(Interesting information about the Richmond Family, Richmond Castle, and other related stories)

. . . about the Richmond Family name

Until the Middle Ages, people did not commonly have last names. Most surnames come from occupations, localities or personal characteristics, such as Carpenter, Mead or Small. It is almost certain that the early Richmonds were not peasants. If they had come from the lower strata of medieval society they would have come to be called by the name which described the type of manual labor they performed.

The Richmond family originated in the Normandy section of France. The name is derived from the French words riche and monte or monde. A general translation would be "rich world" or "rich mountain". Although it is mere supposition, it maybe safe to speculate that "rich mountain" may have referred to a rich high place, such as a place connected to a castle or fortress, as these places were often located on high knolls or mountains.

The earliest proved ancestor of the Richmond family is Roaldus Musard de Richmond who, more than 10 centuries ago was among the powerful leaders who accompanied William the Conqueror into England. Although there are differing accounts as to who the children and grandchildren of Roaldus were, it is believed his son held several lordships and his grandson was the Roaldus Richmond, who received various lands from King Henry.

Our surname was first recorded in early English history as Rychemonde. Later it appeared as Richemount and Richmonte. Before long however, it was modified to Richmond. The name hasn't undergone change for many centuries. Early mention of the name occurred in 1189, when Sir Alan Richmond owed the king money for the custody of Richmond Castle. Later it was also mentioned in 1208 during the reign of King John, again in 1237 and 1240 during the reign of King Henry III and in 1272 during the reign of King Edward I.

Today the Richmond family name is common in the U.S., England and Australia and the family name of Richemonte can still be found in France.

. . . that Alan the Red, the builder of Richmond Castle, was the richest man in history

He came to Britain as an immigrant, fought his way to the top and could not have made it without the help of steel.

But the richest-ever man in Britain is not Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon who was born in India and has topped The Sunday Times Rich List three years in a row with a fortune now worth £19.25 billion ($28.1 billion).

No, Alan Rufus came from Brittany in northern France. At today’s values his fortune is estimated to be worth more than £81 billion ($118 billion) – three times the wealth of Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and enough to buy Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea team 300 times over. But Rufus, or Alan “the Red”, can never spend it. He died more than 900 years ago.

He heads a list of 250 people in a new book, The Richest of the Rich, by Philip Beresford, who compiles the Rich List, and Bill Rubinstein, a professor of history at Aberystwyth University. The list excludes monarchs.

Their study stretches back to the Norman conquest of 1066 and includes medieval barons, moneylenders and monks as well as modern-day billionaires. Mittal just scrapes into the top 20 at number 20; Abramovich is at number 59 with £10.8 billion ($15.7 billion), a few ducats behind Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, builder of Hampton Court Palace, who was worth just over £11 billion ($16 billion).

Even through the ages there is a north-south divide. Of those on the list, 136 lived in London and the southeast while only 36 lived in the north.

Rufus, a Breton warrior who joined the invasion led by his uncle William the Conqueror, probably did more than anyone to start the divide in the first place. He led the vicious “harrying of the north”, a brutal suppression of rebellion that led to the loss of 150,000 lives and reportedly reduced the survivors to cannibalism.

When he died at 53 in 1093 he had a fortune of £11,000 ($16,000) . Beresford and Rubinstein, using figures from probate records and ancient documents, calculate that the sum represented more than 7% of the net national income of the time. With an equivalent percentage today, Rufus would be worth £81.33 billion ($118.7 billion), making him easily the richest Briton of all time.

Rufus was once accused of abducting Gunhilda, daughter of King Harold, from a convent and seducing her. But he left no children and his estates passed to his brothers. His legacy is Richmond Castle, above the River Swale in North Yorkshire, which he began building in 1071.

Life was as comfortable as it could be for anyone in the 11th century.

“The central heating was a brazier in the hall, there was water from a reliable well and the garde-robes – the toilets – are still in good condition today,” said Lorraine Cooper, custodian of the castle for English Heritage. “He would have had fantastic views from his private apartments.”

Everything and everybody he saw, he owned.

William had given Rufus vast tracts of land as a reward; in all he owned 250,000 acres in Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and London. David Morris, author of The Honour of Richmond, a history of the estate, said: “The closest person to him today would be the Duke of Westminster with his property empire.”

Rubinstein said: “The Norman conquest was probably the biggest hostile takeover of all time.

The people who helped William were handsomely rewarded.”

Four of the top six in the list were Norman barons. It also includes medieval “celebrities” such as Edward, the Black Prince, worth almost £35 billion ($51 billion), and Thomas Becket, who despite his saintly image had built up more than £24 billion ($35 billion) in today’s money before he was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.

