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Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle is a ruined castle in the Yorkshire Dales market town of Middleham. Construction of the castle began in 1190 and it still dominates the town.
Middleham Castle was built near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle, called William's Hill. The location of the castle was as a safe refuge on the road from Richmond to Skipton, and in this respect it guarded the road and the area of Coverdale. Pevsner comments that the site of the original castle which had a motte of 40 feet was far better placed to defend the road than the latter castle of 1190 (Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Yorkshire; the North Riding (2 ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09665-8). The castle is a compact, massive structure, and though ruinous, most of the walls are intact. A simple rectangle in plan, the castle consists of a massive Norman keep surrounded by a later curtain wall, to which were then added extensive, palatial residential ranges.
After the death of King Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, the castle was seized by Henry VII and remained in royal hands until tit was allowed to go to ruin in the 17th century and many of the stones from the castle were used in other buildings in the village of Middleham.
The site is now managed by English Heritage and is open to the public (Link
English Heritage). It is a Grade I listed Building (List Entry Number: 1318543 Link Historic England) and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (List Entry Number: 1010629 Link ).
Middleham Castle was built near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle, called William's Hill. The location of the castle was as a safe refuge on the road from Richmond to Skipton, and in this respect it guarded the road and the area of Coverdale. Pevsner comments that the site of the original castle which had a motte of 40 feet was far better placed to defend the road than the latter castle of 1190 (Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Yorkshire; the North Riding (2 ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09665-8). The castle is a compact, massive structure, and though ruinous, most of the walls are intact. A simple rectangle in plan, the castle consists of a massive Norman keep surrounded by a later curtain wall, to which were then added extensive, palatial residential ranges.
After the death of King Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, the castle was seized by Henry VII and remained in royal hands until tit was allowed to go to ruin in the 17th century and many of the stones from the castle were used in other buildings in the village of Middleham.
The site is now managed by English Heritage and is open to the public (Link
English Heritage). It is a Grade I listed Building (List Entry Number: 1318543 Link Historic England) and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (List Entry Number: 1010629 Link ).by David Dixon
Created: Tue, 13 Jul 2021, Updated: Tue, 13 Jul 2021
11 images use this description: (all images taken in 2021)
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