|
|
Middleham
Historical and geographical information
|
|
Dates are in red.
Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
Headlines of the history of the Middleham
are in brown.
References and citations are in turquoise.
Contextual history is in purple.
This webpage about the Middleham has the following
section headings:
The Farndales of Middleham
Middleham
Middleham is a small English market
town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district
of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale ,
on the southern side of the valley upstream from the junction of the River
Ure and River Cover. There has been a settlement since Roman
times, recorded in the Domesday Book as Medelai,
middle ham or village.
Middleham Timeline
69 CE
The first known settlement was during the Roman
period. The IXth Legion of the Roman Army conquered
York in 69 AD and moved north. A branch road from the Great North
Road passed through Middleham to the Roman fort at Bainbridge. Near
Middleham, the Romans built a guard station to control traffic on the River Ure.
1050
Before the Norman Conquest, the lands in the area
were controlled by Gilpatrick.
1069
In 1069, William the Conqueror granted the
land around Middleham to his Breton cousin Alan Rufus, who built a
wooden motte-and-bailey castle above the town.
1086
By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Alan had
given the castle to his brother Ribald. Its earthworks are still visible at
William's Hill. Alan also built the castle at Richmond.
1190
Construction of the castle that currently dominates
the town, Middleham Castle, began in 1190.
Thirteenth century
The Nevilles, Earls of Westmorland, acquired it
through marriage with a female descendant of Ribald in the 13th century. It was
dubbed the "Windsor of the North".
1389
As early as 1389, the Lord of Middleham Manor received
a grant from the crown to hold a weekly market and a yearly fair on the feast
of St Alkelda the Virgin. The town is built around two market
places: the larger, lower one is dominated by a medieval cross, topped by a
modern iron cross in Celtic style. The upper or swine market centres around the
remains of a 15th-century market cross and a line of steps. At one end of the
market cross is a worn effigy of an animal reclining and at the other there may
have been a moulded capital.
1462
The castle was in the possession of Richard
Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick when his cousin Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
the future Richard III, came there to learn the skills of knighthood in
1462.
During the Wars of the Roses, both Edward
IV and Henry VI were held prisoner there.
1471
Richard, Duke of Gloucester became master of the
castle in 1471 after Warwick's death at the Battle of Barnet. He used it
as his political base for administering the North on behalf of his brother
Edward IV.
1472
Richard married Warwick's daughter, Anne Neville,
in 1472.
1473
Middleham Castle is where their
son Edward was born in about 1473 and died in April 1484.
1485
Richard III, who died in August 1485 at
the Battle of Bosworth, was the last reigning King of England to perish in
battle.
In the time of Richard III, Middleham was a bustling
market town and political centre.
Most buildings in the old part of Middleham predate
1600; the old rectory has some medieval features incorporated into it.
1607
In 1607 Middleham was important enough for a royal
court, covering all residents of the forest of Wensleydale. Middleham and
surrounding lands were part of the Crown estates from the accession of Richard
III until Charles I sold the manor to the City of London in
about 1628.
1661
In 1661 the City of London sold Middleham Manor on to
Thomas Wood of Littleton, and it has remained in private hands to this
day.
1915
In 1915 the annual livestock market was still
regionally important, but the weekly market had been discontinued. Today the
livestock market is in Leyburn.
Links, texts and books