Richmond Castle

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The donjon from the 12th century is 30 m high.

Richmond Castle is a ruined castle in Richmond in the English administrative unit North Yorkshire . It stands in a dominant position over the Swale near downtown Richmond. The original name was Riche Mount (Eng .: strong hill). The castle was built from 1071 after the Norman conquest of England . The Domesday Book of 1086 mentions "a castlery" in Richmond.

history

Richmond Castle seen across the swale

In 1069, William the Conqueror had put down a rebellion in York that was followed by the Harrying of the North - an act of ethnic cleansing that depopulated large parts of the country for a generation or more. As a further punitive action, he divided the lands of north Yorkshire between his most loyal supporters. Alain the Red from Brittany received the Borough of Richmond and began building the castle to protect himself against further rebellions and to create a personal power base. His lands, called the Honor of Richmond , spanned eight counties and added up to one of the largest Norman holdings in England. The Dukes of Brittany became the Earls of Richmond as the owners of the castle, even though it was often confiscated by the English kings over the centuries.

At the end of the 12th century, Duke Conan IV had a 30 meter high donjon made of honey-colored sandstone built. The Earldom of Richmond was conquered by King Henry II in 1158 . Henry II probably also had the donjon with its 3.3 meter thick walls completed. Today's visitors can climb the donjon, which has a great view . Simultaneously with the completion of the donjon, Henry II had the fortifications of the castle significantly reinforced by adding towers and a barbican . The kings Henry III. and Eduard I. invested more money in the castle, Eduard z. B. also in the improvement of the fixtures in the donjon.

In addition to the main wall ring, there was a barbican in front of the main gate, which acted as a separate, closed entrance room where visitors and wagons could be examined before they were let into the actual castle. On the other side of the castle, above the river, there was another separate room or outer bailey called the cockpit , which probably served as a garden and which one could overlook from a balcony. A drawing from 1674 shows another, longer balcony on the river side of Scolland's Hall , the great hall .

View of the castle from the south

Richmond Castle was abandoned as a fortress towards the end of the 14th century and has not been expanded since that time. A report from 1538 shows that the castle was already partially in ruins, but paintings by William Turner and other painters, the emerging tourism, and growing interest in antiques led to the donjon being repaired in the early 19th century.

In 1855 the castle became the headquarters of the North Yorkshire Militia and a large barracks block was built in the large castle courtyard. For two years, from 1908 to 1910, Robert Baden-Powell , the future founder of the Boy Scouts , lived at Richmond Castle while he was in command of the Northern Territorial Army . The barracks were removed again in 1931.

During World War I , the castle served as the base for the Non-Combatant Corps , a unit of the British Army made up of conscientious objectors . The castle also served as a prison for conscientious objectors who opposed any kind of military discipline and did not want to participate in the war in any way, even in a non-fighting capacity. This included the Richmond Sixteen , who were then sent to France from the castle, charged under martial law, and sentenced to death. Their death sentences were immediately commuted to 10 years in a labor camp. In 1919 they were released from prison.

Drawing of the cellar in the donjon

Richmond Castle now stands out as one of the finest examples of Norman buildings in Britain, particularly Scolland's Hall , the castle 's great hall. The roof and ceilings of the donjon have been restored. The arch of the main entrance from the 11th century, which was closed by the construction of the new donjon in the 12th century, is open again today. This arch is now in the cellar of the donjon from the 12th century. It was closed during the construction of the new donjon in order to stabilize the donjon and the new main entrance was moved to the place that is visible today.

The castle is a Scheduled Monument , a nationally important, historical building and ground monument that has been protected against unauthorized changes. It is also listed as a historical building of the first degree and is therefore recognized as an internationally important building. Today the castle is managed by English Heritage , who also published a guide by John Goodall . There is also a visitor center with an exhibition of artifacts from the castle's history and events throughout the year.

Legend has it that King Arthur and his knights sleep in a cave under the castle. They are believed to have been discovered by a potter named Thompson , who ran away when they started to wake up. Another legend tells that a drummer boy got lost in an underground tunnel and that his ghostly drumming can be heard in and around the castle.

layout

A plan of the main wall ring, the donjon and the small enclosure around the donjon. The outer enclosure is to the east of it.

Richmond Castle consists of four main parts: a triangular main wall ring, the outer enclosure to the east, a donjon in the north corner of the main wall ring and a small enclosure around the donjon.

Individual references and comments

  1. ^ Alan the Red, the Brit who makes Bill Gates a pauper . The Sunday Times. October 9, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  2. ↑ Henry II had objected to the succession of Conan IV as Duke of Brittany. Henry II had conquered Nantes . Conan IV marched on Nantes and quickly retook it. Henry II responded by appropriating Conan's Earldom of Richmond.
  3. ↑ Markus Haefliger: Avant-garde of pacifism. A prison in the north of England reveals the fate of draft evaders in World War I. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, September 22, 2016, p. 9.
  4. ^ A b Richmond Castle, eleventh and fourteenth century enclosure castle . Historic England. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ Scheduled Monuments . In: Pastscape . English Heritage . Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  6. ↑ Russell Ash: Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain . Reader's Digest Association, 1973. ISBN 978-0-340165-97-3 . P. 351.
  7. ^ GT Clark: Richmond Castle in Yorkshire Archaeological Journal . Issue 9 (1886). P. 39. Retrieved June 29, 2015.

literature

Web links

Commons : Richmond Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 54 ° 24 ′ 6.1 "  N , 1 ° 44 ′ 15.4"  W.