{{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat of arms , image_map = Richmondshire UK locator map.svg , map_caption = Shown within North Yorkshire , mapsize = frameless , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = United Kingdom , subdivision_type1 = Constituent country , subdivision_name1 = England , subdivision_type2 = Region , subdivision_name2 = Yorkshire and the Humber , subdivision_type3 = Administrative county , subdivision_name3 = North Yorkshire , seat_type = Admin. HQ , seat =

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, government_type = Richmondshire District Council , leader_title = Leadership: , leader_name = Alternative – Sec.31 , leader_title1 = Executive: , leader_name1 = {{English district control, GSS=E07000166 , leader_title2 =

MPs MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to: Science and technology * Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder * Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology * Myofascial pain syndrome * Metallopanstimulin * Potassium perox ...

: , leader_name2 =

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

, leader_title3 = , leader_name3 = , established_title = Founded , established_date = , founder = , area_rank = {{English district area rank, GSS=E07000166 , area_total_km2 = {{formatnum:{{English district area, GSS=E07000166, R , latd= , latm= , lats= , latNS= , longd= , longm= , longs= , longEW= , population_as_of = {{English statistics year , population_total = {{formatnum:{{English district population, GSS=E07000166, R , population_rank = Ranked {{English district rank, GSS= E07000166 , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = Greenwich Mean Time , utc_offset = +0 , timezone_DST =

British Summer Time During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC±00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and ev ...

, utc_offset_DST = +1 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = , area_code = , blank_name = ISO 3166-2 , blank_info = , blank1_name = ONS code , blank1_info = 36UE (ONS)
E07000166 (GSS) , blank2_name = OS grid reference , blank2_info = , blank3_name =

NUTS Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...

3 , blank3_info = , blank4_name = Ethnicity , blank4_info = 97.0% White
1.5% S.Asian , website
richmondshire.gov.uk
, short_description = District in North Yorkshire, England Richmondshire is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. It covers a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and

Arkengarthdale Arkengarthdale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England. Running roughly north-west to south-east, it is the valley of the Arkle Beck, and is the northernmost of the Yorkshire Dales. It is a subsidiary ...

, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with the prominent Scot's Dyke and

Scotch Corner Scotch Corner is a Junction (road), junction of the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) and A66 road, A66 Trunk road#United Kingdom, trunk roads near Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. It has been described as "the modern gate ...

along the centre. Teesdale lies to the north. With a total area of 1,319 km², it is larger than seven of the English ceremonial counties (namely, in decreasing order of size, the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, Merseyside,

Tyne & Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

, the Isle of Wight, Bristol, and the City of London).

History

{{Moresources, section, date=October 2022 {{See also, Honour of Richmond The history of this district in antiquity is not well known, but archeologists have found artifacts from the Neolithic Period (2000–4000 BC), the Bronze Age (2500–2000 BC), the Iron Age (700 BC–first century AD) and the Roman Period (43–400 AD) in the Richmond area. The closest important Roman settlement was at Catterick in what became known as Rheged, site of the

Battle of Catterick The Battle of Catraeth was fought around AD 600 between a force raised by the Gododdin, a Brythonic people of the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" of Britain, and the Angles of Bernicia and Deira. It was evidently an assault by the Gododdin party on ...

. At the terminus of Scandinavian York, there was a local bout of rebellion in Stainmore, which resulted in the death of Eric Bloodaxe. The Scandinavian settlement of this area was eastwards from the Irish Sea with names such as Gilpatrick in

Middleham Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. ...

and Thorfinn in

Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town of ...

occurring at the time of the Domesday Book. At the time of the Norman Conquest it was the Fee of Gillingshire, held by Edwin, Earl of Mercia.{{cite web , url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64709 , title='The honour and castle of Richmond', A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1 , editor-last=Page , editor-first=William , year=1914 , access-date=10 August 2009 Gillingshire was made up of the Borough of Richmond and five wapentakes of Gilling West,

Gilling East Gilling East is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, on the main B1363 road between York and Helmsley, south of Oswaldkirk and south of Helmsley. It is named "East" to distinguish it from Gilling West ...

