Richmond Castle was originally built to subdue the unruly North of England after the Norman Conquest and is one of the greatest Norman fortresses in Britain. No other castle in England can boast so much surviving 11th-century architecture – it is probably the best-preserved castle of this scale and age in the country.
Standing high above the River Swale, the early Norman castle was built in the 1070s by Alan Rufus, a kinsman of William the Conqueror. The lands, known as the Honour of Richmond, were granted to him by King William for his service and to maintain Norman dominance over the surrounding area. He was one of the richest and most powerful men in England. A town grew up under the protection of the Castle.
Alan constructed long stretches of the curtain wall, Scolland's Hall, and the archway of the keep (Great Tower) in the 1080s.
After Alan died in 1093, the castle passed to his two younger brothers, Alan the Black and Stephen. Stephen's son, another Alan, styled himself Earl of Richmond and held the castle until 1136. Alan married Bertha, heiress of the Duke of Brittany, but died before the dukedom came into his hands.
Alan's son Conan successfully asserted his claim to the dukedom of Brittany in the 1150s, thus uniting the two vast inheritances of Richmond and Brittany. He was responsible for building the stone keep with a small barbican as statement of his increasing power and wealth.
The cockpit garden seems to date from then as does the surrounding wall with its gateway.
In 1166, he betrothed Constance, his only heir and daughter, to Henry II’s fourth son, Geoffrey, ceding the duchy of Brittany to the king as part of the agreement. When Conan died in 1171, Constance was only nine and Henry II took control of the Castle. Although Geoffrey and Constance married in 1181, the castle remained in royal hands until the end of King John’s reign, having been granted to a series of royal favourites.
Edward I seized control of Richmond and began repairs to the castle. This included the addition of a ground floor vault in the keep, upgrading Scolland's Hall and extending the range along the east wall. Edward or one of the 14th century dukes also added apartments to the Robin Hood Tower and Gold Hole Tower as well as constructing the Southwest Tower. Duke John of Brittany would oversee the last building campaign at the castle when new chambers and the chapel were added to the north end of Scolland's Hall.
In 1313, the duke's second son, John of Brittany and Earl of Richmond, received money to construct a town wall as the area was subject to a Scottish raid after the English were defeated at Bannockburn in 1314. The town was raided, but the castle was spared.
At the inquest into the duke's death in 1341, it was noted that the castle was in ruins and the buildings within required significant repair. The castle continued to lapse into a ruined state and was no longer of any military value. A survey in 1538 indicates a derelict castle with roofless buildings and fallen walls at the castle.
Richmond Castle remained a ruin for 300 years until the 3rd Duke began repairing the keep and Cockpit garden in the 1760s. The works of JMW Turner and other artists in the late C18th and early C19th greatly encouraged admiration of the castle as a romantic ruin, and the town became a fashionable place for tourists to visit.
In 1854, the Duke of Richmond leased the castle, and it became the headquarters of the North York Militia. The keep was restored and floors and roof replaced. The ground floor was used as a guard room with an armoury above. A castellated barrack block was built along the length of the west curtain wall.
A detention block of eight cells was also added just inside the castle entrance, next to the keep.
The central area was used as a parade ground.
In 1907, the castle became the headquarters of the Northumbrian Division of the Territorial Army. Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, was based here as a commander for a brief period in 1910.
In 1910, the army handed over the historic fabric of the castle to the Ministry of Works, but retained control of the buildings. Work began to restore the buildings with walls repaired and repointed.
In 1916, the castle became the base for the newly created Northern Non-Combatant Core. Confronted by falling numbers of volunteer recruits and high casualty rates, the British army faced a crisis in manpower. As a result, military conscription was introduced. The conscription laws allowed men to apply for exemption from military service on the grounds of ill-health, hardship, occupation, or conscientious objection. Thousands did so. Of the relatively small numbers who applied on the grounds of conscience, few were granted total exemption from serving in the war. Instead, many were ordered to join the Non-Combatant Corps. This was a military unit in which they could work in support roles that did not involve fighting or the use of arms. Richmond Castle became a base for conscientious objectors from the Midlands and north of England whowere sent there in their thousands.
However, some men who had been ordered to join the Corps refused to take part in any work touching the war effort, because it went against their fundamental beliefs. In 1916 a number of them were detained in cells at Richmond Castle. The walls of these tiny rooms are still covered with graffiti including portraits of loved ones, religious verses, slogans and hymns.
Some of these conscientious objectors, who became known as the Richmond Sixteen, were sent to France in May 1916. Once there, they were considered to be on active service, which meant that they might face a firing squad if they refused to obey orders. They were given 24 hours to decide whether to follow orders or risk being shot. Refusing, they were court-martialed and sentenced to be executed by firing squad. This sentence was immediately commuted to ten years of penal servitude. They were released in April 1919 following the Armistice of 11 November 1918.
After the war, there was a housing shortage and the Victorian Barrack block was used by Richmond Council as housing. The last tenant left in 1928 and the block was demolished in 1931. The whole site then passed into the care of the State.
Richmond Castle was pressed into service again during World War II when the roof of the keep was used to watch for enemy aircraft activity in the area, and the keep itself was used as an air raid shelter. In the 1940s, the cells again detained prisoners, although these were foreign soldiers and not conscientious objectors.
