To book a special birthday trip to Richmond Castle in click here. For more information, click here. Richmond Castle Facts. Richmond Castle, Richmond.
Richmond Castle Facts The Birthday Castle Richmond Castle is a bold statement of great wealth and power and an incredible survival of an early 11th century stone castle. It is the best-preserved early Norman castle in England.
By the early 16th century the castle was derelict and it remained in ruins for years. This range of buildings is massively significant as according to English Heritage, it is one of only a few grand castle buildings in the country certainly dated to the reign of William the Conqueror.
You have to go inside to truly appreciate its scale. Originally the hall would have sat above an undercroft, and would have had a stunning high-pitched roof, with a decorative cornice of arches running below it on either side evidence of these still exist. From this range of buildings there is also a small gateway to the Cockpit possibly named after cock fighting which was popular from the sixteenth century onwards. Today the Cockpit contains a lovely garden which was commissioned by English Heritage in From here we made our way up past the Eastern walls and back towards the tower.
Back to that magnificent tower keep then, wow just wow! The ground floor features a lovely vaulted roof, added in the the late thirteenth century, and a well which I could have fallen in all those years ago! You can then access the upper floors from a spiral staircase a later addition , or climb up to the first floor via some steps which take you up and over the nineteenth century cell block.
Amazingly, you can access every floor of the tower keep. Coming up the stairs from the first floor, you emerge into a small lobby before going through to the magnificent hall. This vast space would have been used for formal gatherings, and incorporates two small external chambers which would have been used by VIP guests wanting to escape for some private time.
A lovely timber roof a much later addition adds to the grandeur of this incredible space. From the hall, another staircase takes you up to the roof. I wondered again, just how incredible these views must have been for people back in the twelfth century. I mean, when you remember that this tower is around years old, you can truly appreciate the effect it must have had on the population of the day.
For further photos of Richmond Castle click here to view the gallery. Richmond castle is really quite special. The range of buildings situated in the South East of the enclosure, are also well worth spending some time exploring. If you want to get a taste of what early Norman architecture was really like, this is a very good place to start.
Richmond itself is a lovely little market town and it really is worth spending a few days exploring the town and castle if you can. There are some great pubs and guesthouses if you decide to stay a few nights. Whilst in the area why not also visit Bolton Castle and Middleham Castle. Middleham is also managed by English Heritage so if your a member you could have a pretty cheap day out. Easby Abbey is also just up the road, and its history is very much entwined with that of Richmond Castle.
There is no onsite parking unfortunately, but you can park in town for free for a couple of hours, or there are several private car parks situated around town which are quite reasonably priced. For more information and opening times check out the English Heritage website here. I really hope you enjoyed reading about my experience of Richmond castle. For more castle related articles check out my castles page here. Another article you might want to have a look at is a list of six of my favourite castles in Yorkshire.
Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Gravett, C Norman Stone Castles 1. Osprey, Oxford. Goodall, J Richmond Castle. English Heritage, London. Johnson, P Bloomsbury, London.
King, C. J Castellarium anglicanum: an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Kraus International Publications. Salter, M The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire. Folly Publications. Williams, A and Martin, G. Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. Viking, London. Richmond Castle is a well preserved eleventh century stone fortification. The later Keep includes the stone archway of the original gateway and the parapets of the tower can be accessed giving a good view of the surrounding area.
Regrettably the cells used to hold the conscious objectors are not open to the public. Richmond Castle Layout.
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