, Hang West, Hang East and

Hallikeld Hallikeld was a Wapentake (Hundred), which is an administrative division (or ancient district), in the historic county of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It was one of the smaller wapentakes by area and consisted of seven parishes. History The n ...

. After the

Harrying of the North The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate northern England, where the presence of the last House of Wessex, Wessex claimant, Edgar Ætheling, had encouraged An ...

, the land became capital of the Duchy of Brittany's Honour of Richmond (first as a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

, then an earldom and later a dukedom). The Honour of Richmond was one of the three largest lordships created by William the Conqueror. King William granted it to his double-second-cousin,

Alan the Red Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz (Breton), Alain le Roux (French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II of Nor ...

, the leader of the Bretons in England and a cousin of

Hawise, Duchess of Brittany Hawise of Rennes ( br, Hawiz Breizh; french: Havoise de Bretagne) ( 1024-1037 – 19 August 1072) was sovereign Duchess of Brittany from 1066 until her death. She was the second child and heiress of Alan III, Duke of Brittany, by his wife, Bertha ...

According to the Register of the Honour of Richmond, the official transfer of the lands of

Earl Edwin Edwin (Old English: ''Ēadwine'') (died 1071) was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's d ...

(Richmondshire) occurred at the "Siege of York" in 1068 or early 1069. Edwin's brother Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, lost his title to Robert Commines on 28 January 1069 and also lost lands to Count Alan following the brothers' participation in the northern rebellion of 1068. A charter of Count Alan Rufus's dated before 1086 states that he obtained the honour with the help of Queen Matilda. Alan had many other English estates, and by the time of the compilation of the Domesday Book he was one of the richest and most powerful barons. He died in 1093 and was succeeded by two of his brothers in turn. The family held on to this estate until 1399. Work on Richmond Castle started in 1071 after the northern rebellions had died down. The Honour of Richmond comprised 782 manors throughout England. The Yorkshire portion was a compact unit of 199 manors and 43 outlying properties situated near the main roads from Scotland into the Vale of York.{{cite book , last=Hey , first=David , title=A History of Yorkshire , author-link1=David Hey , publisher=Garnegie , location=Lancaster , year=2005 , pages=88–90 , chapter=3 , isbn=1-85936-122-6 Richmondshire became an appanage of the English Royal Family during the reign of Edward III of England. In 1525 Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519–1536) became Lord Warden of the Marches and Lord President of the Council of the North while living at Sheriff Hutton. One of the most distinctive forenames of Richmondshire folk was Marmaduke.

Ecclesiastical divisions

St. Paulinus baptised the locals in the River Swale and as a result, it was known as the " Jordan of England". Richmondshire is an archdeaconry which historically consisted of present-day Richmondshire and the

Barony of Kendal The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English Historic counties of England, historic county of Westmorland. It is one of two ancient barony (county division), baronies that make up the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland (al ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, Copeland in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and what is now Lancashire north of

Ribblesdale Ribblesdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the dale or upper valley of the River Ribble in North Yorkshire. Towns and villages in Ribblesdale (downstream, from north to south) include Selside, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Stainfo ...

, such as Amounderness and Lonsdale. After originally composing part of the Diocese of York, it was transferred to the Diocese of Chester, before moving into the

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...

and finally the Diocese of Leeds (known informally as the 'Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales' for a period, although this term has now fallen out of use).{{cn, date=September 2022

Modern history

The current district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. It was a merger of the municipal borough of Richmond with the

Aysgarth Rural District Aysgarth is a village and civil parish in Wensleydale, in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, about south-west of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond and west of the cou ...

Leyburn Rural District Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in the district of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from ' ...

Reeth Rural District Reeth is a village west of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, in the civil parish of Reeth, Fremington and Healaugh. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is the principal settlement of upp ...

and

Richmond Rural District Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

along with part of the

Croft Rural District {{coord, 54.495, -1.458, display=title, region:GB_scale:20000 Croft was a rural district in the North Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 from that part of the Darlington rural sanitary distri ...

