativeJames Wharton who held the seat until he was defeated by Labour'sPaul Williams in2017, who in turn was defeated by Vickers in2019.

The Yarm ward, includingKirklevington, is currently represented by three Conservative Partycouncillors onStockton Borough Council.

Yarm has atown council which is responsible for certain aspects of the town's administration, includingallotments and the cemetery. It meets once a month at thetown hall.^[25]

The council has eleven seats with a chairman who, for ceremonial purposes, is 'Mayor'. The Standing Orders of the Council restrict the chairman's period of office to two years in any four-year period. The 2015 chairman was Cllr Jason Hadlow.^[26] Elections for the council are held every four years.

TheYarm railway station, opened in 1996, is located on Green Lane nearConyers' School, about one mile (1.5 kilometres) south of Yarm High Street. Yarm is also serviced by theEaglescliffe railway station.

The 2,280-foot-long (690 m) railwayviaduct, spanning across the town, was built between 1849 and 1851 for theLeeds Northern Railway Company. Designed byThomas Grainger and John Bourne, it comprises seven million bricks and 43 arches, with the two that span the River Tees beingskewed stone.^[27][28]

Teesside International Airport, located between Yarm and Darlington, offers domestic and international flights.

The high street of Yarm is currently numbered as the A67 (formerly A19). North of Yarm High Street leads to a fork just outside the high street with the A135 Yarm Road heading north-east, toStockton-on-Tees, and A67/Durham Road going north-west, the A67 goes to the airport andDarlington. Durham Road goes to the A19, this name separation is through a roundabout inEaglescliffe.

The south of the high street links to the current A19. It also forks west as B1265 Green Lane leading to the A167 andNorthallerton. The roundabout A1044 Low Lane and heads east to the Blue Bell roundabout inMiddlesbrough and west towardsRichmond.

Yarm Parish Church is theAnglican parish church, dedicated toSt Mary Magdalene. It is situated on West Street, where there has been a church on the site since at least the 9th century. It was last rebuilt from the remains of the second, Norman, church in 1730. It is a Grade II* listed building.^[29]TheRoman Catholic (RC) church ofSs Mary and Romuald, built in 1860, is at the south end of High Street. It is a Grade II listed building.^[30]Yarm Methodist Church, anoctagonal church built in 1763, is on Chapel Yard, on the east side of the town by the river, and is the oldest octagonal church in current use in Methodism.^[31] It is a Grade II listed building.^[32]

Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC North East and Cumbria andITV Tyne Tees, the local television stationTalkTeesside also broadcasts to the area. Television signals are received from theBilsdale TV transmitter.^[33] Local radio stations areBBC Radio Tees,Heart North East,Capital North East,Smooth North East,Greatest Hits Radio Teesside,Hits Radio Teesside and CVFM Radio, a community based radio station which broadcast from nearbyMiddlesbrough.^[34] The town is served by the local newspapers,TeessideLiveandThe Northern Echo.^[35]

Yarm Rugby Club is based at Wass Way, Eaglescliffe. The club has grown significantly since forming in February 1998. They run teams and training sessions for most ages from youth to seniors. Currently playing inDurham/Northumberland 3. Yarm Wolves is a team of theNorth East Rugby League.

Yarm Cricket Club is situated on Leven Road, and has been in existence since 1814. It runs three senior teams in theNorth Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League, and four junior sides – under 11s, under 13s, under 15s and under 17s – who all play competitive cricket throughout the season. In recent years,^[when?] Yarm's third team, who play on a Sunday, have been the most successful team in the club, winning the NYSD Sunday Division 1 on several occasions, along with the League and Cup double in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Yarm and Eaglescliffe FC play in theNorthern Football League, it was established in 2017. Other sports facilities within Yarm include 4G football pitch, located at Conyers' School. This facility is operated by the Go-Sport group and has been the home ground for local adult and youth football clubs, including Yarm FC and Yarm Town Juniors. In 2016, the Go-Sport group hosted an FA-accredited 11-a-side Midweek Football League, contested by various local clubs, including TIBS F.C. from Thornaby and Ingleby Barwick. The winners of this inaugural trophy were L&H F.C., who had a 3–1 victory in the final.^[36]

A charter to hold a weekly market was granted by King John in 1207. It is held on the second Sunday of each month.^[37] Themarket charter gave Yarm its historic status as a town.

A funfair is held in High Street in the third week in October. The funfair tradition evolved from a historic cheese and livestock trading fair.^[38]

The Princess Alexandra Auditorium is a 750-seat venue opened in 2012 as a part ofYarm School’s redevelopment. A smaller Friarage Theatre is also on the site, with a 140-seat capacity.^[39][40]

There are three primary schools in the town:

• Levendale (single form entry)
• Yarm Primary School^[41] (two form entry)
• Layfield Primary School^[42] (single form entry)

Secondary education is provided atConyers' School, and the town is home to the independentYarm School.

Yarm istwinned with the towns ofVernouillet, France andSchwalbach am Taunus, Germany.^[43][44] On 2 July 2005, two trees were planted to the north of the town hall to mark the 20th anniversary of the twinning between Yarm and the two towns.^{[citation needed]}

• Tom Brown, hero of theBattle of Dettingen and the last man to be knighted on the battlefield. His house survives on the High Street and dates from around 1480, the oldest standing dwelling in the former County of Cleveland^[45]
• Graham Farrow, playwright and screenwriter^[46]
• Janick Gers,Iron Maiden guitarist^[47]

• Winn, Christopher (2010).I Never Knew That About Yorkshire. London: Random House.ISBN 978-0-09-193313-5.

• Media related toYarm at Wikimedia Commons
• Yarm travel guide from Wikivoyage

• Yarm
• Market towns in North Yorkshire
• Towns in North Yorkshire
• Civil parishes in North Yorkshire
• Places in the Tees Valley
• Borough of Stockton-on-Tees

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