History & Culture

Richmond: North Yorkshire England

history introduction / Britannica reference / Swaledale / Green Howards / Art / Timeline

 

History (Visit the "Timeline")

There are more than 50 Richmonds throughout the world however, the first town so named was in North Yorkshire. The land surrounding Richmond and on which Richmond came to be built was given to Alan Rufus by William the Conqueror (around 1071). Rufus built a fortified encampment and later the castle which comprised the first stone built keep in England. The herring bone patterns in the walls are typical of early Norman buildings. Two Kings of Scotland William the Lion and David II were imprisoned in the Castle for a period. Soon a walled town developed under protection of the castle. Richmond became a thriving market town. The cobble stone centre of the town coupled with its attractive location on the fringe of the Yorkshire Dales has turned the town into a magnet for tourists. (Return)

 

Britannica references:

Richmond, town ("parish"), Richmondshire district, county of North Yorkshire, England, is situated on the left bank of the River Swale where its dale (upland valley) opens into the plain. It grew up in the shelter of a Norman castle (c. 1071), only the keep of which remains, and became the main military centre and market of a large district of northwest Yorkshire. It is the hometown of the Catterick garrison, with its camp nearby on a Roman site, and now prospers as the main tourist centre for the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It has a restored 18th-century theatre. Pop. (1981) 7,700. See also Medieval Richmond.

Richmondshire, district, county of North Yorkshire, England, comprising the towns of Swaledale and Wensleydale. The district has an area of 508 sq mi (1,317 sq km). The upper dales are sparsely populated sheep-rearing country, but as they open
eastward, livestock farming opportunities become greater. Swaledale gives its name to a well-known breed of hardy
sheep, and Wensleydale is known for its cheese, now factory-processed at Hawes. The stone farmhouses and small towns, which include former lead-mining centres such as Hawes and Askrigg, are frequented by tourists who come only by road now that the dale railway lines have been closed. Richmond is the main tourist and service centre, though Leyburn in Wensleydale has the largest livestock market. Reeth serves Swaledale as an auxiliary service centre. Pop.(1984 est.) 47,200. (Return)

 

Links to other sections:

Green Howards

Swaledale

Art