Views of Middleham"For my part I cannot pass by Middleham without a shudder; for over all the knightly and the noble recollections of the Nevilles there broods the most terrible of all figures in our English history, the shade of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a man in many ways so wise and strong, so clear-sighted and so brave in action that in him villainy was seen surely at its best... I cannot see past this terrible figure of King Richard the Third..."
Arthur H. Norway "The Castle of Pomfret was not the only abode of Richard Duke of Gloucester. This fortress, indeed, appears to have been his state residence in virtue of his extensive offices; but Middleham, which he is said to have ever regarded with such warm interest, was his domestic home. This castle and lordship was bestowed upon him by King Edward IV, probably at his earnest request, shortly after the death and attainder of the Earl of Warwick; and its association with every leading point of interest connected with the springtime of his life, and that of the Lady Anne, explains fully, when taken in conjunction with his energetic temperament, the cause of his predilection for the spot, and of its being selected after their marriage as their fixed home and private dwelling-place."
Caroline Amelia Halsted "Its gray stone walls and towers planted solidly on the southern slope of Wensleydale, Middleham Castle had already dominated the valley for three hundred years when Richard rode up the steep slope through the marketplace of the village and entered its inner ward by the northern drawbridge and gate. Before him rose one of the largest keeps in England.... Behind the castle, to the south, the moors rolled upward to the sky; there was yet visible on the slope the remains of an earlier Norman 'motte and bailey' fortress which had perhaps been raised on the site of a Saxon or Roman or even an ancient Celtic earthwork. To the north, the land fell steeply past the village to the swift-flowing Ure. Beyond, rose the farther slopes of the dale and the moors... "Wensleydale was less subdued to man than the softer countryside which Richard had known in the south: a land of scattered castles and abbeys, their villages and fields huddled about them amidst the great wild sweep of moor. The hills seemed to have been rounded by the stamp of Roman legions and of Celtic kings. The earth was gigantic, elemental -- leading men's thoughts to God, teaching men the necessity of human ties, confirming men in their feeling for old ways and old things. The people were directly swayed by their instincts, quick to take arms in a quarrel, slow to shift loyalties, earnest in their convictions. Here young Richard, in those impressionable years between nine and thirteen, discovered the native country of his spirit, a country which half created, half affirmed the kind of man he was to be."
Paul Murray Kendall The sky was a deep midnight blue, spangled with stars. Richard leaned against the battlement, gazed out across the moonlit shadows that hid the landscape he so loved. Wensleydale had been ablaze with autumn bracken when he'd first laid eyes upon Middleham, a nervous nine-year-old consigned to his cousin the Kingmaker's care. The happiest years of his boyhood had been spent within these walls. And here he'd brought Anne, his bride of a week. Over the years, they'd spent time at other castles: Sheriff Hutton, Pontefract, Skipton. But Middleham had retained its hold upon his heart. Middleham had been home."
Sharon Kay Penman "'I cannot bear to think of those happy times at Middleham, but when I breathe the corruption down there' -- and [Richard] gestured fiercely in the direction of the Great Hall -- 'then I mind how sweet were the cold moors of Wensleydale with their sharp cleansing gales and haunted mists. There a man could come close to God and know himself at last. Here...there is naught but greed and spite and lechery...'"
Rosemary Hawley Jarman '[Richard's] castles of Middleham and Sheriff Hutton -- and it is a reasonable assumption that much of the young Richard's time was spent there -- were thus the centres of patronage, influence and aristocratic social life for the counties north of Trent. It is a fair presumption that here Richard, in his formative years, made the acquaintance of his future wife, Warwick's younger daughter, Anne Nevill, and one of his closest friends and most loyal supporters in later life, Warwick's ward, Francis, Lord Lovell. No less important was Richard's introduction to the large circle of northern noblemen and gentry -- Scropes, FitzHughs, Greystokes, Dacres -- who revolved round the regional courts of the Nevills in the early years of Edward's reign... Northern society was tightly clannish, independent and resentful of outside control, but by 1471 Richard was in its eyes no unknown and alien southerner." Charles Ross "Richard's was not an open nor a friendly personality, yet it was said of him that where he was most known he was most liked. Middleham shares something of his withdrawn, introspective character. The Norman keep is closely bounded by an impressive curtain wall with ranges of gaunt and blackened buildings filling most of the bailey and giving a rather claustophobic feeling. The curtain wall is thirteenth century, heightened in the late fourteenth century - early fifteenth century when the gatehouse was added in the northeast corner. The castle stands on the edge of the moor and the village occupies the outer bailey. The road between Middleham and Richmond has some magnificent scenery, especially fine in the autumn, and the delightful castellated Middleham bridge, a suspension bridge of c. 1830, acts as a prologue to the Castle."
Lord Montague of Beaulieu
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