 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2009) |
| Honour of Richmond Richmondshire | |
|---|---|
| Feudal barony | |
 The honour's location in England | |
| History | |
| • Succeeded by | Richmondshire (an equivalent non-metropolitan district after the honour had long been disbanded) |
| • HQ | Richmond |
| Subdivisions | |
| • Type | Wapentakes and manors |
| • Units |
|
The Honour of Richmond (or Richmondshire) was a feudal barony in what is now mainly North Yorkshire, England. The honour was two tiers below Yorkshire, the middle tier being the North Riding.
Before the honour was created, the land was held by Edwin, Earl of Mercia who died in 1071. The honour was granted to Count Alan Rufus (also known as Alain le Roux) by King William the Conqueror (as a gift of thanks for his services in the Conquest) sometime from after the Domesday Book of 1068 to just after the earls death in 1071, the date is uncertain. [1]
The honour comprised 60 knight's fees and was one of the most important fiefdoms in Norman England.[2] According to the 14th-century Genealogia of the lords of Richmond, Alan Rufus built a stronghold in the district. The buildings were later known as Richmond Castle which is alluded to in the Domesday survey as forming a ‘castlery’.[3]
- ^ "THE HONOUR AND CASTLE OF RICHMOND". British History. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
The date of the grant is uncertain, and no charter remains to bear witness to it. The most likely date in that case would seem to be 1069, when Edwin was still living ... If the evidence of the so-called charter is inaccurate on this point as on others the grant may have been delayed until after the death of Edwin in 1071.
- ^ Butler, Lawrence (2003). "4.The origins of the honour of Richmond and its castles". In Robert Liddiard (ed.). Anglo Norman Castles. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press. pp. 91–95. ISBN 0-85115-904-4.
- ^ "THE HONOUR AND CASTLE OF RICHMOND". British History. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
... the early poem which contains the first mention of it yet discovered says that William the Conqueror gave Count Alan Richmond 'a good castle fair and strong.' (fn. 259) This statement may, however, be due to poetic licence.