Kmflett's Blog

You may have seen on social media various historic references to Barnard Castle which appear to relate to Dominic
Cummings mysterious journey there on Easter Sunday.

All the references come from a collection of north-east England folklore gathered by Michael Denham between
1846 and 1859 and published as the Denham Tracts in 1860.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denham_Tracts

The whole lot is on-line and not without wider interest to social historians:

https://archive.org/stream/denhamtractscoll01denhuoft/denhamtractscoll01denhuoft_djvu.txt

There are a number of references to Barnard (or Barney) Castle one suggesting that it was known for the
production of gingerbread.

Several others suggest that the use of the term going to Barnard Castle tended to suggest a rather doubtful 
excuse for something.

One that hasnt featured as much relates to someone taking something they could have sold at the market
town of Richmond to Barnard Castle (a fairly short distance away) presumably with the idea of making 
more money. Again the usage is that somethng less than straightforward is going on which certainly fits
Cummings


Barnard Castle. 
1. Carries his coals round by Richmond to sell at Barnard Castle, 

This saying is peculiar to the central and mid-southern 
portions of the county of Durham. It is spoken of a person 
who is guilty of a circumlocutory act.