Last updated on June 18th, 2024 at 09:20 am
It’s almost worth the journey to Richmond Castle in Yorkshire, just to get some photos. It was a dubious bonus to meet someone who could have been transported there by aliens, and odd to discover that it had to wait until the 20th century to become really famous.
Richmond Castle is a massive fortress built on a rocky promontory, towering over the bubbling river Swale far below. In plan, the castle is rather like an equilateral triangle of late 11th century curtain wall, with a huddle of buildings in the bottom right-hand corner, the base running along the top of the steep slope above the river and a fine 12th century keep at the apex, where the main entrance is. Unlike many castles of this period, Richmond does not have a motte – the large mound that Normans often constructed to tuck underneath their keeps.
So I arrived, sat on a bench and contentedly munched a sandwich, cheerfully visited the small exhibitions, happily heaved myself up worn ancient stairs to the top of the keep (and back again), patiently waited for a small boy to negotiate 53 steps that were each twice his size, got mistaken en passant for someone else’s husband and was blissfully making my way across the grass into the remains of St Nicholas’s Chapel when a fellow-visitor stumbled across my path. He was about my age, sandy-haired, clutching a decent-looking camera and a long cane. I never discovered the purpose of the latter and, in retrospect, the former was probably a Geiger counter. We exchanged manly nods of greeting and mutual suspicion. “I don’t get this place”, he announced without warning. “As a castle – it doesn’t feel right”. He seemed to be expecting a response, so I mumbled something about atmosphere and ventured to suggest that Middleham Castle, not far away, was pretty good; had he tried that? Clearly, this response was wrong. It seemed that he had been forced to visit Richmond because his drive south had been blocked by an unadvertised road closure on the A66. And, what’s more, he was very, very cross about it.
Sensing that this guy’s sojourn in Richmond could just as easily have been caused by aliens, I foolishly recommended, not without a trace of sarcasm, that “something should be done”, whilst at the same time trying to take photographs of a featureless medieval wall. “You’re right” said the man. “I’m going to get the Department for Transport to pay my expenses.” There was more to the same effect – given today’s technology etc… surely it wasn’t beyond the wit of a government department to … and so on. Another mistake on my part: stifling a mental yawn, I hinted that he could have taken another route, just like normal people would. No, no, that wasn’t possible, I obviously didn’t understand, somebody had to be made to pay. “Well, good luck with that”, I said, pointedly making my escape. “I used to work in the nuclear industry”, he proudly informed me. “We couldn’t afford to mess things up the way they do now. They said it was dangerous, y’know. But though most of my friends have gone and I’ve had brain surgery twice…” And he wandered off, waving his stick vaguely and, I’m sure, glowing gently. It’s a pity, because I was just about to confess to being a squirrel.
But maybe he had a point about Richmond Castle. Because it seems that, notwithstanding the bloody history of this great land of ours, Richmond has gone out of its way to avoid getting into too much trouble. In some ways, it’s extraordinarily ordinary. What we have is a castle where normal life carried on for much of the time – though there is the hint of a siege in 1216 when the then constable, Roald, defied King John – and almost another in the 1260s during the de Montfort rebellion.
The castle was probably built in the 1070s or 80s by Alan Rufus (‘the Red’), a kinsman of William the Conqueror, who had commanded the Breton troops at Hastings. Richmond – the name comes from the old French for ‘strong hill’ – was part of his reward and a great deal of what he built, in stone, the curtain walls and a two-storey hall block now known as Scolland’s Hall (after a 12th century constable of that name), remain for us to see. It is astonishing that so much has survived almost a thousand years – the most complete surviving 11th century castle in England. The keep was added by his great-nephew, Conan, who of course I want to call ‘Conan the Keepbuilder’. Meanwhile, the town of Richmond grew up around, and reliant upon, the castle. By Conan’s time, the heirs of Richmond had become Dukes of Brittany through marriage, though Conan gave up the title to Henry II in 1166 and, on Conan’s death in 1171, the castle passed into royal hands. Later, it seems that the estate of Richmond, known as ‘the Honour of Richmond’ was generally claimed by the Dukes of Brittany, who owed fealty to the King of France – whereas whoever possessed Richmond was subject to the King of England; given that these monarchs spent a great deal of time at war with one another, we can imagine that the lawyers had a grand time.
