Richmondshire
Richmondshire is a
local government district of
North Yorkshire in
England. It covers a large northern area of the
Yorkshire Dales, including
Swaledale and
Wensleydale and includes the major settlements of:
*
Askrigg*
Barton*
Catterick*
Catterick Garrison*
Colburn*
Croft-on-Tees*
Hawes*
Keld*
Leyburn*
Middleham*
Middleton Tyas*
Reeth*
RichmondThe current district was formed on
April 1,
1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the
municipal borough of Richmond with the
Aysgarth Rural District,
Leyburn Rural District,
Reeth Rural District and
Richmond Rural District along with part of the
Croft Rural District, all in the
North Riding of Yorkshire.
The Council was controlled by Independent councillors until May 2003, when elections returned a council with no overall control (Conservative 11; Independent 9; Lib Dem 8; Richmondshire Independent Group 5; Social Democrat Party 1). Conservative John Blackie was elected as leader of the Council. In December 2005 Blackie was replaced by the leader of the Independent Coalition for Richmondshire, Bill Glover, following the resignation of several councillors from the Conservative group and the merger of the rival Independent groups. Political groups on the council currently stand at:
* Independent Coalition for Richmondshire - 17
* Liberal Democrats and Associates - 9
* Conservative - 6
* Social Democratic Party - 1
* Independent 1
Richmondshire was both prosperous and politically important during much of its recorded history. Of old Yorkshire families more particularly dealt with may be mentioned the following: Alderson, Allen, Aske, Atkinson, Banks, Bathurst, Bellerby, Birkbeck, Blackburn, Blades, Bolton, Booth, Bowes, Brown, Bulmer, Burgh, Calvert, Chapman, Chaytor, Clarke, Clifford, Close, Coates, Conyers, Coverdale, Cradock, Croft, D'Arcy, De la Mare, Denys, Dundas, Ellerton, Fawcett, Fitzhugh, Fothergill, Fulthorpe, Gale, Gascoigne, Gaunt, Gibson, Gill, Harker, Harrison, Hertford, Hicks, Horne, Hutchinson, Hutton, Ingleby, James, Jaques, Johnson, Kearton, King, Lawson, Leeds, Lennox, Lightfoot, Lister, Loftus, Malolacu, Marmion, Mason, Metcalfe, Milbank, Montacute, Moorhouse, Mowbray, Neville, Norton, Osborne, Other, Pattison, Peacock, Pigot, Raine, Rawe, Robinson, Routh, Ryder, St. Quintin, Scott, Scrope, Smith, Spensley, Swale, Taylor, Tempest, Thoresby, Tiptoft, Topham, Walker, Wandesforde, Webster, Whaley, Wharncliffe, Wharton, Wickliffe, Wilkinson, Willis, Winn, Wood, Wyvill, Yarker, Zetland.
Catterick
Cataractonium or Catraeth was the southern capital in the Kingdom of
Rheged, as well as being a Roman outpost.
Gilling
Richmond was held by
Edwin, Earl of Mercia in
1071 and was known as Gilling after the
Anglian Clan Gilling. Gilling was a regional capital of
Deira, previously having a minor religious role (see
Alkelda) as well before
the Scandinavian arrival. The district had a lesser known reputation for having many
gallows, although that was an ancient practice discontinued long before present. Richmondshire (as Gilling) historically consisted of a large swath of land stretching from the
Vale of Mowbray to the
Irish Sea, encompassing the
Yorkshire Dales and
Lake District (
approximate extent).
Wapentakes of
Gilling West,
Gilling East,
Hang West,
Hang East,
Hallikeld,
Lonsdale,
Amounderness; as well as all that land south of
Scotland (parts of
County Durham,
Westmorland,
Cumberland) during the time of the
Domesday Book was considered part of Richmondshire (
although shown as Yorkshire on maps) as opposed to the Scottish fief in
Bernicia, called
Northumbria. This also means that Richmondshire was the first English
border country with Scotland post-Conquest.[
1] Because of history,
Viking placenames are of
Norwegian derivation (supposed to be from the
Trøndelag[
2]), rather than
Danish.
Richmond
In any case, Richmond has a more Breton history to York's more Norman history. Richmond itself was founded by
Alan of
Brittany at the behest of
William of Normandy in the
Norman Conquest; during the
Harrying of the North which laid waste the
Danish stronghold in Britain at
Jorvik. As the fief of the
Earls of Richmond (or
comtes de Richemont), the shire was normally held by the
Duke of Brittany from
1136 to
1399. Along with
Allertonshire, it was frequently a party to border conflict with
Scotland--especially when King
David I of Scotland was in possession of
Northumbria and the later bouts with
William Wallace who conducted raids throughout the
dales. The constitutional ambiguity of Dukes of Brittany as vassals of both
France (in right of
Brittany) and
England (in right of Richmond) was the source of much tension in
Breton history, particularly during the great
Breton War of Succession. The towns of
Bedale,
Askham Bryan and
Killerby were historically important liberties in Richmondshire, being constructed largely in part by Breton relations to the earls.
Boston, Lincolnshire was once a fief to the Lords of Richmond. Both places experienced Breton immigration as a result of the Breton Conquest, which was slightly different from that of Normandy. Despite the governmental organisation of counties, there are closer cultural connections shared between Richmond and
Lancaster, Lancashire (including the
House of Lancaster), than that between Richmond and
York (or the
House of York).
John Wycliffe came from here, although he was alone of all in residence whom had a special fondness for religious dissent and had to seek association elsewhere. Although
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster patroned his works at first,
London's mobs of
Lollardy held no kindness for the Duke or his property at the
Savoy Palace. Richmond was also the centre of a power struggle that decided the fate of the
Wars of the Roses, with the
Tudor dynasty owing its origins to this land. Through this connection, the local emblem is a
Tudor rose (see
Richmond Herald). King
Henry VIII of England moved Richmondshire from the
Diocese of York to the
Diocese of Chester[
3], while in the time of
Myles Coverdale. Religious upheaval abounded in the
Pilgrimage of Grace and
Rising of the North, it appearing that some activities were related to
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset. In keeping with the district's native spirit, the Archdeaconry of Richmond is now part of the Anglican
Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and Catholic
Diocese of Middlesbrough. One curious similarity of conditions between Richmond and York, are similar "joint geographical titlings" by British Dukes of Richmond (and Lennox or Gordon) and Dukes of York (and Albany) ever since the
Union of the Crowns. There is a
Georgian era marketplace and theatre, where
John Wesley was received with lukewarm interest. Richmondshire and its capital have not been of much national relevance, ever since
Jacobitism failed to achieve its objective. There is also a
Culloden Tower in the town, built by John Yorke in order to commemorate the newfound peace throughout the border country after the
Battle of Culloden. Lords of Richmond became important in the
direction of Ireland and
British North America, with many sad souls from Richmond seeking exit from their poverty here (mostly during the
19th century). Richmond's relative obscurity has not escaped the works of
James Herriot, whose stories focused on this land. Even the story of
Wuthering Heights and fictional characters
Wallace and Gromit have brought notoriety to the area.
*
Robinson's Guide to Richmond*
Richmondshire on CDrom
