Skipton

Skipton is a village in the Aire Gap. It lies in the Staincliffe wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is the caput of the Honour of Skipton. Its most prominent feature is its motte-and-bailey castle.

Government

Skipton is the caput (chief settlement) of the Honour of Skipton, and is ruled by holder of the honour (currently Hawise of Skipton)

Defences

A ditch and rampart surround the  village, church and castle, forming part of the wider castle defences.

Industry & Trade

Skipton's name derived from the Old English for "sheep-town". Before the castle was built it was a small village, and though it has grown since it remains a village clustered around the castle in 1192 CE.
In 1203 CE King John grants a charter allowing the Count of Aumale to hold a three-day annual fair around the feast of Holy Trinity (a movable feast celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost), It will not receive a bourgh charter until 1266; the wide marketplace south of Holy Trinity Church and the burgage plots surrounding it probably date from the middle of the 13th century at the earliest.

Infrastructure

Skipton lies at the junctioin of Eller Beck and the old Roman road from Elslack to York. Eller Beck runs into the River Aire just south of the town. The river Aire is navigable from Skipton to the Humber estuary, and links the fledgling town to the larger lowland markets. Road links down Airedale and Wharfedale are slower, but offer an alternative to those without boats.
To the northwest the road links Skipton with the Forest of Bowland and with Cumberland and Westmorland.

Assets

Holy Trinity Church was granted to the Augustinian priory of Embsay at its foundation, and remains under their purview following the priory's move to Bolton-in-Wharfedale. 
The village has 12 carucates (1440 acres) of arable land in two open fields to the east and west of the settlement. Just over half (6.5 carucates, 780 acres) are held in demsne. It has two demesne corn mills along Eller Beck.
Most valuable for winder fodder are extensive meadows along the River Aire, south of the village. 66 acres of meadowland are held in demsne

History

Before the Norman Conquest Skipton was part of the Craven holdings of Edwin, Earl of Mercia. William the Conqueror allowed Earl Edwin to keep his lands after the conquest, but confiscated them after the Earl rebelled in 1070. Skipton - like many other villages in the area - was laid waste in the Harrying of the North.
It remained part of the royal estate until after Domesday, when King William II granted it to Roger of Poitou, who held extensive lands in what would become Lancashire. Roger rebelled and his lands were confiscated; William granted the Craven lands to Robert de Romilly, a knight originally from Romille in Lower Normandy who fought at the Battle of Hastings and in the subsequent pacification campaigns around England. Though he had not been rewarded with estates at the time of Domesday (1086) during the 1090s he received several grants in Gloucestershire, Dorset, Devon and Yorkshire, including Harewood in Wharfedale and Skipton in Airedale.
Skipton at this time was a frontier settlement; Cumbria, to the north-west, alternated between English and Scottish ownership. Robert obtained royal permission to built a castle at Skipton to establish control of the central Pennines and help defend against Scottish invasion.
On Robert's death the village and the honour named for it passed to his daughter Cecily, then to her daughter Alice, her daughter Cecily and is currently held by Cecily's daughter Hawise. Hawise also holds the extensive Holderness and Norman estates of her father, William, Count of Aumale.

In 1138 the Scots captured Skipton after a siege; During the early years of the Anarchy David, King of Scots, sent a detachment under command of his nephew William FitzDuncan to capture northern Lancashire, Lonsdale and Craven. While David's main advance down the Vale of York ended with his defeat at the Battle of the Standard, FitzDuncan was more successful.
To keep hold of the Skipton estates, FitzDuncan forcibly married its heiress, Alice de Romilly. Their daughter Cecily married William le Gros, Earl of Aumale, who strengthened the castle and added fortifications to the town.

Sources

Williams, David: Medieval Skipton (Craven District Council, 1981) Spence, Richard T: Skipton Castle and its Builders (Skipton Castle, 2002)

Type

Town

Population

c. 300

Included Locations

• Skipton Castle

Owner/Ruler

Hawise of Aumâle

Ruling/Owning Rank

Baron

Owning Organization

Honour of Skipton