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{{Short description|Castle in North Yorkshire, England}}
{{about|the castle in Yorkshire|the Baroque castle in Braunschweig|Schloss Richmond|the Edwardian mansion in Sri Lanka|Richmond Castle, Kalutara}}{{Distinguish|Richmond Palace}}[[File:Bailey and keep, Richmond Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1318287.jpg|300px|thumb|right|upright=1.35|The 12th-century [[keep]] is {{convert|100|ft|m}} high.]]
'''Richmond Castle''' in [[Richmond, North Yorkshire|Richmond]], [[North Yorkshire]], England, stands in a commanding position above the [[River Swale]], close to the centre of the town of Richmond. It was originally called Riche Mount, 'the strong hill'. The castle was constructed by [[Alan Rufus]] from 1071 onwards following the [[Norman Conquest of England]], and the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' of 1086 refers to 'a castlery' at Richmond.

In the 12th century, his great-nephew Conan expanded the castle and built the keep. Although it was derelict by 1540, it was restored centuries later. The property is the best-preserved early Norman castle in England and an important tourist attraction.<ref name=eh>{{cite web |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/richmond-castle/history-and-stories/history/|title=History of Richmond Castle|date=1 March 2016 |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=12 January 2019 |quote=By 1540 the castle was derelict, but it later became a popular tourist destination.}}</ref>

==Layout==
[[File:Richmond Castle plan, Clark.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A plan of Richmond Castle's main enclosure, keep, and the small enclosure around the keep. The outer enclosure is off to the east.]]
Richmond Castle consists of four main parts: a triangular main enclosure, an outer enclosure to the east, a keep at the northern corner of the main enclosure, and a small enclosure around the keep.<ref>{{harvnb|Clark|1886|p=39}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Richmond Castle overlooking the River Swale.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|Richmond Castle from across the River Swale]]
In 1069 [[William the Conqueror]] had put down a rebellion at York which was followed by his [[The Harrying of the North|"harrying of the North"]] – an act of ethnic cleansing which depopulated large areas for a generation or more.<ref name="YP">{{cite news |last1=Tuffrey |first1=Peter |title=King of the castles |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=17 July 2018 |location=Picture Past |page=10|issn=0963-1496}}</ref> As a further punishment, he divided up the lands of North Yorkshire among his most loyal followers. Alan Rufus, of [[Brittany]], received the [[borough]] of Richmond<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2603983.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014090016/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2603983.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 October 2008 |title=Alan the Red, the Brit who makes Bill Gates a pauper |work= The Sunday Times |date= 9 October 2007|accessdate=7 October 2007}}</ref> and began constructing the castle to defend against further rebellions and to establish a personal power base. His holdings, called the [[Honour of Richmond]], covered parts of eight counties and amounted to one of the most extensive Norman estates in England.<ref name="YP"/>

A {{convert|100|ft|m|sing=on}}-high [[keep]] of honey-coloured sandstone was constructed at the end of the 12th century by [[Conan IV, Duke of Brittany|Duke Conan IV of Brittany]]. The [[Earl of Richmond|Earldom of Richmond]] was seized in 1158 by [[Henry II of England]].{{efn|Henry II had intervened in the succession of Conan IV as the Duke of Brittany. Henry II had come into control of Nantes. Conan IV marched on Nantes and quickly took control of it. Henry II responded by seizing Conan IV's Earldom of Richmond}} It was King Henry II who probably completed the keep which had {{convert|11|ft|m|sing=on}}-thick walls. Modern visitors can climb to the top of the keep for [[Media:View from Richmond Castle 3.jpg|magnificent views]] of the town of Richmond. At the same time that the keep was probably completed, Henry II considerably strengthened the castle by adding towers and a [[barbican]]. [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] and King [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] spent more money on the site including Edward's improvements to the keep interior.<ref name=eh/>

In addition to the main circuit of the wall, there was the [[barbican]] in front of the main gate which functioned as a sealed entry space, allowing visitors and wagons to be checked before they gained entry to the castle itself. On the other side of the castle, overlooking the river, was another enclosure or bailey called the Cockpit, which may have functioned as a garden and was overlooked by a balcony. A drawing of 1674 suggests there was another longer balcony overlooking the river side of Scolland's Hall, the [[great hall]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=753143&page=1&partId=1&peoA=102308-3-18&people=102308|title=Richmond Castle from the South East|publisher=British Museum|access-date=18 December 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Richmond Castle - geograph.org.uk - 26316.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The castle seen from the south]]
Richmond Castle had fallen out of use as a fortress by the end of the 14th century and it did not receive major improvements after that date. A survey of 1538 shows it was partly in ruins, but paintings by Turner and others, together with the rise of tourism and an interest in antiquities, led to repairs to the keep in the early 19th century.<ref name=eh/>

