Richmond, North Yorkshire

Coordinates: 54°24′13″N 1°44′14″W / 54.4035°N 1.7373°W / 54.4035; -1.7373

Richmond
Richmond seen from its castle
Richmond  Richmond shown within North Yorkshire
Population	8,178 (2001)
OS grid reference	NZ170009
District	Richmondshire
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RICHMOND
Postcode district	DL10
Dialling code	01748
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Richmond
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

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. It is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and serves as the Park's main tourist centre.^[1] It is the most duplicated UK placename, with 57 occurrences worldwide. 

The Rough Guide describes the entire town as 'an absolute gem'.^[2][3][4] Betty James wrote that "without any doubt Richmond is the most romantic place in the whole of the North East [of England]".^[5] Joseph E Morris agreed, although went further to say "Richmond is, beyond all question, the most romantic town in the North of England".^[6] The town was named the UK town of the year for 2009.

History

Etymology

The town of Richemont in Normandy (now in the Seine-Maritime département of the Upper Normandy region) was the origin of the name Richmond.^[7] 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^[8] by the Breton 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^{[citation needed]}. One of Europe's first gas works was built in the town in 1830.^[8]

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 (1174). 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.

Panorama of Richmond falls, close to the town centre.

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 cobbled market place is one of the largest in England.^[8]

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 Royal, 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. It is one of Britain's oldest extant theatres.^[2]

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 (1984) 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- a large school and sixth form college with specialisms in Performing Arts, Science and Maths- and St Francis Xavier School, which is a slightly smaller comprehensive for boys and girls aged 11–16. There are also three non-sectarian primary schools: Richmond Methodist, Richmond C of E and St Marys Catholic School.

Economy

Tourism is important to the local economy, but the single largest influence is the Catterick Garrison army base, which is rapidly becoming the largest population centre in Richmondshire.^[9]

In the town centre there are many independent shops, as well as a small Co-op, W H Smith, Boots, Greggs, Peters, Heron Foods and Edinburgh Woollen Mill. There is a large Co-op situated just outside the town centre.

The Station food, film and art centre admits 300,000 tourists a year.^[10] It was formerly Richmond railway station. It has a restaurant, cinema, art gallery and heritage centre, as well as a bakery, cheese-maker, micro brewery, ice-cream parlour, fudge house and honey-maker.^[10]

Transport

The stone terminus of Richmond Railway Station, built in a Tudor/Elizabethan style, opened in 1846 and closed in 1968, a year before the branch line itself was taken out of service. After the station closed, the building was used for many years as a garden centre. It has now been 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. The newly-renovated station is home to two cinema screens, an art gallery and a restaurant and café. There are also artisan food makers on the premises: The Angel's Share, Archer's Jersey Ice Cream, Lacey's Cheese, Richmond Brewing Company and Velvet Heaven.

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.

Legends

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.

Notable inhabitants

• A list of people to have held the position of Archdeacon of Richmond are listed here.
• A list of people to have held the position of MP for Richmond are listed here.
• A list of people who have been Earl of Richmond.
• A list of people who have been Duke of Richmond.
• A list of people who have been Bishop of Richmond.

Born in Richmond

• Rob Andrew, rugby union international.
• Alan Ayre-Smith, rugby union international.
• George Bell, publisher, founder of George Bell & Sons.
• Francis Blackburne, archdeacon and dissenter.
• John Brasse, writer.
• William Brice, ethnographer.
• Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, engravers and printmakers.
• Calum Clark, rugby union player.
• Christopher Cradock, Rear Admiral.^[11]
• George Cuitt the Younger, painter.
• George Errington, Roman Catholic archbishop.
• John James Fenwick, founder of Fenwick's department stores.
• Henry Greathead, inventor of the lifeboat.
• Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
• Anthony Hammond, legal writer.
• Thomas Harrison, architect.
• Ralph Hedley, painter.
• Joanne Jackson, Olympic swimmer.
• Herbert Sedgwick, first class cricketer.
• Theo Hutchcraft, one half of synth-pop duo, Hurts.
• Francis Johnson, dissenter.
• John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, viceroy of India.
• Robert Lawrence Ottley, theologian.
• Conyers Middleton, clergyman.
• John Peverell, footballer.
• Tanya Robinson, model.
• Tim Rodber, rugby union international.
• Edward Roper, first class cricketer.
• James Tate, headmaster.
• Thomas Taylor, clergyman.

Notable residents

• Robert Barclay Allardice, pedestrian, educated at Richmond School.^[12]
• John Bathurst, physician to Oliver Cromwell.
• Marcus Beresford, Primate of Ireland.
• Lewis Carroll, author, attended Richmond School, lived in nearby Croft on Tees.
• Henry Butler Clarke, historian of Spain.^[13]
• J. R. Cohu, headmaster of Richmond School.
• Edward Ellerton, educational philanthropist, educated at Richmond School.^[14]
• Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister. Educated at Richmond School.^[15]
• Angela Harris, Baroness Harris of Richmond, Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords.
• Thomas Hounsfield, first class cricketer.
• Samuel Howitt, painter.^[16]
• Peter Inge, Baron Inge, head of the British army.
• Philip Mayne, last surviving British officer of the First World War.
• George Peacock, mathematician, attended a school in Richmond, one of "Tate's invincibles".^[17]
• Donald Peers, singer.^[18]
• James Raine, antiquarian, educated at Richmond School, one of "Tate's invincibles".
• Thomas Sedgwick, clergyman.
• Richard Sheepshanks, astronomer. Educated at Richmond School, one of "Tate's invincibles".^[19]
• T. H. Stokoe, head of Richmond school.
• Stanley Vann, composer.
• John Warburton, herald and antiquary.
• William Young Ottley, writer on art and collector. Educated at Richmond School.^[20]
• Lord Baden-Powell, Founder of the scouting movement.^[21]
• Mackenzie Thorpe, artist ^[22]

Nearby settlements

Twinned locations

• Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier
• Vinstra

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richmond, North Yorkshire

• A History of Richmond : edited from Langdale's Yorkshire Dictionary (1822) and Baine's Directory of the County of York (1823).
• Robinson's Guide to Richmond :(1833).
• A Brief History of Richmond
• Richmondshire Museum.
• Richmond Operatic Society.
• Official Guide to Richmond