Richmond

Sister cities

• Vinstra
• Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier

History

Richmond in North Yorkshire was the Honour of Richmond of the Earls of Richmond (or comtes de Richemont), a dignity also held by the Duke of Brittany from 1136 to 1399. Richmond was founded in 1071 by Alan Rufus, a Breton nobleman, on lands granted to him by William the Conqueror, though it was called Hindrelag initially. The name derives from Old French "Riche and Monte", meaning "Strong Hill", and is probably named after his Richemont in Normandy. Richmond is one of the most commonly re-used English place names: there are over 56 other Richmonds around the world. Richmond Castle was completed in 1086 with a keep and walls encompassing the area now known as the Market Place. Richmond was part of the lands of the earldom of Richmond, which was intermittently held by the Dukes of Brittany until the 14th century. John V, Duke of Brittany, died in 1399, and Henry IV took possession. Richmond is one of a few settlements that was spared from being raided by the Scots during The Great Raid of 1322 by bribing them off. In 1453, the earldom was conferred on Edmund Tudor, and it was merged with the crown when Edmund's son became King Henry VII in 1485. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the Covenanter Army led by David Leslie, Lord Newark, took over the castle, and conflict ensued between local Catholics and Scottish Presbyterians. In 1608, Robert Willance became the first alderman of Richmond, two years prior in 1606, whilst hunting on the nearby Whitcliffe Scar, the horse Willance was riding became nervous when thick mist descended, bolting over the edge and falling over to the valley floor, Willance survived this fall with a broken leg and erected a monument on top of the cliff as a show of gratitude for his survival. Willance died in 1616. The prosperity of the…

Geography

Situated approximately north-west of the county town Northallerton, Richmond straddles the eastern border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, at the edge of a valley or dale known as Swaledale, which takes its name from the river that flows through the town, said to be one of the fastest flowing in England. The nearest official Met Office weather station to Richmond is Leeming, about to the south-east. Temperature extremes have ranged from during August 1990, down to during December 2010.