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RICHMOND, a parish in the wapentake of Gilling West, and liberty of Richmondshire; 8 miles from Leyburn; 10 from Reeth; and 16 from Northallerton. The town stands on an eminence, boldly rising from the Swale, which winds in a semi-circular form at the foot of the castle.

In the time of Leland, this was a walled town, and in the wall there had been three gates:- French gate,- to the north; Finkle gate, to the west ; and Barr gate, leading to the Bridge over the Swale; but even then the gates were down, and their sites were marked only by vestiges. Alan Rufus, one of the adventurers who accompanied William the Conqueror, in his descent on England, and who commanded the rear guard of his army in the battle of Hastings, was the founder of this town and Castle, which, though seated on a rock, and on the verge of the moors, received the name of "Rich-mount", on account of the partiality of its lords. Alan, who was the nephew of the Conqueror, and afterwards became Earl of Bretagne, received from his uncle the title of the Earl of Richmond. The Charter for dispossessing Earl Edwyn, the Saxon lord, of his Yorkshire estates, and conferring them upon Alan, was granted at the siege of York, in the year 1069, and is couched in these brief but comprehensive terms

I, WILLIAM, surnamed the Bastard, do give and grant to thee Alan, my nephew, Earl of Bretagne, and to thy heirs for ever, all the towns and lands which lately belonged to Earl Edwyn in Yorkshire, with the Knights fees, churches, and other privileges and customs, in as free and honourable a manner as the said Edwyn held them.
Given from the siege before York.

It appears from Madox's history of the Exchequer, that this grant conveyed 140 Knight's fees, each fee containing 12 plowlands, or 640 acres; and Richmondshire, the seat of these ample possessions, contains 104 parishes. This jurisdiction comprehends the five wapentakes of Halikeld, Gilling East and Gilling West, and Hang East and Hang West. It has the Tees for its northern boundary the Wiske to the east; the Ure to the south; and the wapentakes of Claro and Staincliffe to the west. The foundations of Richmond, and of its Castle, were laid about the year 1087, and this archdeaconry, like all the archdeaconries in the Cathedral of York, was founded in the time of Archbishop Thomas, who sat from 1070 to 1100.

In fixing upon a site for his castle, which was to serve at once for a place of residence and a station of defence, Earl Alan selected the strongest point in his domain, and laid the foundations on the almost perpendicular rock on the left bank of the Swale. To increase its security, his successors, Alan the younger, and Stephen Fergeaunt, encompassed it with a high wall, about 800 yards in length, embattled and flanked with lofty towers. To the south, the west, and the east, the fortress was rendered impregnable by the combined operation of nature and art; and on the north, which was the weakest side, Conan, the fourth Earl of Richmond, built the great square tower, or keep, in 1146, the walls of which, with their pinnacled watch towers, from their extraordinary thickness, have braved the dilapidating hand of time, and retain at this day their original dimensions and stability. From this tower, which is 99 feet high, with walls 11 feet thick, the defenders of the castle had a commanding view of the surrounding country; and in case of attack, all the movements of their enemies became as visible to them, as if they had been made in the court yard of the fortress. To strengthen this approach, an outwork, called the Barbican, was erected, which defended the gate and the draw-bridge at the principal entrance. On the top of the walls, and on the flat roofs of the buildings, stood the defenders of the castle, and from thence discharged their arrows and missiles, according to the usages of war, before Schwartz, the German priest, had facilitated the work of destruction by the invention of gunpowder (in 1320). A tower, about 14 feet deep, which probably served as a staircase to the Scolland, so called from the name of the high steward in the time of Earl Alan, still remains; and tradition, which is apt to deal in the marvellous, has made it the entrance to a subterraneous passage from the castle to the priory of St. Martin, under the bed of the Swale! The Earls, who were the friends, and of the family of princes, lived here in almost regal style; and the Scolland, which wad a hall 72 feet long by 27 broad, was the banqueting room for the lord and his numerous officers and retainers. Happily, this castle, with almost all the other inland fortresses of England, has long since fallen into ruins. The people want not their protection, nor the prince their aid. Rapine and hostile alarm have ceased, and the settled administration of law neither craves nor allows of these feudal auxiliaries. Richmond Castle does not appear to have owed its destruction either to the hostile attack of an enemy, o

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