Richmond Castle

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.

[2] In 1069 William the Conqueror had put down a rebellion at York which was followed by his "harrying of the North" – an act of ethnic cleansing which depopulated large areas for a generation or more.

Alan Rufus, of Brittany, received the borough of Richmond[4] 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.

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.

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.

[7] The castle is a scheduled monument,[8] a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change.