Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy - this week, in Middleham

THERE is no doubt that the Yorkshire Dales look beautiful in the summer but travelling the narrow roads at peak times can be a problem.

So can parking. I therefore decided to risk the showers of sleet and the high winds.

Periodically the wind blew away the clouds and the sun shone from a clear blue sky.

I wrapped up warm after parking my car in Middleham in Wensleydale.

This place is the capital of horse racing in the North of England and is also brimful of history.

Even in mid-February, daffodils were already in bloom although not yet dominant.

Early in the morning the horses were already on their way to the gallops and those riding out had eaten their breakfast long before it got light.

The streets of Middleham echo to the sound of hooves and each stone is steeped in history, especially that relating to the 15th century.

Middleham Castle now an atmospheric ruin was the power base of Richard III, surely the most hated monarch in our history.

We should, however, ask ourselves three questions.

Firstly, was Richard a hunchback? Secondly, was he evil? And thirdly, was William Shakespeare a liar?

Richard was a small man who had one arm more highly developed than the other, probably due to a long time spent training with a bow, but he was certainly not deformed. Was Richard evil?

Yes, he probably was and he almost certainly killed the princes in the Tower.

However, he was no more evil than the rivals to his throne who were continually trying to bump him off!

Richard's life and reign were short - 35 and two years respectively.

When Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 he was the last of the Plantagenet Kings.

The victor was Henry VII, the first of the Tudors.

When Shakespeare wrote the play Richard III, Elizabeth I was on the throne.

Clever William could hardly paint Richard III as a "goody" so the Bard set about painting Richard as the most evil man who ever lived.

As usual Shakespeare did his job well and nobody loves the last Plantagenet.

Folks in Middleham, however, have long memories and they still remember his good works on behalf of his town.

He was generous to the church, the town and the people. There is a thriving Richard III Society in the area. Middleham is a wonderful place if you love watching horses put through their paces. Shakespeare tells us of Richard III's last words "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse."

Try to visit Middleham before the daffodils fade and explore town, church and castle.

This will provide a very different view of traditional English history.

The fountain pictured occupies the site of the old market cross in the 15th century power base of Richard III.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.