In 1855 the castle became the headquarters of the North Yorkshire Militia, and a military [[barracks]] block was constructed in the great courtyard. For two years, from 1908 to 1910, the castle was the home of [[Robert Baden-Powell]], later founder of the Boy Scouts, while he commanded the Northern Territorial Army but the barracks building was demolished in 1931.<ref name="YP"/> 

The castle was used during the [[World War I|First World War]] as the base of the [[Non-Combatant Corps]] made up of [[conscientious objectors]] – conscripts who refused to fight. It was also used to imprison some conscientious objectors who refused to accept army discipline and participate in the war in any way. These included the "[[Richmond Sixteen]]" who were taken to France from the castle, charged under Field Regulations, and then sentenced to death, but their death sentences were commuted to ten years' hard labour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10507058.Silence_in_castle_to_honour_First_World_War_conscientious_objectors/|title=Silence in castle to honour First World War conscientious objectors|work=The Northern Echo|access-date=18 December 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Basement of the keep, Richmond Castle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|An illustration of the keep's basement]]
The original 11th-century main gate arch is now in the basement of the later 12th century keep which was built in front of it; the original arch was unblocked in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.castlestudiesgroup.org.uk/Richmond%20Castle-Teacher's%20Kit.pdf|page=3|title=Richmond Castle: Teacher's Kit|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=18 December 2019}}</ref>

The castle is a [[scheduled monument]],<ref name="heritage gateway">{{NHLE|num=1010627 |desc=Richmond Castle: eleventh to fourteenth century enclosure castle |access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> a "nationally important" historic building and [[archaeological site]] which has been given protection against unauthorised change.<ref>{{citation |title=Scheduled Monuments |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/scheduled-monuments/ |publisher=[[Historic England]] |access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> It is also a Grade&nbsp;I [[listed building]].<ref name="heritage gateway"/><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Faqs/default.aspx?topic=4#25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111223206/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Faqs/default.aspx?topic=4#25 |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 November 2007 |title=Frequently asked questions |work=[[Images of England]] |publisher=[[Historic England]] |access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref>

According to legend, [[King Arthur]] and his knights are sleeping in a cave underneath the castle. It is said that they were once discovered by a potter named Thompson, who ran away when they began to awake. Another legend tells that a drummer boy was lost while investigating a tunnel, and that his ghostly drumming is sometimes heard around the castle.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ash |first=Russell |date=1973 |title=Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain |publisher=Reader's Digest Association Limited |page=351 |isbn=9780340165973 }}</ref>

== Graffiti ==
The cell block at the castle contains 2,300 examples of graffiti left by those imprisoned there, from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1970s. Perhaps the most significant of the mark makers were the [[Richmond Sixteen]], who were [[conscientious objectors]] imprisoned there during the First World War.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bryning |first1=Emma |last2=Kendall |first2=Charlie |last3=Leyland |first3=Megan |last4=Mitman |first4=Tyson |last5=Schofield |first5=John |date=2021-05-27 |title=Fame and recognition in historic and contemporary graffiti: examples from New York City (US), Richmond Castle and Bristol (UK) |journal=World Archaeology |language=en |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=435–450 |doi=10.1080/00438243.2022.2035802 |s2cid=246882713 |issn=0043-8243|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of castles in England]]

==Notes==
{{notes}}

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist}}

;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation |last=Clark |first=G. T. |author-link=G. T. Clark |title=Richmond Castle |journal=Yorkshire Archaeological Journal |volume=9 |year=1886 |pages=33–54 |url=https://archive.org/stream/yorkshirearchae14socigoog#page/n56/mode/2up}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation |last=Goodall |first=John |author-link=John Goodall (author) |title=Richmond Castle and St Agatha's Abbey, Easby |year=2001 |publisher=English Heritage |isbn=9781850747932|ref=none}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Richmond Castle}}
*[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/richmond-castle/ English Heritage's page on Richmond Castle]
*[http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/2143.html Gatehouse record for Richmond Castle], containing a comprehensive bibliography
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/york/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8342000/8342995.stm

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{{Castles in North Yorkshire}}

[[Category:Castles in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Locations associated with Arthurian legend]]
[[Category:Ruins in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Richmond, North Yorkshire]]