Richmond Castle has been in the care of English Heritage since 1984.
Plan of the castle
cont...
Standing high above the River Swale, the early Norman castle was built in the 1070s by Alan Rufus, a kinsman of William the Conqueror. The lands, known as the Honour of Richmond, were granted to him by King William for his service and to maintain Norman dominance over the surrounding area. He was one of the richest and most powerful men in England. A town grew up under the protection of the Castle.
Alan constructed long stretches of the curtain wall, Scolland's Hall, and the archway of the keep (Great Tower) in the 1080s.
After Alan died in 1093, the castle passed to his two younger brothers, Alan the Black and Stephen. Stephen's son, another Alan, styled himself Earl of Richmond and held the castle until 1136. Alan married Bertha, heiress of the Duke of Brittany, but died before the dukedom came into his hands.
Alan's son Conan successfully asserted his claim to the dukedom of Brittany in the 1150s, thus uniting the two vast inheritances of Richmond and Brittany. He was responsible for building the stone keep with a small barbican as statement of his increasing power and wealth.
The cockpit garden seems to date from then as does the surrounding wall with its gateway.
In 1166, he betrothed Constance, his only heir and daughter, to Henry II’s fourth son, Geoffrey, ceding the duchy of Brittany to the king as part of the agreement. When Conan died in 1171, Constance was only nine and Henry II took control of the Castle. Although Geoffrey and Constance married in 1181, the castle remained in royal hands until the end of King John’s reign, having been granted to a series of royal favourites.
Edward I seized control of Richmond and began repairs to the castle. This included the addition of a ground floor vault in the keep, upgrading Scolland's Hall and extending the range along the east wall. Edward or one of the 14th century dukes also added apartments to the Robin Hood Tower and Gold Hole Tower as well as constructing the Southwest Tower. Duke John of Brittany would oversee the last building campaign at the castle when new chambers and the chapel were added to the north end of Scolland's Hall.
In 1313, the duke's second son, John of Brittany and Earl of Richmond, received money to construct a town wall as the area was subject to a Scottish raid after the English were defeated at Bannockburn in 1314. The town was raided, but the castle was spared.
At the inquest into the duke's death in 1341, it was noted that the castle was in ruins and the buildings within required significant repair. The castle continued to lapse into a ruined state and was no longer of any military value. A survey in 1538 indicates a derelict castle with roofless buildings and fallen walls at the castle.
Richmond Castle remained a ruin for 300 years until the 3rd Duke began repairing the keep and Cockpit garden in the 1760s. The works of JMW Turner and other artists in the late C18th and early C19th greatly encouraged admiration of the castle as a romantic ruin, and the town became a fashionable place for tourists to visit.
In 1854, the Duke of Richmond leased the castle, and it became the headquarters of the North York Militia. The keep was restored and floors and roof replaced. The ground floor was used as a guard room with an armoury above. A castellated barrack block was built along the length of the west curtain wall.
A detention block of eight cells was also added just inside the castle entrance, next to the keep.
The central area was used as a parade ground.
In 1907, the castle became the headquarters of the Northumbrian Division of the Territorial Army. Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, was based here as a commander for a brief period in 1910.
In 1910, the army handed over the historic fabric of the castle to the Ministry of Works, but retained control of the buildings. Work began to restore the buildings with walls repaired and repointed.
In 1916, the castle became the base for the newly created Northern Non-Combatant Core. Confronted by falling numbers of volunteer recruits and high casualty rates, the British army faced a crisis in manpower. As a result, military conscription was introduced. The conscription laws allowed men to apply for exemption from military service on the grounds of ill-health, hardship, occupation, or conscientious objection. Thousands did so. Of the relatively small numbers who applied on the grounds of conscience, few were granted total exemption from serving in the war. Instead, many were ordered to join the Non-Combatant Corps. This was a military unit in which they could work in support roles that did not involve fighting or the use of arms. Richmond Castle became a base for conscientious objectors from the Midlands and north of England whowere sent there in their thousands.
However, some men who had been ordered to join the Corps refused to take part in any work touching the war effort, because it went against their fundamental beliefs. In 1916 a number of them were detained in cells at Richmond Castle. The walls of these tiny rooms are still covered with graffiti including portraits of loved ones, religious verses, slogans and hymns.
Some of these conscientious objectors, who became known as the Richmond Sixteen, were sent to France in May 1916. Once there, they were considered to be on active service, which meant that they might face a firing squad if they refused to obey orders. They were given 24 hours to decide whether to follow orders or risk being shot. Refusing, they were court-martialed and sentenced to be executed by firing squad. This sentence was immediately commuted to ten years of penal servitude. They were released in April 1919 following the Armistice of 11 November 1918.
After the war, there was a housing shortage and the Victorian Barrack block was used by Richmond Council as housing. The last tenant left in 1928 and the block was demolished in 1931. The whole site then passed into the care of the State.
Richmond Castle was pressed into service again during World War II when the roof of the keep was used to watch for enemy aircraft activity in the area, and the keep itself was used as an air raid shelter. In the 1940s, the cells again detained prisoners, although these were foreign soldiers and not conscientious objectors.
Richmond Castle has been in the care of English Heritage since 1984.
Plan of the castle
cont...
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