Richmond Castle: eleventh to fourteenth century enclosure castle

Scheduled area

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History & significance

Richmond Castle is a late eleventh-century enclosure castle situated at Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. Founded shortly after the Norman Conquest by Alan the Red, Count of Brittany, the castle was constructed to command the crossing of the River Swale and to consolidate Norman control over the strategically significant northern territories. The castle's most distinctive feature is its massive stone keep, begun in the late eleventh century and representing one of the earliest and finest examples of Norman keep architecture in England, with walls reaching a thickness of eleven feet. The castle retains substantial portions of its original stone curtain wall and remains a testament to the architectural ambitions and military requirements of the early Norman settlement in the North.

Richmond Castle: eleventh to fourteenth century enclosure castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1010627. View the official record →

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