The highest ranking woman is Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Henry II, at number 62 with a fortune estimated at just under £10 billion ($14.5 billion) in today’s terms. Eleanor, played by Glenn Close in the most recent screen version of The Lion In Winter, lived to the grand age of 82.

“Nobody is likely to be as rich as Alan Rufus again but today wealth is far more democratic,” said Beresford. “It is also safer to be rich now. Rufus was lucky enough to die in bed, but of the 250 on the list 29 were either executed or met a violent death.”

Click here to view the top 250 Richest people. Note: values are in British Pounds.

P.S. William the Conqueor is our 30th great grandfather and Alan Rufus is our 28th great grand uncle. Neat huh?

. . . that 3 Richmonds died as regilious martyrs

On a gravestone in the High Churchyard in Glasgow, Scotland it reads. . ."Here lies the corps of Robert Bunton, John Hart, Robert Scott, Matthew Patoun, John Richmond, James Johnstoun, Archibald Stewart, James Winning, John Main, who suffered at the Cross of Glasgow, for their testimony to the Covenants and work of Reformation, because they durst not own the authority of the then tyrants, destroying the same betwixt 1666 and 1688.

"The original stone and inscription repaired and new lettered, 1827, at the expense of a few friends of the cause for which the martyrs suffered."

John Richmond died at Glasgow Cross at 2.00 pm on 19th March, 1684. He was arrested in November 1683, accused of having been present at the Battle of Bothwell. At his trial, dubious evidence as to his involvement on the side of the Covenanters was produced. Such was the fever in those killing times that he and four others were sentenced to die within two days. John Richmond made his speech on the scaffold, then had his head cut off, and it was placed on a spike on the Glasgow tollbooth. In his speech he refers to his wife and baby. He farmed at Knowe, in the parish of Galston a mile to the south of the village of Darvel in Ayrshire.

Andrew Richmond, of the parish of Auchinleck in Ayrshire, was captured after the battle of Bothwell, and with several hundred other Covenanters, was kept outdoors for nearly five months in Greyfriars churchyard in Edinburgh. With 256 others, he was to be shipped to North America to be used as slave labor on the plantations. In 1679 they left Leith, and two weeks later the ship was wrecked at Deerness in the Orkney Islands. The crew apparently survived, as did some fifty prisoners. Andrew Richmond was one of those who drowned. These martyrs are commemorated by a monument on the cliffs overlooking the spot in Deerness, Orkney.

In a Galston, Scotland churchyard is a gravestone with this inscription.
“Here lies Andrew Richmond who was killed by bloody Graham of Claverhouse, June 1679, for his adherence to the Word of God and Scotland's Covenanted work of Reformation."

The gravestone was restored in 1823.

Graham of Claverhouse was one of the most vicious of the military commanders who hunted down the Covenanters, killing and torturing indiscriminately. Andrew Richmond was shot dead where he kneeled.

It is possible that relatives of those three men may have decided to escape to the New World to escape the religious persecution of this era.

To learn more about the Covenanters of Scotland click here.

. . . about Edmund Richmond (alias) Webb and the Hanging Judge

On the 14th of November 1684 Colonel Edmund Richmond (alias) Webb, the then Lord of the Manor of Rodbourne Cheney, along with his cousin Sir Henry St. John of Lydiard Tregoze were involved in a drunken brawl in the Glode Tavern in London. The brawl erupted over an argument over horses and although events are unclear as to what happened, Sir William Eastcourt MP was killed by Sir Henry's sword. Both Richmond-Webb and St. John were found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang by Judge Jefferies, the then 'hanging' judge. However, Charles II spared their lives and restored their lands after representations were made on their behalf by Nell Gwyne and Lady Castlemaine. The two ladies demanded 16000 pds. for their trouble, 4000 pds. for each of them, plus 8000 pds. for the King.

. . . Richmond Castle was the prison to three kings

During the centuries, Richmond Castle has housed at least three famous prisoners. Two Scottish kings, as well as, one English king spent time within the walls of Richmond Castle. The Scottish king William the Lion was there shortly after he was captured at Alnwick in 1174.

David II was imprisoned in Richmond Castle in 1346 after his defeat at Neville's Cross. David, the son of Robert the Bruce, had married Joanna daughter of Edward II of England in 1328 and was crowned the Scottish king the next year. His reign was weak and when England invaded Scotland he sought exile in France. Later he unsuccessfully fought against England on behalf of France. After 11 years as a prisoner of England, he was ransomed and returned home.

