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Richmond Castle - Richmond, North Yorkshire (EH)

Surrounded on three sides by high moorland, Richmond Castle is in a strongly defensible position. However, the castle has seen little active service, which accounts for the remarkable amount of early Norman stonework that has survived.

The earliest parts of the castle were built by Alan de Ponthievre (Alan the Red), shortly after he fought with William at Hastings in 1066. The most impressive remains from Alan's time are Scolland's Hall to the south of the site. It was exceptional for its size and grandeur, with plastered and lime-washed walls. The upper floor would have been used by Alan for his public entertainment and administrational business. This is reached by an external staircase and the eleventh century doorway remains. Scolland was Earl Alan's steward. Unlike many other contemporary castles, Richmond was never an earthwork motte and bailey construction later built in stone. The abundance of local stone and the high platform of ground meant that it was built in stone from its earliest days. Unusually, the site is that of an equilateral triangle, giving Richmond its distinctive layout. 

The castle passed into the control of Henry II as guardian of Earl Conan's daughter in 1171. Conan had started the construction of the 100 foot keep to the north, and it was probably finished by Henry. Also around this time, the walls, towers, Barbican, south wall and gateway of the Cockpit were built, increasing the general strength of the castle considerably. In the fourteenth century new chambers and a new chapel were built into the north end of Scolland's Hall by Duke John of Brittany. Richmond is unique amongst English castles in having both an eleventh century fortified residence, Scolland's Hall, and a twelfth century tower keep, which now dominates the surrounding countryside.

Earl Alan's descendants were both Earl of Richmond and Duke of Brittany, producing a conflict of allegiance between the English and French crowns. Conan resigned Richmond to Henry II to avoid problems and betrothed his daughter to the king's son. In 1342, Edward III made his second son, John of Gaunt, Earl of Richmond, although it was restored to John, Duke of Brittany in 1372. By 1399 it had been granted to Ralph Nevill, Earl of Westmorland by Henry IV, and in 1485, the honour and the castle became royal when Henry VII took the throne. The castle was granted separately and gradually fell into ruin.

In 1855, Richmond, like other castles such as Pendennis, was re-used as a military barracks, with new gothic style buildings constructed in the cleared Great Court, a parade ground established and a detention block built just inside the castle entrance. During the First World War the castle was in continuous use, becoming the depot of the Non-Combat Corps composed of conscientious objectors, in 1916. The barracks were destroyed in 1935, but the military still used Richmond during the Second World War.

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