at Middleham

in The Yorkshire Dales

As well as the traditional country activities we have listed some of the main local attractions to Middleham, we hope that you enjoy them as much as your stay at the Black Swan.

Middleham Castle

Originally built by Alan Rufus, also know as Alan the Red to protect the road between Richmond and Skipton. The originally castle was built as a wooden motte-and-bailey castle on Williams Hill to the south west of the present castles location. The building of the present castle was started in 1170 by Robert Fitzrandolph when he built a massive stone keep. This keep had twelve foot thick walls and three floors making it one of the largest in England at the time. At each end of the keep's vaulted basement there were two wells (these are still visible today).

The thirteenth century saw the building of curtain walls which formed an enclosure of 250 feet on each side of the keep. And in the fourteenth and fifteenth century the stables, stores and garrison buildings were built within these walls. The original entrance was through a gatehouse on the East side of the castle across a wooden bridge (possibly having a drawbridge over the now dry moat). The huge wooden gates would have presented an awesome sight! The current entrance is through the Northern gatehouse, known as the 'Neville Gate'.

In 1485 Henry VII became king, and Middleham Castle became his but under Tudor rule the castle fell into disrepair, but in 1604 James I granted the castle to Sir Henry Linley, who made some repairs and lived there until his death in 1610. Sir Henry left the castle to his daughter Jane Linley who married Edward, 2nd Viscount Loftus and they both occupied it until 1644.

During the Civil War it was to be used as a prison and in 1646 Parliament ordered the east range wall be destroyed along with most of the wall-walks, thus leaving the castle the shell it is today, most of the stone was used to build houses around Middleham.

Today English Heritage, run the castle and have opened it to the public.

Jervaulx Abbey

The crumbling walls of this ancient monastery, are covered in a wide range of plant life and present one of the most romantic images of the white monks of Wensleydale. The ruins of the monastary are found within beautiful parkland with a backdrop of rolling hills.

Building on this site began in the mid-12th century and much of what remains today has miraculously survived from this period. Jervaulx suffered more heavily than other Yorkshire abbeys at the Dissolution because the last abbot was involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace. After a campaign of savage and thorough destruction, completely obliterating the abbey church, it is incredible to see such substantial sections of the monks' dorter and the infirmary still standing.

Although the floor plan of the church can be identified, there are only fragments of the original walls visible along the entire 270 ft, and a few column bases springing up from the undergrowth. However, the real beauty of the church now takes the form of a profusion of wild flowers decorating the ancient stones, and providing a colourful carpet across the nave. In total, there are believed to be some 200 different species growing

We have created a webpage of links to the many places of interest in the Yorkshire Dales area for your use.