Richmond and environs

View of the Swale

The old railway station

Richmond station was the terminus of the now closed Eryholme-Richmond branch line. In 1845, the Great North of England Railway (GNER) was granted powers to construct a branch line from Coopers House near Dalton, 6 miles south of Darlington, to Richmond. While construction of the line was underway the GNER was reconstituted as the York & Newcastle Railway, and it was this company which opened the line on 1846. Although the line opened on 10 September 1846, the present station at Richmond was not opened until 9 April 1847, a temporary wooden platform being provided in the interim.

It is now the end point of a bridleway to Easby

The Swale

Easby Abbey

Easby Abbey or the Abbey of St Agatha is an abandoned Premonstratensian abbey on the eastern bank of the River Swale on the outskirts of Richmond in North Yorkshire.

It was founded in 1152 by Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle. The inhabitants were canons rather than monks. The Premonstratensians wore a white habit and became known as the White Canons. They undertook preaching and pastoral work in the region (such as distributing meat and drink).

Like most northern monasteries, Easby suffered from frequent Scottish raids during the Middle Ages. In the late 1530s Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The abbey was abandoned and left to fall into ruins. 

Richmond Castle dominating the town