English king Charles I, was lodged here during his journey south in 1647 after his surrender to the Scots. The son of James I, Charles became king of England in 1625. Within four years he had called three Parliments and dissolved each of them because they refused to submit to his arbitrary demands. Until 1640, he governed without a Parliament. The Scots rebelled when Charles tried to force English forms of worship upon them. The king, given the situation, had to call a Parliament to raise money to crush the insurrection, but he never won their favor and civil war resulted. When Oliver Cromwell became his prominent enemy, Charles escaped to Scotland, but was turned over to the Parliament. His stay at Richmond Castle was on his return to England as a prisoner. Two years later he was tried, condemned as a public enemy of the nation, and beheaded.

Most people took their yearly bath in the month of May. Most people married in June because they still smelled fairly clean. Brides who started to smell carried a bouquet of flowers to hide their body odor.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the first bath and the clean water. He was followed by all the other sons and men. Finally the women and children were given the bath. Babies were bathed last of all. After all the baths were taken the bath water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Consequently, the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater".

Houses had thatched roofs. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pets. . .dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs lived in the roof. When it rained the thatch became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Consequently, the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."

Thatched roofs prohibited nothing from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. So, they found if they made beds with big posts and hung a sheet over the top, it addressed that problem. Consequently, the origin of beautiful big 4 poster beds with canopies.

Beds were made of a wood frame with ropes stretched between the frames creating a rope lattice on which to sleep. Before retiring for the night is was common to retighten the rope lattice. Hence the saying "sleep tight".

Typically the floors were dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, Consequently, the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors, which would get slippery in the winter when wet. So they spread thresh on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed at the entryway, consequently, a "thresh hold".

They cooked in the kitchen in a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Everyday they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They mostly ate vegetables and didn't get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had Been in there for a month. Consequently, the rhyme: peas porridge hot, peas, porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes a poor family could obtain pork and would feel really special when they could afford it. When company came over, they would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. It was a sign of wealth and that a man "could really bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food causing lead poisoning. This occurred most often with tomatoes, so they stopped eating tomatoes. . . for 400 years. Most people didn't have pewter plates, but had trenchers - a piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl. Trenchers were never washed and a lot of times worms got into the wood. After eating off wormy trenchers, they would get "trench mouth."

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top of the loaf, or the "upper crust".

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Consequently, the custom of holding a "wake".

England is old and small, and they started running out of places to bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones to a house and reuse the grave. In reopening these coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside. They realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bell. Consequently, on the "graveyard shift" someone would hear a bell and know that someone was "saved by the bell" or he was a "dead ringer"

Nearly every Richmond family is able to point with pride to a member who distinguished himself in military service. Whether he be a Revolutionary War patriot who answered the Lexington and Concord alarm, a great, great grandfather who saw the cannons firing on Civil War battlefields, a grandfather, father, husband, brother or son who can tell us first hand about fighting in the World Wars, Korea or Vietnam. Yet for many of us, it is difficult to imagine the horrible fate that befell a Richmond boy too young to be called a soldier when he met death as a prisoner or war nearly 200 years ago.

Cushing Richmond was born March 2, 1766 in Little Compton, Rhode Island to Joshua and Elizabeth (Cushing) Richmond. He was named Cushing Richmond in honor of his maternal grandfather, John Cushing of Scituate, Massachusetts. He also descended from a long line of Richmond soldiers - his grandfather Perez, held the rank of Captain, his great grandfather was Colonel Sylvester Richmond, and his great, great grandfather was Captain Edward Richmond.

We can only guess at how Cushing Richmond, a 14 year old boy, took part in the Revolutionary War. Perhaps he was one of the young runners who rushed from one countryside village to another, shouting warnings of impending attack. He may have carried an officer?s orders to farmers in the field to drop their work, grab their arms and join in the defense of a nearby town. Maybe he was one of those nimble and bright lads pressed into service to spy on the camps of British soldiers.

Whatever his duties, young Cushing Richmond one was captured by the British and held prisoner. Apparently he was considered of some value to the enemy - perhaps they thought they could obtain some information from him - for he was sentenced to a prison ship.

We wonder: What did this 14 year old think as he spent day after day crowded in with other prisoners beneath the deck of a ship in some port far from home. Did he suffer much pain because of an injury or illness which led to his death at 14 aboard the Jersey prison ship ?New York?? The questions remained unanswered, but for every generation of Richmond, the heroic, often tragic, act has been a price willingly paid in the name of freedom.