Village of the Week: Middleham means kings, castles and the racing industry

As one of Yorkshire’s proudest centres for horse-racing in the whole county, Middleham has been affiliated with the sport since the 1700s and has produced more than 400 winners.

With a population estimate of 800 people - it is likely there are as many horse inhabitants here than human ones - so it is not unusual to see race-horses being ridden through the cobbled streets, past the quaint cottages and independent businesses and via the market squares as they make their way from the 15 local professional race yards to the gallops for training.

Some of the most famous names in horse-racing are based here. Think Charlie Johnston, Micky Hammond, Jed O’Keefe and Ben Haslam.

Just a few weeks ago on Good Friday, more than 3,000 people flocked to the town for the Middleham Open Day where the yards open to the public so fans can see behind the scenes at a professional yard, meet the horses and chat to trainers, owners, jockeys and yard staff about the work that goes into looking after and training the horses to get them race ready.

The annual event managed to catch a break in what has been a lot of wet weather but there had to be a last minute change to parking to make sure the event could still happen. Tennants Auctioneers stepped in to lend their facilities.

Good thing they did, as the Open Day raised £20,000 for the Racing Welfare charity, but all in all, the Open Day serves to highlight the care the racehorses get and what the industry means to the people that work in it.

Dual purpose trainer Neil Mechie welcomed visitors to the historic Dante Yard.

He said: “The benefit of why we try to open every year is that it gives people in racing, outside of racing, in the countryside and in the city a chance to see these horses in their natural habitat at home in their stable rather than at the racecourse, because they’re always so different at home.”

The first racehorse trainer at Middleham was Isaac Cape in 1765 and nowadays racing is the biggest source of employment in the town.

Tourism comes second, which is unusual for many places in rural areas such as the Dales these days.

However, one attraction well worth taking a look at and delving into the history of, is the afore-mentioned castle.

It provides a stunning and easily recognisable backdrop to the town of Middleham, which has some evidence which points towards settlement by the Romans (remains of a rural villa were discovered in the 19th century). In 1069, William the Conqueror’s cousin built a wooden castle where the remains are evident today at what is known as William’s Hill.

However, it was construction of Middleham Castle that we see today that really shaped the town’s history.

That began in the late 12th century, thanks to the same cousin of William the Conqueror, and eventually the castle was acquired by the Neville family and Earls of Westmorland. Henry IV stayed here as did Edward IV.

Edward stayed with Richard, Earl of Warwick and part of the Neville family, but the pair would later fall out over Royal policy and at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, Warwick was killed. By this time, Edward’s younger brother, Richard, had become the Duke of Gloucester and as a teenager had entered the Warwick household.

He married Anne Neville, Warwick’s younger daughter, and their son Edward was born in 1474. He was crowned Richard III after his brother’s death in 1483 and was known to stay at Middleham Castle.

However, Middleham Castle passed to the House of Tudor when Richard III was defeated in 1485 and by 1538, the castle had fallen into disrepair.

It was sold into private ownership by James 1 in 1604 and was involved in industrial and agricultural use - with talk of it being used to house French prisoners of war unconfirmed.

Middleham Castle was gifted to the state in 1930 and is now under the care of English Heritage.

With such connection to royal history there have been some gems (quite literally) of treasure finds.

The ‘Middleham Jewel’ was found by a metal detectorist on a bridle-path near Middleham Castle in 1985.

It would have been worn by English noblewomen in the 15th century and there are engravings of the Crucifixtion, a nativity scene and Saints. These are all examples of conventional religious imagery but other elements of the jewel, said to be worth £2.5m, blur the boundaries between medieval religion, magic and medicine.

A set blue sapphire was believed to enhance prayers but also cure ulcers, poor eyesight, headaches and stammers. Two words in an extract say Tetragrammaton, the Latinised Hebrew name of God, and Ananizapta, a charm against epilepsy or ‘the falling sickness’, which was considered to be as a result of demonic possession.

It also contained four fragments of gold-embroidered silk which are said to be holy relics.

Whether they are original or not is unknown, so is the owner, but English Heritage believes it is likely to have belonged to Anne Beauchamp (1426–92), the widow of Warwick and mother-in-law of Richard III.

Meanwhile, more recently, Historic England and Richmond Conservation Society have lodged objections to plans to build 55 houses on pasture land near the castle.

Proposals were first unveiled more than a decade ago and passed in 2021, but access issues hindered the venture and consent lapsed.

Observers say it will spoil the views and modern development will become the dominant feature in the landscape where many buildings pre-date the 1600s.