Richmondshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Richmondshire District | |
|---|---|
 Shown within North Yorkshire |
|
| Geography | |
| Status: | District |
| Region: | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Historic county: | Yorkshire (North Riding) |
| Admin. county: | North Yorkshire |
| Area: - Total |
Ranked 9th 1,318.67 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Richmond |
| ONS code: | 36UE |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density |
Ranked 340th 50,700 38 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 98.2% White |
| Politics | |
| Richmondshire District Council |
|
| Leadership: | Alternative - Sec.31 |
| Control: | Independent |
| MP: | William Hague |
Richmondshire is a local government district of North Yorkshire in England. It covers a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales, including Swaledale and Wensleydale and includes the major settlements of:
- Askrigg
- Barton
- Catterick
- Catterick Garrison
- Colburn
- Croft-on-Tees
- Hawes
- Keld
- Leyburn
- Middleham
- Middleton Tyas
- Reeth
- Richmond
The current district was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the municipal borough of Richmond with the Aysgarth Rural District, Leyburn Rural District, Reeth Rural District and Richmond Rural District along with part of the Croft Rural District, all in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
The Council was controlled by Independent councillors until May 2003, when elections returned a council with no overall control (Conservative 11; Independent 9; Lib Dem 8; Richmondshire Independent Group 5; Social Democrat Party 1). Conservative John Blackie was elected as leader of the Council. In December 2005 Blackie was replaced by the leader of the Independent Coalition for Richmondshire, Bill Glover, following the resignation of several councillors from the Conservative group and the merger of the rival Independent groups. Political groups on the council currently stand at:
- Independent Coalition for Richmondshire - 17
- Liberal Democrats and Associates - 9
- Conservative - 6
- Social Democratic Party - 1
- Independent 1
Contents |
[edit] History
Richmondshire was both prosperous and politically important during much of its recorded history. Of old Yorkshire families more particularly dealt with may be mentioned the following: Alderson, Allen, Aske, Atkinson, Banks, Bathurst, Bellerby, Birkbeck, Blackburn, Blades, Bolton, Booth, Bowes, Brown, Bulmer, Burgh, Calvert, Chapman, Chaytor, Clarke, Clifford, Close, Coates, Conyers, Coverdale, Cradock, Croft, D'Arcy, De la Mare, Denys, Dundas, Ellerton, Fawcett, Fitzhugh, Fothergill, Fulthorpe, Gale, Gascoigne, Gaunt, Gibson, Gill, Harker, Harrison, Hertford, Hicks, Horne, Hutchinson, Hutton, Ingleby, James, Jaques, Johnson, Kearton, King, Lawson, Leeds, Lennox, Lightfoot, Lister, Loftus, Malolacu, Marmion, Mason, Metcalfe, Milbank, Montacute, Moorhouse, Mowbray, Neville, Norton, Osborne, Other, Pattison, Peacock, Pigot, Raine, Rawe, Robinson, Routh, Ryder, St. Quintin, Scott, Scrope, Smith, Spensley, Swale, Taylor, Tempest, Thoresby, Tiptoft, Topham, Walker, Wandesforde, Webster, Whaley, Wharncliffe, Wharton, Wickliffe, Wilkinson, Willis, Winn, Wood, Wyvill, Yarker, Zetland.
[edit] Catterick
Cataractonium or Catraeth was the southern capital in the Kingdom of Rheged, as well as being a Roman outpost.
[edit] Gilling
Richmond was held by Edwin, Earl of Mercia in 1071 and was known as Gilling after the Anglian Clan Gilling. Gilling was a regional capital of Deira, previously having a minor religious role (see Alkelda) as well before the Scandinavian arrival. The district had a lesser known reputation for having many gallows, although that was an ancient practice discontinued long before present. Richmondshire (as Gilling) historically consisted of a large swath of land stretching from the Vale of Mowbray to the Irish Sea, encompassing the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District (approximate extent). Wapentakes of Gilling West, Gilling East, Hang West, Hang East, Hallikeld, Lonsdale, Amounderness; as well as all that land south of Scotland (parts of County Durham, Westmorland, Cumberland) during the time of the Domesday Book was considered part of Richmondshire (although shown as Yorkshire on maps) as opposed to the Scottish fief in Bernicia, called Northumbria. This also means that Richmondshire was the first English border country with Scotland post-Conquest.[1] Because of history, Viking placenames are of Norwegian derivation (supposed to be from the Trøndelag[2]), rather than Danish.
