Middleham is a small
market townMarket 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 parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
in the
RichmondshireRichmondshire 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...
district of
North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county in that region and also partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest ceremonial...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies in
WensleydaleWensleydale 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 DalesThe 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 UreThe River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the famous Yorkshire Dales now named after a village rather than its river...
and
River CoverThe River Cover is a river in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. From the lower reaches of Great Whernside a tumbling brook soon becomes a shallow and fast flowing river. It flows down and round the base of Lesser Whernside and past the small villages of Woodale, Braidley and the...
. There has been a settlement there since
Roman BritainRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
It was recorded in the Doomsday Book as "Medelai".
Middleham is twinned with the northern French town of
AgincourtAgincourt can refer to:* Azincourt, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France** Battle of Agincourt, 1415, part of the Hundred Years War.** The Agincourt Carol, an English folk song composed not long after the battle....
.
The first known settlement at Middleham was during the Roman Era.
Middleham is a small
market townMarket 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 parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
in the
RichmondshireRichmondshire 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...
district of
North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county in that region and also partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest ceremonial...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies in
WensleydaleWensleydale 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 DalesThe 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 UreThe River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the famous Yorkshire Dales now named after a village rather than its river...
and
River CoverThe River Cover is a river in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. From the lower reaches of Great Whernside a tumbling brook soon becomes a shallow and fast flowing river. It flows down and round the base of Lesser Whernside and past the small villages of Woodale, Braidley and the...
. There has been a settlement there since
Roman BritainRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
It was recorded in the Doomsday Book as "Medelai".
Middleham is twinned with the northern French town of
AgincourtAgincourt can refer to:* Azincourt, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France** Battle of Agincourt, 1415, part of the Hundred Years War.** The Agincourt Carol, an English folk song composed not long after the battle....
.
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 UreThe River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the famous Yorkshire Dales now named after a village rather than its river...
.
Before the Norman Conquest the lands in this area were controlled by Gilpatrick. in 1069, the land in the area of Middleham was given to William the Conqueror's nephew, Alan Rufus. Rufus built a wooden mote-and-bailey castle above the town, whose earthworks are still visible today and called "William's Hill". Rufus also built the well known castle at
RichmondRichmond 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...
.
The present castle which dominates the town,
Middleham CastleMiddleham Castle in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham & Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. It was built near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle...
, which was started in 1190. The
NevilleNeville : From Néville, a village meaning "Njàll 's farm" or from Neuville, a village meaning "new village", may refer to the following:*Places:...
s, Earls of Warwick, acquired it through marriage in the 13th century and called it the "Windsor of the North". The young
Richard IIIRichard III was King of England from 1483 until his death. He was the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field was the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, and is sometimes regarded as the end of the Middle Ages in England...
, while he was still Duke of Gloucester came here to learn the skills of knighthood in 1462. While he was at Middleham Castle he became betrothed to Warwick's daughter, Anne Neville, whom he married in 1472. Richard III became master of the castle in 1471 and this is where his son Edward was born. Richard III used the castle as his political base as he administered the North for his brother
Edward IVEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 2 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
. During the
Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars between supporters of the rival houses of Lancaster and York, for the throne of England. They are generally accepted to have been fought in several spasmodic episodes between 1455 and 1487...
they held both Edward IV and
Henry VIHenry VI was King of England 1422–1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realms were governed by regents. Contemporaneously, he was described as a peaceful and pious man, not suited for the harsh nature of the struggles facing him...
prisoner here. In 1484 young Edward died at the age of eleven at the castle, followed just a year later by his mother Anne Neville. King Richard himself died later in the year 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth: 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 as 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 ICharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
sold it to the
City of LondonThe 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
LeyburnLeyburn 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...
.
The Church of Saints Mary and
AlkeldaSaint 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. Akelda'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 is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling...
in the UK and is home to the Middleham Trainers' Association. The first
racehorse trainerIn horse racing, a trainer is responsible for preparing a horse for races. As such, he or she takes 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 JohnstonMark Johnston is a racehorse trainer based in Middleham, North Yorkshire, England.In 2004 he won the 1,000 Guineas with Attraction...
,
Patrick HaslamPatrick Haslam is a racehorse trainer based in Middleham, North Yorkshire. He is notable for having trained a winner on all race courses in England, Scotland and Wales....
and
Ian JonesIan Jones may refer to:*Ian Jones , Australian author and film writer*Ian Jones , New-Zealand rugby player*Ian Jones , cricketer for Somerset*Ian Jones , Australian award-winning cinematographer...
. 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
keepA keep is a strong central tower which is used as a dungeon or a fortress. Often, the keep is the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area, or contain important stores such as the armoury, food, and the main water well, which would ensure survival during a...
, which was built by Robert Fitz Ralph in the 1170s survives to this day along the 13th century chapel and the 14th century gatehouse. In 1985 the Middleham Jewel was found by chance on the grounds of the castle by a man who happened to be using a metal detector in the area. The Middleham Jewel is a 68 gram gold pendant with a 10 ct. blue sapphire 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. It has been acquired by the
Yorkshire MuseumThe 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
YorkYork 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.
Natural history of the parish of Middleham
The town of Middleham lies between 400 and above ordinance datum, though the valley of the River Ure just below the town is only of elevation and the summit of the hill rising to the south-west of the town is . The parish contains of land, which is mostly permanent pasture- only about are arable. The topsoil in this area is of mixed composition. The valley has modern alluvial terraces and gravel deposits, but the subsoil is mainly limestone, though it is intersected here and there by sandstone with plate. There is a known vein of lead in the northern part of the parish, and Braithwaite lead mine lies just outside the parish borders.
External links