Richmond is a market town and civil
parish on the River
Swale
in North Yorkshire,
England
and is the administrative centre of the district of
Richmondshire
. Situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales
National Park
, it is a popular tourist destination, with a total
population of 8970 .
History
Etymology
The town
of Richemont
in Normandy (now in the
Seine-Maritime
département,
Haute-Normandie
region) was the origin of the name Richmond.
This Richmond was the
eponymous
honour of the
Earls of Richmond
(or
comtes de Richemont), a dignity normally also held by
the
Duke of Brittany from 1136 to
1399.
Early history
Richmond was founded in 1071 by the Norman,
Alan Rufus, on lands granted to him by
William the Conqueror. Richmond Castle,
completed in 1086, consisted of a keep with walls encompassing the
area now known as the Market Place.
The
constitutional ambiguity of Dukes of Brittany as vassals of both
Valois France
(in right of
Brittany) and Plantagenet England (in right of
Richmond) was the source of much tension in Breton and Northern
English history, particularly during the great Breton War of Succession and
Wars of the Roses.
Richmond was eventually willed by
Francis II, Duke of Brittany to
Henry VII of England, whose
grandson
Henry FitzRoy,
1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was independent Richmond's
first duke, to distinguish from an earlier junior status as county.
Richmondshire's unification with the
Principality of Wales and
Kingdom of England into
England and Wales was part of the same
period as the
Laws
in Wales Acts 1535–1542, paralleled by the 1532
Union between Brittany and
France, under
Francis
III, Duke of Brittany. Richmondshire had previous participation
in the
Statute of Rhuddlan,
during which preceding conflict the Lord of Bedale became a
seasoned soldier that aided in his promotion to a Viceroy of Edward
I in the
Scottish Lowlands.
Richmond
has been joined with the Welsh Marches
since the time of Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of
Lennox and Richmond's relations with Mercia
, go back to
the time when Edwin, Earl of
Mercia, held the old manor of Gilling West
(an enclave within Northumbria
), that was moved by the Bretons to
Richmond.
Richmond's inclusion into the royal body politic of England was
opposed by locals for over a century, through numerous plots and
rebellions, Spanish confederations and Jesuit missions, finally
cracking in the Civil War period. The most notable personages of
this faction, were the
Lords
Baltimore, who had to retreat to Ireland and the American
colonies for their peace of religion.
The
prosperity of the medieval market town and centre of the Swaledale
wool industry greatly increased in the late 17th
and 18th centuries with the burgeoning lead mining industry in
nearby Arkengarthdale
. It is from this period that the town's
attractive
Georgian
architecture originates, the most notable examples of which are
to be found on Newbiggin and in Frenchgate .
Scottish relations
Conan IV, Duke of Brittany
married Margaret of Huntingdon, whose brother
William I of Scotland was
prisoner in the castle keep after the Battle of
Alnwick 
. At the Battle of Old Byland
, Walter Stewart, 6th
High Steward of Scotland led an assault on Richmond and this
resulted in the capture of John of Brittany, Earl of
Richmond. After the last Tudor Richmond,
Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of
Lennox became magnate here. During the
English Civil War, the
Covenanter Army led by
David Leslie, Lord Newark, took
over the castle; there was conflict between local Catholics and
Scottish Presbyterians.
Landmarks
Richmond Castle
Richmond
Castle
situated in the town centre overlooking the River
Swale is a major tourist attraction.
Scolland's Hall is the gatehouse and was
staffed by the Lords of Bedale
, such as
Bryan FitzAlan, Lord
FitzAlan, and Miles Stapleton,
Founder
KG. Other staff residences were Constable
Burton
and Thornton Steward
. Also, Richmond had an extended Wensleydale castlery initially consisting of
Middleham
Castle
, Ravensworth
and Snape
(Baron FitzHugh &
Neville Baron
Latymer). The Conyers
, Wyville
, Gascoigne,
Stapleton
and Lovell families were all
notable gentry.
The
Green
Howards Regimental Museum
is based in the old Trinity Church in the centre of
the town's market place; the town is also home to the Richmondshire Museum
. The Georgian Theatre, founded in 1788 by
the actor, Samuel Butler, is just off the market place. A decline
in the fortunes of theatre led to its closure in 1848 and it was
used as a warehouse for many years. In 1963 the theatre was
restored and reopened, with a theatre museum added in 1979. More
recently, the theatre has become the
Georgian Theatre Royal and was
extended in 2003 with the addition of a new block providing
services and access next to the original auditorium.
view from Frenchgate
Media and filmography
Richmond has been used as a filming location for a significant
number of TV programmes & films including
The Fast Show,
Century Falls,
Earthfasts,
A Woman of
Substance and
All Creatures Great
and Small amongst others.
Fresh Radio, the local radio station for the
Yorkshire
Dales
, broadcasts programmes from studios in
Richmond.
Local newspapers include the weekly
Darlington & Stockton
Times and the daily
Northern Echo.
Education
The town
is home to two secondary schools:
Richmond
School
and St Francis
Xavier School. There are also three non-sectarian
primary schools: Richmond Methodist, Richmond C of E and St Marys
Catholic School.
Transport
The fine
stone terminus of Richmond Railway Station
, built in a Tudor/Elizabethan style, opened in 1846
and closed in 1968, shortly before the railway line itself was
taken out of service. After the station closed, the building
was used for many years as a garden centre. It is now being
renovated by the Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust and
opened in late 2007 - retitled, simply, The Station - as a
mixed-use space for community and commercial activities.
Richmond has a
frequent bus service to Darlington and
Catterick Garrison, and a wide range of
local bus services to nearby towns and villages
including Leyburn, Northallerton and Barnard Castle.
There have been
many places
around the world named Richmond after this town.
Legends
A town as old as Richmond is bound to have generated some legends
over the years and one of those attached to Richmond is that of the
Drummer Boy.
Nearly 200 years ago some soldiers found an entrance to a tunnel
near the castle keep. They could not fit into the tunnel so they
elected to send a regimental drummer boy. The boy was asked to walk
along the tunnel and beat his drum so that above ground the
soldiers could follow the noise. They did this for 3 miles before
the sound stopped unexpectedly. This was never explained and today
a stone marks the spot the noise stopped. More confusingly the
entrance can also not be found. Today schools celebrate this local
legend with children marching through town annually. Legend claims
that on some cold nights you can hear the faint sound of the
drummer boy still.
They also say that the Drummer Boy died in the tunnel as he was
testing it, because he got stuck and he was left there and never
found again, alive.
Nearby settlements
Twinned locations
References
External links
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