[edit] Richmond
In any case, Richmond has a more Breton history to York's more Norman history. Richmond itself was founded by Alan of Brittany at the behest of William of Normandy in the Norman Conquest; during the Harrying of the North which laid waste the Danish stronghold in Britain at Jorvik. As the fief of the Earls of Richmond (or comtes de Richemont), the shire was normally held by the Duke of Brittany from 1136 to 1399. Along with Allertonshire, it was frequently a party to border conflict with Scotland--especially when King David I of Scotland was in possession of Northumbria and the later bouts with William Wallace who conducted raids throughout the dales. The constitutional ambiguity of Dukes of Brittany as vassals of both France (in right of Brittany) and England (in right of Richmond) was the source of much tension in Breton history, particularly during the great Breton War of Succession. The towns of Bedale, Askham Bryan and Killerby were historically important liberties in Richmondshire, being constructed largely in part by Breton relations to the earls. Boston, Lincolnshire was once a fief to the Lords of Richmond. Both places experienced Breton immigration as a result of the Breton Conquest, which was slightly different from that of Normandy. Despite the governmental organisation of counties, there are closer cultural connections shared between Richmond and Lancaster, Lancashire (including the House of Lancaster), than that between Richmond and York (or the House of York). John Wycliffe came from here, although he was alone of all in residence whom had a special fondness for religious dissent and had to seek association elsewhere. Although John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster patroned his works at first, London's mobs of Lollardy held no kindness for the Duke or his property at the Savoy Palace. Richmond was also the centre of a power struggle that decided the fate of the Wars of the Roses, with the Tudor dynasty owing its origins to this land. Through this connection, the local emblem is a Tudor rose (see Richmond Herald). King Henry VIII of England moved Richmondshire from the Diocese of York to the Diocese of Chester[3], while in the time of Myles Coverdale. Religious upheaval abounded in the Pilgrimage of Grace and Rising of the North, it appearing that some activities were related to Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset. In keeping with the district's native spirit, the Archdeaconry of Richmond is now part of the Anglican Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough. One curious similarity of conditions between Richmond and York, are similar "joint geographical titlings" by British Dukes of Richmond (and Lennox or Gordon) and Dukes of York (and Albany) ever since the Union of the Crowns. There is a Georgian era marketplace and theatre, where John Wesley was received with lukewarm interest. Richmondshire and its capital have not been of much national relevance, ever since Jacobitism failed to achieve its objective. There is also a Culloden Tower in the town, built by John Yorke in order to commemorate the newfound peace throughout the border country after the Battle of Culloden. Lords of Richmond became important in the direction of Ireland and British North America, with many sad souls from Richmond seeking exit from their poverty here (mostly during the 19th century). Richmond's relative obscurity has not escaped the works of James Herriot, whose stories focused on this land. Even the story of Wuthering Heights and fictional characters Wallace and Gromit have brought notoriety to the area.
[edit] External links
| Districts of Yorkshire and the Humber |  |
| Barnsley | Bradford | Calderdale | Craven | Doncaster | East Riding of Yorkshire | Hambleton | Harrogate | Hull | Kirklees | Leeds | North Lincolnshire | North East Lincolnshire | Richmondshire | Rotherham | Ryedale | Scarborough | Selby | Sheffield | Wakefield | York | |
| Counties with multiple districts: North Yorkshire - South Yorkshire - West Yorkshire |
![[3]](http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123images/DIOCESES3.jpg){kind=link}