Unfortunately, Richmond Castle fell into disuse and disrepair so that, by 1538, it was almost entirely derelict. This undoubtedly saved the keep from being slighted by Parliamentary forces in the 17th century. By the late 18th century, the castle had become a sufficiently romantic tourist attraction for Turner to paint it.
But it got a new lease of life in 1854 as the headquarters of the North Yorks Militia, a barrack block was erected along the western curtain wall (demolished in 1931) and in 1908 the castle became the home of the Northern Territorial Army. Briefly, Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement, was officer in command.
One of Richmond Castle’s biggest claims to fame, though, is as a prison for conscientious objectors during the First World War. The introduction of conscription in 1916 highlighted the fact that many men felt, for religious, political, or other reasons, that they could not fight. The government allowed for non-combatants and formed a Non-Combatant Corps where exempted men, under military authority, could contribute to the war effort without fighting. However, some refused any involvement whatsoever in the war and 16 of them were imprisoned in tiny makeshift cells in a former storage facility at the castle. ‘The Richmond Sixteen’, have left hundreds of graffiti behind – drawings, quotations, statements – on the walls of their prisons.
In May 1916, these men were secretly transferred to France where a tribunal sentenced them to death for refusing to obey orders in the face of the enemy. The sentences were almost immediately commuted to ten years’ hard labour. Apparently, the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith, had ordered that no conscientious objector should be shot. There are ambivalent, and complicated, feelings about ‘conchies’ – why should some men escape the carnage and not others? On the other hand – what if everyone refused to kill? One thing’s for sure; these men made a tough decision and had tough lives as a result. One of the most ridiculous accusations to throw at a ‘conchie’ was that of cowardice; it took a type of guts not to fight.
There’s nothing visible of the buildings that once stood inside the walls of Richmond Castle. But Scolland’s Hall, where banquets were held almost thousand summers ago, is astonishing. Beyond this is a small garden, now known as ‘the Cockpit’ – probably because cockfighting took place there. This was almost certainly a garden when the castle was first built and there was a gallery in the wall above, where folk could look down and admire it. I like the idea that something was built for pleasure and beauty, not power.
The keep is impressive, too – though you have to fight the pigeons and their products. The views from the top are gorgeous and also provide a good perspective on the castle’s layout. Here, I met an Australian couple, Bruce and Sheila, who were understandably excited about the worn steps. At the front, town-facing, side of the keep, which once looked over an outer barbican wall, are three ornamental windows. It is thought these might have had balconies, where Duke Conan could have addressed his public.
So, what do you think? Worth a visit? – I think so. Here is Richmond Castle’s entry on English Heritage’s website.
I cannot imagine the effort that went into building such a castle!!! How many people (and horses, too, to do a lot of the transporting of stones?) did it require? And so well built that much of it stands today… Another terrific blog post. I love visiting Britain via your blog, Mike!
Thanks, Will – so glad you enjoy it! Certainly, building a castle must have been quite a project; but I guess most of them weren’t built all in one go!
Aside from the Keep which us 12th century, most of Richmond Castle was built within Alan’s time there: 1068-1093. There is some debate about how soon the riverside section of the curtain wall was put up: was it wooden originally? But the rest of the wall is original, so perhaps 1070s?
Bretons can build! And they love to build solidly in stone: during WW2 the US munitions could barely scratch the stonework town walls in Brittany.
Good to hear from you, Geoffrey. Yes, as you saw, when I researched this I got a build date of the 1070s or 80s. Interesting observation about WW2!
Geiger alien (?) man had a point: Richmond wasn’t built only to be strong. If that were its purpose, Alan would have heavily fortified the more critically located Catterick, where Earl Edwin’s manor was.
So why is Richmond on the edge of the wilds? Broadly speaking, it’s in the heart of Britain and Britain was dear to Alan’s heart.
More specifically, this stretch of the Swale is where in AD 627 St Paulinus baptised the Northumbrian king Edwin and the next day baptised 11,000 of his subjects. The location is holy.
As if to emphasise this, the castle has features normally found in an abbey or a cathedral. Indeed, Odo of Bayeux’s Cathedral, consecrated in 1077, had very similar design to Richmond castle in parts of its structure. Was the same architect (or school of architecture) responsible for both?
St Mary’s Abbey York, another magnificent work, was consecrated in January or February of 1088. Odo of Bayeux had been in prison from 1082/3 to late 1087, so he had no input into St Mary’s. Its founding abbot, Stephen of Whitby, wrote that Alan was its “constructor”.
