Skipton Castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England.

Skipton Castle in Yorkshire Based in Skipton, this is a medieval Grade I listed Yorkshire castle built by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron, in 1090. It has been preserved for more than 900 years.

Skipton Castle is a Grade I Listed medieval castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron, and has been preserved for over 931 years.

A colourised photochrom of Skipton Castle, c.1890 – 1900

The castle was originally a motte and bailey castle built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, lord of the multiple estates of Bolton Abbey. Shortly after 1102 Henry I extended Romille's lands to include all of upper Wharfedale and upper Airedale. The earth and wood castle was rebuilt in stone to withstand attacks by the Scots. The cliffs behind the castle, dropping down to Eller Beck, made the castle a perfect defensive structure. The Romille line died out. 

In 1310 Edward II granted the castle to Robert Clifford who was appointed Lord Clifford of Skipton and Guardian of Craven. Robert Clifford ordered many improvements to the fortifications, but died in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 when the improvements were barely complete. Skipton was raided by the Scots during The Great Raid of 1322, yet the castle, with all its improvements, withstood the attack.

During the English Civil War the castle was the only Royalist stronghold in the north of England until December 1645. After a three-year siege, a surrender was negotiated in 1645 between Oliver Cromwell and the Royalists. Cromwell slighted the castle by ordering the removal of the roofs. Legend has it that during the siege, sheep fleeces were hung over the walls to deaden the impact from the rounds of cannon fire. Sheep fleeces feature in the town's coat of arms. Skipton remained the Cliffords' principal seat until 1676. Lady Anne Clifford (1590–1676) was the last Clifford to own it. After the siege, she ordered repairs and she planted a yew tree in the central courtyard to commemorate its repair after the war.

The yew tree, now over 9 feet in girth was planted as a sapling in 1659 by Lady Anne Clifford following her restoration of the castle.

The courtyard at Skipton Castle 

Portrait of John Tufton (1609–1664), 2nd Earl of Thanet painted by William Dobson (1611–1646) held by the Abbot Hall Art Gallery

Lady Anne's daughter, Lady Margaret Sackville (1614–1676), married John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet (1609–1664) and the castle was then passed down through the Tufton family, becoming the seat of Lord Hothfield in 1871.

Lady Anne's Way is a 100-mile hiking route between Skipton and Penrith in Northern England. The trail is punctuated by houses and towers once owned by the Clifford family, but is named after Lady Anne Clifford who renovated and repaired the buildings in the 17th century. The route goes through Grassington, Buckden, Askrigg, Garsdale Head, Kirkby Stephen, Great Ormside, Appleby-in-Westmorland and Penrith.

Today Skipton Castle is a well-preserved medieval castle and is a tourist attraction and private residence. The castle is the start of the 100-mile Lady Anne's Way long-distance path to Penrith.

Further Reginaldus Flandrensis witnessed a Skipton charter around 1130. "He held an office of trust as Seneschall of Skipton Castle, and we must assume that these lands were given to him at about that time as a reward for his services. They amounted to 1 Knight's fee and 14 carucates, and were held under Skipton Castle for feudal service."

The castle has six drum towers, with a domestic range connecting two towers on the northern side, protected by a precipice overlooking the Eller Beck. The first floor comprises the original kitchen, great hall, withdrawing rooms and the lord's bedchamber. New kitchens, storage and work cellars make up the ground floor. The remaining towers are military in nature and purpose. In the 16th and 17th centuries were added a new entrance staircase (replacing the original drawbridge), a further domestic wing, and larger windows in the original structure. The roof is fully intact. In the centre is a Tudor courtyard, the Conduit Court, which contains a yew tree, reputedly planted by Lady Anne in 1659.

The outer curtain wall encloses the inner wards and subsidiary buildings, including the ruins of a 12th-century chapel. The wall is mainly extant, and is pierced by a twin-towered Norman gatehouse. The east tower of the gatehouse contains a 17th-century shell grotto, one of two remaining grottos from this period. (The other is at Woburn Abbey.)

The 12th-century chapel of St John the Evangelist

Rievaulx Abbey, North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England

North Yorkshire, England

Allerton Park, North Yorkshire, England.

Robin Hood’s Bay, England

Track to Wetherlam, above the old mines of Tilberthwaite, North Yorkshire, England

Newby Hall

The manor of Newby was sold in the 1690s, following the death of Sir John Crosland in 1670, by the Crosland family to Sir Edward Blackett, MP for Ripon. He demolished the old manor house and in 1697 built a spacious mansion designed with the assistance of Sir Christopher Wren. He died in 1718 and was succeeded by his son Edward and he in turn by his nephew Edward. The latter sold the estate in 1748 to Richard Elcock (later Richard Elcock Weddell) and it passed from him to his young son William Weddell in 1762. William Weddell (1736–1792), who became an MP for Malton, benefited from his great-uncle's South Sea fortune and improved and enlarged the house during the 1760s. The interior was remodelled and several architects contributed, including Robert Adam.[1] The building housed William Weddell's collection of Roman antiquities, which he brought back from Italy (1764–1765). William died in 1792, leaving the estate to Thomas Philip Robinson, Lord Grantham, who later changed his name to Thomas Weddell and then to Thomas de Grey. When he died in 1859 his titles passed to his nephew, George Robinson, 2nd Earl of Ripon but Newby Hall went to his daughter, Lady Mary Gertrude Robinson. She married Henry Vyner (1805–1861). Lady Mary commissioned architect William Burges to build a church in the grounds in 1871–76 as a memorial to their son, who was killed by bandits in Greece in 1870. An equestrian statue brought to England by the Vyners and erected in London after the Restoration was re-erected at Newby in 1883. Another son Henry Frederick Clare Vyner (1836–83) inherited Newby, followed by his brother, Robert Charles de Grey Vyner (1842–1915). Mary Evelyn Vyner, daughter of Robert Charles, inherited Newby in 1915 and married Lord Alwyne Compton in 1886, dying in 1957. During the Second World War, Newby was one of several country retreats selected to house the Royal Family, if they had needed to be evacuated from the capital (see Coats Mission). The present owners, the Compton family, descended from William Weddell, have restored the property. The gardens, which have extensive herbaceous borders and woodland walks, were developed in their present form by Major Edward Compton, who took over Newby in 1921. His son Robert Edward John Compton, born in 1922 and (known as Robin) was chairman of Time-Life International for many years and took over the running of Newby Hall in 1960. He was appointed High Sheriff of North Yorkshire in 1978 and Deputy Lieutenant from 1981. It was then passed down to Richard Clephane Compton and his family, Orlando, Ludovic and Sasha (Alexandra). In 1973 a miniature railway was constructed; it was enlarged in 1985. Running along the bank of the river, the train is pulled by a Battison-built 1/5 scale model of the Royal Scot (6100) on Sundays and Bank Holidays. At other times the train is pulled by the Countess De Grey or Lady Mary Vyner, LPG-powered Diesel-Hydraulic locomotives designed by David Curwen and built by Severn Lamb. In 1979 a newly constructed adventure playground was opened by Sir Jackie Stewart. A 2007 TV adaptation of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park was filmed at the Hall. Newby Hall also holds the National Collection of the genus Cornus (dogwoods). In 1997 Robert Compton handed over the property to his younger son, Richard, his eldest son having inherited Invercauld estate in Scotland.

Fountains Abbey England