, all in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

. See

Richmondshire District Council Richmondshire District Council is the administration body covering Richmondshire, a large area of the northern Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with Scots' Dyke and Scotch Corner at its centre. ...

for details of the political makeup. In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan county will be reorganised into a unitary authority. Richmondshire District Council will be abolished and its functions transferred to a new single authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire.

Economy

The region is heavily agricultural but there are also many commercial enterprises, supported by four main business associations: Richmond Business and Tourism Association, Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Business Association, Lower Wensleydale Business Network and Upper Wensleydale Business Association. Field barn muker 9118

Tourism is an important part of the economy with some visitors attracted by the Yorkshire Dales. In 2014, roughly 3.62 million people visited the area; tourism provided some £225 million to the economy and supported 3,860 full time jobs. There are many hiking trails in the region as well as various attractions. Travellers using the Trip Advisor site particularly recommend Richmond Castle, Green Howards Museum, Georgian Theatre Royal, The Station, Millgate House Garden, Richmondshire Museum, Foxglove Covert Local Nature Reserve, Catterick Racecourse, The Friary Gardens War Memorial and Friary Tower and Gardens. Important communities for visitors include Hawes in Wensleydale, the home of Wensleydale Cheese, Leyburn, a market town with many amenities, the very quaint villages of Reeth, Wensley, West Burton and Muker, and Middleham with its castle and horse racing. Catterick Garrison is also important to the economy, particularly around Richmond. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world with a population of around 13,000 and expected to continue growing.{{cite web , url=https://www.rishisunak.com/news/ds-column-making-sure-facilities-match-catterick-garrisons-future-growth , date=7 April 2018 , title=D&S column: making sure facilities match Catterick Garrison's future growth , publisher=Rishi Sunak , access-date=12 January 2019

Settlements

The modern administrative area of Richmondshire includes the major settlements of: * Askrigg * Barton *

Brough with St. Giles Brough with St Giles is a village and a civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The civil parish also includes the settlements of Catterick Bridge and Walkerville, and Catterick Racecourse and the site of the R ...

* Catterick * Catterick Garrison * Colburn *

Croft-on-Tees Croft-on-Tees is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It has also been known as Croft Spa, and from which the former Croft Spa railway station took its name. It lies north-north west of the coun ...

* Hawes * Keld * Leyburn *

* Middleton Tyas * Reeth *

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* ''The Pilgrimage of Grace: The rebellion that shook Henry VIII's throne'' by

Geoffrey Moorhouse Geoffrey Moorhouse, FRGS, FRSL, D.Litt. (29 November 1931 – 26 November 2009) was an English journalist and author. He was born Geoffrey Heald in Bolton and took his stepfather's surname. He attended Bury Grammar School. He began writing as a ...

* ''The Wars of the Roses'' by John Gillingham * ''The Pilgrimage of Grace: and the politics of the 1530s'' by

R. W. Hoyle R. or r. may refer to: * ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler. * '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King * ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen * or , abbreviat ...

. * ''The Penguin Illustrated History of Britain and Ireland: from earliest times to the present day'' by

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...

Robert Bartlett (historian) Robert John Bartlett, CBE, FBA, FRSE (born 27 November 1950 in Streatham) is an English historian and medievalist. He is Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Mediaeval History Emeritus at the University of St Andrews. After attending Battersea Grammar S ...

, John Morrill (historian),

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

and Joanna Burke * ''The Swale: A history of the Holy River of St Paulinus'' by David Morris * ''The Honour of Richmond: a history of the lords, earls and dukes of Richmond'' by David Morris * ''Conquest, Anarchy & Lordship: Yorkshire, 1066–1154'' by Paul Dalton * '' Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'' by

David Hackett Fischer David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (''Albion's Seed,'' ''The Great Wave ( ...

* ''Yorkshire Dales'' by Ron Scholes *
'Richmondshire: Introduction', A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1
' by William Page *
Richmond: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1890
' from Bulmer's History and Directory of North Yorkshire (1890) * ''The Early History of Bedale'' by H. B. McCall *

' by The Northern Echo
A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press
{{ISBN, 0-19-280050-7 {{Yorkshire and the Humber {{North Yorkshire {{Authority control Districts of England established in 1974 Non-metropolitan districts of North Yorkshire Former counties of England