Visited September 2024

Location	Middleham, Yorkshire
Entrance Fee	Yes
Railway Station Nearby	No
Parking	Yes
Facilities	Gift Shop
Map

This great Yorkshire stronghold was the childhood home of both Richard III and his wife Anne Neville. When as adults they became man and wife, they made Middleham their family home and Richard's son Edward was born here.

Review

The original castle was started by a Norman lord called Alan the Red in about 1080. His descendants re-built it in stone in the 12th century. By the 13th century Middleham had been acquired by the Neville family, who were powerful in the North. They further extended and improved the castle, adding the curtain wall with the four towers.

The most famous of the Northern Nevilles was Richard Neville, known as Warwick the Kingmaker. He was also the owner of Warwick Castle. Richard III had been brought up in the Warwick household at Middleham, which is where he got to know Anne, Richard Neville's daughter. When Neville was killed during the Wars of the Roses, Richard inherited his father-in-law's castle. As it was their childhood home, Richard and Anne decided to make their home here, and this was where they raised their son, Edward of Middleham. Tragically this is also where his son died in 1484, aged just 10 years old. His wife Anne died not long after in 1485 and Richard returned to his castle alone.

After Richard's death ownership of the castle went to the crown, with King James I selling it to a private owner in 1605. It remained in private ownership until 1926 when it was given over to the care of the state. Today it is managed by English Heritage.

There is a lot of castle to see which should appeal to Richardians and non-Richardians alike. 

The castle is entered through the gatehouse; the structure as it is today became the gatehouse in the 1400s when the entrance to the castle was moved from the eastern side. The remains of a bridge are all that are left to mark the original entrance. Once through the gatehouse there is the site of the Chapel, the Great Tower and a modern day statue of Richard III to admire, among other things. The south western tower is known as 'The Prince's Tower' as it is likely this is where Edward of Middleham was born and lived for his short life.

The Great Hall is also impressive. The original hall had very few windows so was dark, at some point the roof was raised to allow for windows to be put in, and although the hall is now roofless you can still see the traces of the raised roof on the walls. There appears to be no fireplace in the hall so the hearth was probably in the middle of the floor, also necessitating the ground floor windows, to allow the smoke to escape.

Some of the features at the castle are more recent, for example the 18th century circular horse mill which would have been used to grind the castle stones into sand. 

In terms of visiting the castle, the main thing to be aware of is that there are no toilets within the site. There are some public toilets in the centre of Middleham village which are about two minutes walk from the castle, but a bit tricky to find if you don't know exactly where. 

The castle is also lacking a cafe, although there is a hot drinks machine. However Middleham has several cafes and pubs to satisfy your food needs (including the Richard III Hotel which has a public bar)

On the day we visited there were some toys/activities for children at the castle. It is a vast castle and is one that looks like most children's idea of a castle, so they should be satisfied on that count (sometimes kids are less than satisfied if the castle doesn't look like those in their story books!)

Once you have visited the castle it is worth taking the short walk to the village church, dedicated to St Mary and St Alkeda. This would have been Richard III's local parish church. There are references to Richard and his family in the church, and it is here you can see a replica of the Middleham Jewel. This was found near the castle in 1985, and the original is currently in the Yorkshire Museum. It is a gold pendant with a sapphire on the front. This type of jewel was associated with good luck in childbirth, so would have belonged to a woman. It has been dated to  approx 1450-75 so of Richard's time. However no one knows who the owner might have been, but it is thought Richard's mother in law, Anne Beauchamp, may have been present at the birth of her grandson Richard of Middleham and so could have been the one time owner. However this is just speculation, like so much of Richard's history.

If you have an interest in RIII then this is a must-see castle, but we recommend it for any castle fan as it certainly won't disappoint!

More info:  English Heritage Middleham Castle