Richmond Castle

• 1070s: Count Alan Rufus, ‘the Red’, of Penthièvre (follower of William the Conqueror), is granted the area of Richmond and builds the castle.
• 1093: Richmond Castle passes to Alan Rufus’s brothers, Alan Niger and Stephen.
• 1136: Stephen’s son Alan (II) Niger inherits the castle. He married the Duke of Brittany’s daughter, Bertha.
• 1150s: Alan (II) Niger’s son, Conan, becomes Duke of Brittany and takes ownership.
• 1171: King Henry II takes the castle back for the Crown upon Conan’s death, as Conan’s daughter is too young to inherit his estates.
• 1215: Constable Roald rebels against King John. His garrison is imprisoned at the castle.
• 1216: King John takes control of Richmond Castle. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the castle would pass between the Dukes of Brittany and the Crown.
• 1250: King Henry III takes control and carries out various renovations.
• 1278: Duke John II maintains ownership of Richmond Castle.
• 1294: King Edward I takes ownership of the castle and carries out major renovations.
• 1313: John II’s son, John III of Brittany, takes control of the castle and builds a town wall in Richmond.
• 1372: The Crown once again takes possession of Richmond Castle.
• 1462: Duke of Clarence maintains ownership of Richmond and the castle.
• 1854: The North York Militia used the site as its headquarters.
• 1908: Robert Baden-Powell, commander of the Northern Territorial Army, uses Richmond Castle as a base.
• WWI: The castle was occupied by the northern Non-Combatant Corps. These men refused to fight in the war, and stationed themselves at the castle in protest. This group included the Richmond Sixteen.
• 1920: The castle barracks were converted to housing for the people of Richmond due to a housing shortage.
• WWII: Troops used the castle as a lookout and air raid shelter and to hold prisoners of war.

General Layout

Richmond Castle is an early Norman castle, built around the 11th century. The fortress boasts a thick curtain wall and barbican at the front gate. It sits above the River Swale in an intimidating, powerful, and easily-defended position.

Original Layout

From a distance, Richmond Castle looked very commanding. There was a massive curtain wall surrounding the structure, with three massive towers. The Robin Hood Tower sat at the northern end of the castle wall, and boasted a chapel on the first floor. Its altar was originally painted in classic mediaeval style, as evidenced by red paint marks left behind. There was also the Gold Hole Tower and the middle tower, the latter of which no longer stands.

Cockpit

Located just outside of the curtain wall was a large, grassy enclosure. This area was originally used as a garden, and a drawing from the 1400s showcases the small bailey filled with fruit trees. Long after it was built, it was most likely used for cockfighting, a popular sport at the time, hence the name.

Entrance

Visitors approaching the castle would enter through a massive sealed gate. While inside of this outer defence area, they would be verified as expected guests and their wagons and belongings would be searched. This provided an extra level of defence before people were allowed to access the actual castle grounds.

After passing through this area, visitors would see the massive bailey. Richmond Castle’s buildings sat in this courtyard, inside of the curtain walls.

The Great Chamber

The Great Chamber was perhaps the most significant area of the castle during its heyday. It boasted a grand hall for entertaining, as well as multiple living quarters. This two-storey structure sat against the east side of the castle walls.

At its highest level sat a chamber that included a chapel and chapel chamber. The chapel had a grand window looking out over the castle grounds.

Scolland’s Hall

Attached to the Great Chamber was Scolland’s Hall. This area was situated along the southern curtain wall and was most likely built in the 1080s. Like the Great Chamber, Scotland’s Hall also had two-storeys including living quarters on the first level. Beneath this floor was a small area underfoot, likely used for stores. 

Large windows sat on each side of the Great Hall on the second floor. Some evidence indicates that this Great Hall may have once boasted a balcony overlooking the original castle garden.

Kitchen, Buttery, and Pantry

During the 12th century, an additional structure was constructed along the western side of the courtyard. To attach this building to the Great Chamber and Scolland’s Hall, a large entrance was cut into the hall, providing access to a kitchen, buttery (where drinks were stored), and a pantry (for the storage of dry goods). Originally, this building boasted a northern window, but it was later converted into the door to provide access to the chapel within the Great Chamber.

Keep

Richmond Castle’s keep is the focal point of the structure. This 12th-century Norman keep stands 30 metres (100 ft) in height, and boasts extra defence with its 3.4 metre (11 ft) thick stone walls. It was constructed using very light, amber-coloured sandstone.

The keep was built directly in front of the original archway leading into the castle. This led the archway to become part of the ground floor of the keep. It was eventually completely blocked.

A lobby area stood on the first floor and had two doorways inside. There were also three ornamental windows, which may have once served as balconies.

One doorway on the keep’s first floor led to a large chamber and the other led to a staircase that accessed the second storey. The second storey was a lobby that led to the main chamber. This main chamber served as a great hall. The original roof of the keep rose to a point.

The ground floor is connected to the first level via a spiral staircase.

Conan’s Tower is the square keep tower featuring four smaller towers projecting from each side. 

racks Block and Cell Block

By the 1850s, a barracks block was built along the western curtain wall. An armoury was built around 1865 near the northern gate.

Modern Layout

Richmond Castle was originally entered through a gate arch, but it has since been taken over by the keep and now sits in the basement. Today, the first level of the keep is accessed via a modern staircase. The original pointed roof of the keep has since been replaced with a flat-topped roof.

Two of the original castle towers still stand, while the middle tower has collapsed over the years. The Gold Hole Tower is still standing at its original height.

In recent times, the Cockpit area was excavated. Evidence shows that the area was used as a garden, due to the finding of flower beds, paths, and a glass grow house. The garden area was reopened in 2002 by English Heritage.

The armoury was used as a prison during the second decade of the 1900s. Graffiti still lines the walls, which visitors can still see today thanks to conservation work completed between 2016 and 2018. The Barracks Block was torn down in the early 1931s.