Richmondshire
Richmondshire District | |
---|---|
UTC+1 (British Summer Time) | |
ONS code | 36UE (ONS) E07000166 (GSS) |
Ethnicity | 97.0% White 1.5% S.Asian[1] |
Website | richmondshire.gov.uk Archived 27 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine |
Richmondshire was a
).History
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The history of this district in antiquity is not well known, but archaeologists have found artefacts from the Neolithic Period (4000–2000 BC)[clarification needed], 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.[2]
The closest important Roman settlement was at
At the terminus of
After the
The Honour of Richmond was one of the three largest lordships created by

According to the Register of the Honour of Richmond,[7] the official transfer of the lands of Earl Edwin (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[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]
Richmondshire became an
One of the most distinctive forenames of Richmondshire folk was Marmaduke.[11]
Ecclesiastical divisions

St. Paulinus baptised the locals in the River Swale[12] and as a result, it was known as the "Jordan of England".[13]
Richmondshire is an archdeaconry which historically consisted of present-day Richmondshire and the
After originally composing part of the
Modern history
The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a merger of the municipal borough of Richmond with the Aysgarth Rural District, Leyburn Rural District, Reeth Rural District and Richmond Rural District along with part of the Croft Rural District, all in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
See Richmondshire District Council for details of the former political makeup.
In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire would be reorganised into a unitary authority. On 1 April 2023, Richmondshire District Council was abolished and its functions transferred to a new unitary authority named North Yorkshire.[15][16]
Economy



The region is heavily agricultural[17] 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.[18]
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.
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.[21]
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.[22]
Media
In terms of television, the area is served by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees broadcasting from the Bilsdale transmitter.[23]
Radio stations for the area are:[24]
- BBC Radio York on 104.3 FM
- BBC Radio Tees on 95.0 FM
- Greatest Hits Radio York and North Yorkshireon 103.5 FM
- Sun FM on 102.6 FM
- Dales Radio, a community based station that broadcast on 103 FM and 104.9 FM
The district is served by two local newspapers, North Yorkshire editions of the daily Northern Echo and the weekly Darlington & Stockton Times both published by Newsquest.[25][26]
Settlements


The former administrative area of Richmondshire included the major settlements of:
- Askrigg
- Barton
- Brough with St. Giles
- Catterick
- Catterick Garrison
- Colburn
- Croft-on-Tees
- Hawes
- Keld
- Leyburn
- Middleham
- Middleton Tyas
- Reeth
- Richmond
See also
References
- ^ "Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (Percentages); Mid-2005 Population Estimates". National Statistics Online. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ "BPre-Historic settlers and later discoveries". Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Timeline of the Early British Kingdoms 410 AD-598 AD". Britannia Internet Magazine. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ^ Page, William, ed. (1914). "'The honour and castle of Richmond', A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1". Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ^ "By any name, June brings summer". The Northern Echo. 6 June 2003. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Richmondshire – Introduction". British History Online. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ^ Farrer, William; Clay, Charles Travis (21 March 2013). Early Yorkshire Charters: Volume 4, The Honour of Richmond, Part 1, Appendix A: Note on the Grant of Lands in Yorkshire to Count Alan I. Cambridge University Press. p. 94.
- ^ Farrer, William; Clay, Charles Travis (21 March 2013). Early Yorkshire Charters: Volume 4, The Honour of Richmond, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–2.
- ^ "PASE Domesday, Search on: Name: Alan, Description: Count, Landholder type: 1086 tenant-in-chief". Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ISBN 1-85936-122-6.
- ^ "Behind the Name: Marmaduke". Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "Britannia Biographies: St. Paulinus, Archbishop of York". Britannia.com. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ^ Yorkshire legends and traditions –. Arno Press. 1888. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2009 – via Internet Archive.
Jordan of England.
- ^ "Probate, Lancashire genealogy". Genuki. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ^ "Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Farming". Richmondshire Today. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Business and Economy". Richmondshire. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Economic Action Plan" (PDF). Richmondshire. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "The 15 Best Things to Do". Trip Advisor. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Things to do in Richmondshire". Dales Discoveries. 1 July 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
Richmondshire covers a large area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Coverdale and Wensleydale.
- ^ "D&S column: making sure facilities match Catterick Garrison's future growth". Rishi Sunak. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "Yorkshire Radio Stations". 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ "Darlington & Stockton Times - ABC - Delivering a valued stamp of trust - ABC UK". abc.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ Sharman, David (14 January 2020). "Newsquest launches Northern Echo Teesside and Salford City News - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
Bibliography
- The Pilgrimage of Grace: The rebellion that shook Henry VIII's throne by Geoffrey Moorhouse
- The Wars of the Roses by John Gillingham
- The Pilgrimage of Grace: and the politics of the 1530s by R. W. Hoyle.
- The Penguin Illustrated History of Britain and Ireland: from earliest times to the present day by Barry Cunliffe, Robert Bartlett (historian), John Morrill (historian), Asa Briggs 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
- 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 any name, June brings summer" in The Northern Echo
- A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-280050-7