Not much is known about Skipton before the conquest,except that it was part of an Anglo-Saxon settlement based in Bolton in Craven which was under control of earl (Eorl) Edwin. After Earl Edwin was killed in an uprising in 1070, Skipton passed into the hands of the King.
The place name is first recorded as "Scipton" in the Domesday Book in 1086, an old English word meaning 'sheep farm'. It records Skipton as a small settlement of 4 carucates.
At some point after 1086, the Skipton estate came into the ownership of the Norman Robert de'Romille and became known as the Honour of Skipton. It is Robert de'Romille who built the first military stronghold at Skipton probably around 1090. The first castle would most likely have been a palisaded fortress, but it is thought that a stone structure replaced it shortly afterwards. The dates of the earliest remains of the castle are probably 1190-1220-the Norman archway leading into Conduit Court and the inner gate-house are thought to date from this time. The Honour of Skipton past from the de Romilles to the Counts of Albemarle by the marriage of Alice de Romille's third daughter, Cecily, to William Le Gros, Earl of Albemarle. From this family the Honour passed into the Forz family.
On the death of Aveline de Forz in 1274, the lands of the honour of Skipton passed to the Crown. In this period, the lands were granted briefly to the kings,s favorite, Piers Gaveston.
The Honour of Skipton and the Castle of Skipton were granted by Edward the 2nd to Robert de Clifford. He had succeeded his mother Isabel de Vipont as hereditary Sheriff of Westmoreland and as Lord of half the Honour of Appleby and other Vipont estates in the North. In 1308 he ceded the barony of Staveley in Derbyshire to the husband of his aunt in return for her share of the Honour of Appleby. His castles then included Appleby, Brough, Stainmore, Broughham and Pendragon. In 1310 Skipton Castle and the Honour of Skipton were added to his estates, and became the Cliffords' principal family residence. Robert de Clifford's descendents exerted firm control over the estates until 1676.
The original name of Robert de Clifford's family was Punt or Fitzpunt, one of whom came from Normandy with William the conqueror. In the reign of Henry II, Walter Fitzpunt married a descendent of William Fitz-Osborn, whose family had built Clifford Castle in Herefordshire to contain the Welsh. It was Walter Fitzpunt who renounced his name and adopted the name Clifford.
It is believed that Robert de Clifford, 1st Lord of Skipton, enlarged and rebuilt parts of Skipton Castle- the outer gatehouse is said to date from this time.
Robert de Clifford was killed at Bannockburn in 1314. After this victory the Scots wrecked havoc in the North of England. In 1318 they sacked Skipton. The town was badly damaged, but the castle was unharmed.
Skipton comprises a castle, church and market street, surrounded by open fields and meadows. After the Lords of the honour of Skipton gained the right to hold yearly fairs and weekly markets in 1203, Skipton developed from a village into a small commercial town. The fairs and markets were an important source of income for the Lords of Skipton.
1455-1485 The Wars of the Roses
Skipton and the Cliffords were on the side of the Red Rose of Lancaster.
After Henry VII became King, Henry Clifford, 10th Lord of Skipton, organised the repair and building of his castles. At Skipton he rebuilt the living quarters in the Tudor Conduit Court and the Tudor entrance to the castle. He also erected the arms of his father John 'The Butcher' Clifford, and those of his his mother Margaret Bromflete, in the Conduit Court.
Henry, 11th Lord of Skipton and 1st Earl of Cumberland, a close friend of Henry VIII, built the Tudor Wing with it long gallery at Skipton Castle. This was done on the occasion of his son Henry Clifford's marriage to the Kings niece Lady Eleanor Brandon.
Pilgrimage of Grace.
Skipton Castle was besieged by a large force of rebels under Robert Aske. Henry, 1st Earl of Cumberland, remained loyal to King Henry VIII, and defended the castle against the insurgents when other strongholds in the North had surrendered.
The Shell Room inside the 14th century Main Gate was decorated with shells and corals collected by the naval adventurer George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland.
The Civil War :
Siege of Skipton Castle.
Skipton Castle was a Royalist stronghold, first under Henry Clifford, 5th Earl of Cumberland, and then under Sir John Mallory. The castle siege lasted three years, longer than any other, until it surrendered "with colours flying". This was the most glorious period in Skipton's military history.
Skipton Castle was again occupied by Royalists and Cromwell then ordered the castle to be "slighted".
Lady Anne Clifford carried out the repair to damaged Skipton and her other properties, all casualties in the Civil War. At Skipton Castle, she added the parapet with the Clifford motto to the main gate in honour of her father, George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland. She planted the yew in Conduit Court and erected a stone tablet above the Tudor doorway to celebrate the castle's restoration.
After the death of Lady Anne Clifford in 1676, there were no other Cliffords in the direct line to assume the title.
The Honour of Skipton passed to the Earls of Thanet and then into the hands of relatives.
Skipton Castle was acquired by the present owners.
By Chris Bates & Nick Myers
Information from Skipton Castle Teachers Resource Pack
since 18 April
1998