Middleham
Encyclopedia
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish in the Richmondshire
Richmondshire
Richmondshire is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. It covers a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with the prominent Scots' Dyke and Scotch Corner along the centre. Teesdale lies to the north...
district of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies in Wensleydale
Wensleydale
Wensleydale is the valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England.Wensleydale lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – one of only a few valleys in the Dales not currently named after its principal river , but the older name, "Yoredale", can still be seen...
, in the Yorkshire Dales
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is the name given to an upland area in Northern England.The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria...
, on the north-facing side of the valley just above the junction of the River Ure
River Ure
The River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the Dales now named after a village rather than its river...
and River Cover
River Cover
The River Cover is a river in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust has a remit to conserve the ecological condition of the river Cover...
. There has been a settlement there since Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
. It was recorded in the Domesday book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as "Medelai".
Middleham is twinned with the northern French town of Agincourt
Agincourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle
Agincourt is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.As of 1999 the population of Agincourt is 399; inhabitants are called Agincourtois.-See also:*Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department...
.
History
The first known settlement at Middleham was during the Roman Era. The IXth Legion of the Roman Army conquered York in 69 AD and moved north quickly. A branch road of the Great North Road passed through Middleham to Bainbridge. Near Middleham, the Romans built a guard station to control traffic on the River UreRiver Ure
The River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the Dales now named after a village rather than its river...
.
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle above the town, whose earthworks are still visible today and called "William's Hill". Rufus also built the well known castle at Richmond
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond is a market town and civil parish on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. It is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and serves as the Park's main tourist centre...
.
The present castle which dominates the town, Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. It was built near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle...
, was started in 1190. The Neville
Neville
Neville is a name that originates from place names in Normandy, from the Old French Néville "Néel's estate" or Neuville, meaning "new village" or "new town".Neville may refer to:-Places:*Néville, Haute-Normandie, France...
s, Earls of Westmoreland, acquired it through marriage in the 13th century. It was called the "Windsor of the North". The castle was in the possession of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
when his young cousin Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
) came here to learn the skills of knighthood in 1462. During the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, both Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
and Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
were held prisoner here. Richard, Duke of Gloucester became master of the castle in 1471 after Warwick died at the Battle of Barnet
Battle of Barnet
The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV...
. Richard used the castle as his political base as he administered the North for his brother Edward IV. Richard married Warwick's daughter, Anne Neville
Anne Neville
Lady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
, in 1472. Middleham Castle is where their son Edward was born (c. 1473) and were he died in April 1484. Richard III died in August 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth. He was the last reigning King of England to die in battle.
At the time of King Richard III, Middleham was a bustling market town and important political centre . As early as 1389 the lord of Middleham Manor received a grant from the crown to hold a weekly market in the town and a yearly fair on the feast of St. Alkelda the Virgin. The town itself is built around two markets, the larger, lower market is dominated by a large mediaeval cross which is now topped by a relatively modern iron cross in the celtic style. The upper, or swine market, centers around the remains of a 15th-century market cross and an oblong line of steps. At one end of the market cross is a worn effigy of an animal reclining and at the other may have had a moulded capital.
Most buildings in the old part of Middleham were built after 1600, though the old rectory of the church has some mediaeval elements incorporated into it. In 1607 it is documented that Middleham was important enough to have a Royal Court, and all residents of the forest of Wensleydale fell under its jurisdiction. From the ascension of Richard III until Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
sold it to the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
about 1628, Middleham and surrounding lands were part of the Crown's estates. In 1661 the City of London sold Middleham Manor to Thomas Wood of Littleton, and it has remained in private hands until today. In 1915 the yearly livestock market was still one of the most important in the North, though the weekly market had already fallen into disuse. Today the livestock market has moved to Leyburn
Leyburn
Leyburn is a busy market town and civil parish in the borough of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley' or 'Le' , and 'burn' , meaning clearing by the...
.
Parish Church
The Church of Saints Mary and AlkeldaAlkelda
Saint Alkelda , also spelt Alcelda, was an Anglo-Saxon princess of whom almost nothing is known and whose existence has been questioned....
was founded in 1291 and today is mainly of 14th and 15th century architecture, though there are a few stones indicating the existence of a church on that site perhaps a century before that. The only remaining Norman artifact is a section of zig-zag moulding that was once around a door or window, and today is high up above the north aisle. The church also boasts a 3 m high Perpendicular font cover and a copy of the Middleham Jewel. Just west of the church is St Alkelda's well, whose waters are reputed to restore strength to weak eyes. In 1478 King Edward IV gave permission for a leper hospital to be built on the east side of town in association with the church. Today, though the location is still known as Chapel Fields, it is given over to a horse training stables of the same name, and no traces of the hospital or chapel remain.
Middleham today
Today the town is a modern centre of horse racingHorse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
in the UK and is home to the Middleham Trainers' Association. The first racehorse trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
to train at Middleham was Isaac Cape in 1765. Today there are several racehorse trainers based here including Mark Johnston, and Patrick Haslam
Patrick Haslam
Patrick Haslam is a racehorse trainer based in Middleham, North Yorkshire. He is notable for having trained a winner on every race course in England, Scotland and Wales.- External links :*...
. Racing is the number one employer in the town. Tourism is the second biggest industry in the town. The castle is now a ruin, after having been dismantled in 1646. The keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, which was built by Robert Fitz Ralph in the 1170s survives to this day along the 13th century chapel and the 14th century gatehouse.
Middleham Jewel
Metal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
in the area. The Middleham Jewel is a mid-15th century 68 gram gold pendant with a 10 ct. blue sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
stone. One side of the diamond shaped pendant is engraved with a representation of the Trinity and the other with a Latin inscription indicating that the pendant is a charm against epilepsy. The sapphire may represent heaven. It has been acquired by the Yorkshire Museum
Yorkshire Museum
The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It is the home of the Cawood sword, and has four permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology and astronomy...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
for £2.5 million.
Another find around the castle is a livery badge, for pinning to the chest or a hat, in gilded copper high relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
, with Richard III's emblem of a white boar
White boar
The White Boar was the personal device or badge of the English King Richard III of England , and is an early instance of the use of boars in heraldry....
, very likely worn by one of his household when he was Duke of Gloucester.