The New Murrey and Blue blog

Having recently visited some of Richard’s holdings in the north of England such as Penrith Castle which he was given after the death of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick in 1471, I wanted to write a short piece about his role as Lord Warden of the West Marches and Sheriff of Cumberland (1476-1482) and his involvement in the complicated story of the border town of Berwick-on-Tweed which led to its thirteenth and final change of hands when he successfully took the castle on 24th August 1482.

Richard seems keen to take on his duties as the principle magnate of the North of England after his brother’s return to power in 1471. There are many reasons why he should have actively sought to become Lord Warden of the West Marches and why Edward IV would have promoted his ambitions. Everyone knows about Richard’s connections to Middleham and the surrounding area where he…