Late Medieval Period 1066 to c.1550

A crude, 15th-century drawing in coloured inks of a birds-eye view of a medieval castle bailey, showing stone battlements and eight flag poles upon them, each pole bearing the flag of a different knight's coats of arms. In front of the near battlement is a representation of a green meadow dotted with red flowers and with a blue river running through it.
From about or shortly after 1071, Swaledale and Arkengarthdale became part of the large estate of Count Alan of Brittany, whose north-of-England seat was the newly built Richmond Castle. This 15th-century drawing of the castle bailey shows the coats of arms of eight landed knights of the late 1100s who were then responsible for providing the castle guard. They were named under the illustration. Image from the Register of the Honour of Richmond, held at the Bodleian Library, ref. MS. Lyell 22. Photo © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford. Licensed for use under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.

The Late Medieval period of British history can be said to cover the years from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to circa 1550, the latter being the period between the end of the reign of Henry VIII in 1547 and the start of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I from 1558. In this section, read:

– A study by SWAAG member Will Swales that revealed new insights into 12th-century Harkerside. It can be read here: Finding Hodic and Stainburghanes

– Two more studies relating to Swaledale in the Late Medieval period have been undertaken by SWAAG members Alan and Judith Mills, and can be seen by clicking the links below:
– Extracts from the chartularies of Priories and Abbeys holding land in Medieval Swaledale, by Alan Mills.
– Assessing the impact of famine, pestilence and the Scots on Swaledale and the North Riding in the early fourteenth century, by Alan and Judith Mills.

SWAAG Database
The SWAAG database includes records concerning some of the major historic buildings, or sites, in the northern Yorkshire Dales dating from the Late Medieval period.
– Bowes and Brough Medieval Castles – Photographs taken on a group visit. See Earthworks category PDF, record 532.
– Middleham Medieval Castle and the William Hill, Norman motte and bailey – Photographs taken on a group visit. See Photographic category PDF, record 766.
– Carlton-in-Coverdale Norman motte – Photograph. See Earthworks category PDF, record 810.

Scheduled Monuments
Major historic buildings in Swaledale scheduled as monuments by Historic England are:
– Marrick Priory – Marrick Priory: a Benedictine nunnery and later parish church with fishponds, mill mound, ironworks, longhouse, trackways and an Iron-Age house platform, Marrick – 1012182 | Historic England.
– Ellerton Priory – Ellerton Priory: a Cistercian nunnery including fishponds, water management system, mill, field systems and Ellerton medieval settlement, Ellerton Abbey – 1019154 | Historic England.

Publication
SWAAG has published a book on Ellerton Priory, by SWAAG member Emma Watson. See Ellerton Priory (lulu.com).