Sheriff Hutton

The small Yorkshire village of Sheriff Hutton has two sites of Ricardian interest, the remains of the castle and the Church of St Helen and Holy Cross. Found in the grounds of a local farm, the castle is a total ruin, with only a few turrets and the corners of the keep still standing. It has been described as looking like an upturned table.

Richard acquired the castle through his marriage and although he preferred to live in Middleham, in 1484 he made it one of the two centres that housed the Council of the North. The other was at Sandal, another property of the House of York. This Council was the administrative structure that Richard established to govern the north following his accession as King of England. As an administrative entity, it survived into the seventeenth century.

The church is to be found up a small lane and whilst it looks unprepossessing from the outside, it has many fine features inside. Most important is a memorial possibly for a member of the Neville family; until recently this was thought to possibly be a memorial for Edward of Middleham, Richard III’s son, who died in 1484. However recent research has proved that it dates from the first half of the fifteenth century and therefore cannot be associated with Richard’s son. The memorial is a cenotaph, not a tomb, as the body was buried elsewhere, and its present position in the north east corner of the church is not where it was intended to stand. From past records, it would seem that the monument has had several sites within the church. Made of alabaster, it has suffered over the years and during the twentieth century, it was twice restored at the Society’s expense.

The village is about 13 miles north of York on a minor road off the A64.