The New Murrey and Blue blog

A while ago, I had a day off and decided to spend it in Skipton. Being fond of castles since I was a child, I saw a picture of this one and I put it on my list.

It was a nice day with spells of sun and a chilly air. As soon as I arrived in Skipton, I loved the place, and I walked towards the castle and spent about one hour in a medieval market’s café called ‘The Cake ’Ole’ where I tried the best cake ever and an amazing Yorkshire tea.

After this sin of gluttony comprising hundreds of calories, I proceeded towards the castle.

It is privately owned by the Fattorini, an Italian family that runs a company producing jewellery, trophies and ceremonial swords. The company was founded in 1827 and it was such a success that in 1956 they could afford to buy the castle. Currently, the family occupies the Tudor addition that is not open to the public, but I suspect that the medieval part of the castle, the one it is possible to visit, is far more interesting.

Today, the present Lord of Honour of Skipton Castle is Sebastian Fattorini but this same title once belonged to Richard Duke of Gloucester (does this name ring a bell?)

I didn’t know this until I visited a certain pub but I will speak about that later.

The castle is magnificent and well preserved, with many rooms and a massive, impressive yew tree in the middle of the yard planted in 1659 by Lady Clifford to commemorate the rebirth of the castle. It was a scary experience going down to the dungeon and a great one to be in the hall where banquets were held. It was not difficult to imagine Richard there when he celebrated his title of Lord of Honour of Skipton Castle, and even though there is no proof that something like that happened, I imagined he used the Lord’s Chamber as his own.

The Chapel of the castle deserves a special mention. Even though it is stripped of its furniture and altar and the paint is now gone, you can still feel the peaceful atmosphere of that place and once again, I could imagine Richard kneeling down and praying silently in a chilly dawn at Skipton Castle. It was there that I felt compelled to pray for his soul and when I was leaving the chapel, I noticed that a small piece of the wall had fallen from a corner. When I bent to pick it up, I realised that it had the shape of a boar!
When my visit was over, I passed by the shop and bought a book about the castle but unfortunately Richard is not even mentioned. However, in front of the till, a poster with Richard’s story was stuck on the wall and when I asked to buy a few, the retail assistant said: “Oh Richard III! He is even more popular than the Tudors now!” My reply was quick and frank and after 20 minutes, the lady learnt more about him than in the last 10 years!

Once out of the castle, I visited the church. The tombs of the Cliffords occupy the sides of the altar and I couldn’t avoid thinking about that Clifford in Wakefield and a certain anger suddenly rose in my heart. Again, I thought: “Would Richard have worshipped here too?” and I lit a candle for him before heading to the woods.

Skipton Castle’s woods are just amazing and, at sunset, they are so atmospheric that you could believe you are back in time. They must have been immense in Richard’s time and it is said nobles from the castle went hunting there. The sounds of nature, the peace and the fresh air gave me a good hour of bliss.

When I finally left the woods and I was back in town, and after taking hundreds of pictures, I realised my phone was out of charge and so was my additional charger, so I desperately started to look for a café or a pub to charge it as my train ticket was online. It was at this point that I made a big discovery.

Leaving the castle, on your right, there is a pub, The Black Horse. I noticed that at the main entrance a mounting block stood there and a plaque explained why it was there. A legend says that when Richard was the Lord of Honour of Skipton Castle in 1476, he had put his horses in the Royal Mews located where the pub now stands and the mounting block was placed there to commemorate the event. I immediately entered the pub and asked for a coffee and soon realised that there were a few points to charge devices. While sipping my coffee, I carried out some research online and I discovered that Richard had given funds to enlarge the church and to bestow some rich items on it. As regards the stables, it is not certain that Richard had left his horses there, but the place does look like a stable and my imagination went wild.

There is no proof that Richard actually visited the castle but I think he must have done, when he acquired it from Stanley. For my part, I want to believe he did and, when I was on my train leaving Skipton, it was already dark and I imagined the Duke of Gloucester in front of a fire in the Lord’s Chamber while sipping a glass of Gascony wine, stroking a greyhound crouched at his feet, before heading out to hunt in the beautiful woods of Skipton Castle.