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Middleham Castle was once known as the Windsor of the North as it housed King Richard III. English Heritage now owns it and arranges medieval re-enactments in addition to the ordinary opening hours. For more information on events telephone: 01969 623899. There are spectacular views of the Dale from the top of the spiral stone staircase.

Normal Prices:

£4.00 adults
£3.20 concessions
£2.00 child
English Heritage members free

Opening Hours

• 21Mar - 30 Sept     10am - 6pm     Daily
• 1 Oct - 31March      10am - 4pm        Sat to Weds
• 24-26 Dec & 1st Jan       Closed

History

The present stone castle was built around 1170 by Robert Fitzrandolph the great-grandnephew of William the Conqueror and had an unusually large keep.

Middleham Castle was home to some of the most powerful lords of the 15th century, including Lord Salisbury, Lord Warwick and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III, he was particularly fond of Middleham, preferring it to any of his other castles. The round tower at the south-west corner of the curtain wall, traditionally known as the Prince’s Tower, is said to be where Richard’s son Prince Edward was born and died.

After Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 Henry VII became king, and Middleham Castle became his. Under the Tudors the castle was left to fall into disrepair.

In 1604 James I granted the castle to Sir Henry Linley, who made some repairs and lived there until his death in 1610 when his daughter Jane Linley then inherited the castle. In 1613 Jane married Edward, 2nd Viscount Loftus, who occupied it until 1644.
During the Civil War it was used as a prison.

In 1646 Parliament ordered the east range wall be destroyed along with most of the wall-walks, thus leaving the castle the shell it is today.

In 1662 it was sold to Edward Wood, his family owning the castle until 1889. It was then sold to Samuel Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Lord Masham, and was inherited by the second Lord Masham in 1906. In 1925 the Office of Works, later to become English Heritage, acquired the castle and it is now in their keeping and open to the public.

After the castle fell into disrepair much of the stone was taken from its walls and used by locals to build many of the houses in the town. Some local premises still have huge mantel stones around their fireplaces which were once part of the castle.

Middleham

Visiting Middleham provides a good opportunity to see where the “Middleham Jewel” was found - £1.3 million worth of sapphire and gold. This gothic piece was found by metal detector by Ted Seaton in 1985. It depicts the Holy Trinity and was designed as a charm against epilepsy. The jewel was later sold for £2.5 million to The Art Fund and can be seen at the Yorkshire Museum and Gardens in York.

Middleham is also an old racehorse training town. There are several large trainers there including Mark Johnson, who saddled his 2,000th winner in February. The high moor used to be raced on but is now a training track. Visitors can view the jockeys riding out early on a morning from the high moor between Penhill summit and Middleham.

Pubs and Food

There are two tearooms in Middleham. I have visited one once and it was fantastic serving tea as it should be (in pots with extra hot water) and a range of cakes including toasted tea cakes with butter. There is a fish and chip shop which is also very satisfactory. There are four pubs: the Black Bull, the White Swan, the Black Swan, Richard the Third. The White Swan is popular for food but I have recently sampled pizzas from a new pizza oven at the Black Bull. Visitors during the football season will find Middleham Town at the Black Bull on a Saturday afternoon after a home game. They can be seen in this picture taken from the castle.