Geoffrey Tobin
Thanks very much for visiting, Geoffrey, and for leaving a comment. Richmond Castle is certainly an interesting place and very worthwhile a visit. The town itself is definitely worth spending time in, too.
You’re welcome. When next I visit England, I shall venture north.
By the way, I’ve been studying Alan Rufus closely and he turns out to be much more important and influential than he seems.
I actually love visiting castles that are a little remote and where you have to “guess” how life was in it.
Must have been an amazing sight in its day.
that’s a very strange guy you met! great castle though:)
Lovely photos, MIke! The walkway with the bench and flowers blooming is especially pretty.
An old man I know told me he was a conscientious object in the second world war, and they had him work in a psychiatric ward in place of soldiering. First, he had to undergo psychoanalysis himself – he didn’t mind; in fact found it quite interesting.
Thanks for all your hard work in sharing with us your travels!
Heaven knows what you’d make of me if we ever meet in a historic place. Chap sounds quite normal to me. You’re obviously not too familiar with the area if you think he had many choices of route once the A66 was closed………… I feel his pain.
Oh well, obviously you’d appear in the relevant blog post. As for the A66, I often use it when planning to motor west, because it’s my way and the highway that’s the best. With thanks to Bob Troupe – but it works quite well the other way too. I find maps help no end when your expected route is blocked, even when you’re familiar with the roads, but in fact the road was fine the day Geiger Man said he couldn’t use it. And sometimes detours and delays are long; life can be a bummer!
Mike, I’ve just finished catching up on all your recent posts, and enjoyed them all. Such a great combination of interesting places, and well written stories with a dash of humour and sarcasm! And I can imagine the research you do behind the scenes to pull it all together.
Thanks, FG – much appreciated!
Hi Mike – most definitely worth a visit – when I head northwards again … what an amazing history you’ve given us – I do appreciate the work you put into your posts and particularly the explanatory photos – so helpful … and enticing!
I wish you’d had a chance to say you were a squirrel … what an extraordinary man to find – and if he was so anxious about his travels – why on earth had he bothered to visit the Castle … oh people!! Cheers Hilary
Yes – every visit is a potential adventure!
Definitely worth a visit!! I’ve known about Richmond Castle for some years now, but never have been there yet in the 15 years or so I have regularly been coming to Yorkshire for my summer holidays. Maybe this time I can convince my sister-in-law or one of my uncles to take us there on a day trip from Ripon.
What a strange fellow you met there! I wonder how he would have reacted if you had told him you’re really a squirrel.
He would probably have wanted some of my nuts.
Yes, I think it was worth your visit. It was a great tour you gave us and we didn’t have to meet grumpy Geiger counter man. That is so interesting about the conscientious objectors. Have a great weekend.
Thanks, Ellen!
Sparkling photographs! And after staring at each one and trying to will myself into the picture, I had to go looking for what turned out to be several Turner paintings of the place, each featuring a different human/dog combination in the foreground. One of which – one of the dogs, that is – appears to be wearing a hat. I hadn’t realized Turner enjoyed a sense of whimsy!
I hadn’t realised that Turner got about so much – he seems to have been everywhere!
Sounds like it is worth a visit but will have to wait till I retire &have more time
It’s in remarkably good condition considering its age. The tower or memorial in that photo overlooking the town – is that for WWI or something else? On our tour of Europe in June we came upon so many plague towers in the town squares. Did England erect those too? Didn’t see any when we walked the Cotswolds in 2014.
Hi Marcia. It’s an obelisk that replaced the old market cross sometime in the 18th century. I have never heard of plague towers – I don’t think we have them in the UK – I need to check!
A curious fellow to cross paths with. The castle and its vicinity look quite inviting.
Hi Mike,
These are beautiful pictures, and my most favorite is the Cockpit Garden. Love that stone pathway and the flower borders! This castle is most impressive, not least of all for its age.
Of course, I got a laugh out of your “close encounter” with the gently glowing alien. 😀 We’ve all run into those sorts at one time or another. Glad you enjoyed the visit to Richmond Castle and hope you have a lovely weekend!
Hugs,
Denise
Interesting history! There’s a beautiful spot behind the castle with a wonderful view of the river below. With just a bit of encouragement from you, Mike, your cranky acquaintance could have been just a nasty piece of pollution.