118-636: The North York Militia , later the North York Rifles , was an auxiliary military force raised in the North Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England . From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 the Militia regiments of the riding served in home defence and internal security in all of Britain's major wars. It was one of the first British units to include specialist riflemen. The regiment became
236-707: A Major in the Queen's Troop of Horse Guards . During the crisis of the Rye House Plot in 1683, Fauconberg's Troop was marched to the vicinity of London at Croydon and Uxbridge and was later at Putney and Wandsworth . Yorkshire was not directly involved in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, but after its defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor the deputy lieutenants of the North Riding used individual militia companies to hunt for
354-536: A peace treaty at Paris , and the North York Militia was marched to Richmond, where it was disembodied on 12 March 1783. From 1784 to 1792 the militia were assembled for their 28 days' annual peacetime training, but to save money only two-thirds of the men were actually mustered each year. On 1 December the Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding, now Earl Fauconberg, was instructed to call out the trained part of
472-685: A battalion of the Green Howards in 1881, and saw service in the Second Boer War . It was disbanded in 1908. The English militia was descended from the Anglo-Saxon Fyrd , the military force raised from the freemen of the shires under command of their Sheriff . The universal obligation to serve continued under the Normans and the shire levies under the Sheriff of Yorkshire , Walter Espec , formed
590-514: A contingent from the Honour of Richmond . For the summer campaign of 1335 the North Riding contingent comprised 3 ductores , 15 vintenars , 54 mounted archers and 247 foot archers, serving from 25 June to 27 August. Early in the reign of King Richard II the Scots were again harrying Northern England, and the men of the North Riding were arrayed three times between 1377 and 1380. King Henry VIII enforced
708-474: A crowd of several thousand gathered in the town. The magistrates read the Riot Act and instructed them to disperse, but they attacked the militia, breaking into their ranks. One of the ringleaders seized a private's musket and shot him dead, and an ensign was shot in the back by a pistol from. the crowd. The militia were then ordered to open fire, which cleared the rioters, leaving 18 dead and six seriously wounded in
826-739: A large part of the army that defeated the invading Scots at the Battle of the Standard near Northallerton in 1138. The levies were reorganised under the Assizes of Arms of 1181 and 1252 , and again by the Statute of Winchester of 1285. Now Commissioners of Array would levy the required number of men from each shire. The usual shire contingent was 1000 infantry commanded by a millenar , divided into companies of 100 commanded by constables or ductores , and subdivided into sections of 20 led by vintenars . The able-bodied men were equipped by their parishes and arrayed by
944-584: A light infantry company but was informed that there was no authority for this. On 6 June the regiment began a march to Newcastle. In November it moved to York for the winter. During the summer of 1779 the North Yorkshire Militia was at Coxheath Camp near Maidstone in Kent , which was the army's largest training camp, where the Militia were exercised as part of a division alongside Regular troops while providing
1062-546: A meeting place. The Alnwick Playhouse is a thriving multi-purpose arts centre that stages theatre, dance, music, cinema, and visual arts productions. In 2003, the Willowburn Leisure Centre was opened on the southern outskirts of the enlarged town (replacing the old sports centre located by the Lindisfarne Middle School and the now-demolished Youth Centre). Alnwick's museum, Bailiffgate Museum ,
1180-593: A regiment of foot that fought at Edgehill and Sir Hugh commanding regiments of horse and foot in the garrison of Scarborough Castle . But in 1643 Sir Hugh changed sides and thereafter held Scarborough for the King. It is probable that men of the Pickering Lythe TB Regiment served in the garrison. After the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644 Scarborough was the last important Royalist garrison and seaport in Yorkshire. It
1298-552: A reserve in case of French invasion of South East England. Colonel Milbanke resigned in October and Henry Belasyse, 2nd Earl Fauconberg was commissioned to succeed him on 18 November 1779. The camp broke up in November and the regiment was distributed across villages in west Kent for winter quarters. On 25 May 1780 the regiment was sent to Gosport in Hampshire , due to arrive on 9 June. It
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#17330854412231416-482: A section of the original trackbed on the edge of the town, their purpose-built Alnwick Lionheart terminus is located near the Lionheart Enterprise Estate on the outskirts of the town. The reopening project is ongoing and, as of July 2020, the line's eastern terminus had reached a new station at Greenrigg Halt, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Lionheart, although it is yet to carry passengers over
1534-471: A subscription fund, to which Col Earl Fauconberg and Lt-Col Sir Thomas Dundas were major contributors. On 24 July 1795 two companies (168 men) of 'light-armed marksmen' were ordered to be added to the North York Militia. Although some have claimed that these were the first green-jacketed rifle companies in British service they were actually armed with fusils (light muskets) rather than rifles, and their green uniform
1652-584: A weekday service of 15 trains per day north to Edinburgh and 13 trains per day south to London. The Alnwick branch line formerly linked Alnwick's own station , close to the town centre, to Alnmouth station, but this line closed in January 1968. Since the 2010s, the Aln Valley Railway Trust have worked to reopen the branch as a heritage railway but, due to construction of the A1 Alnwick bypass removing
1770-446: Is Alnwick Castle , one of the homes of the Duke of Northumberland , and site of The Alnwick Garden . The castle has extensive grounds landscaped by Capability Brown , which include several follies as well as the ruins of St Leonard's Hospital, Alnwick Abbey and Hulne Priory . The town centre is the marketplace, with its market cross , and the 19th century Northumberland Hall, used as
1888-690: Is a market town in Northumberland , England, of which it is the traditional county town . The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln , 32 miles (51 km) south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, 5 miles (8 km) inland from the North Sea at Alnmouth and 34 miles (55 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne . The town dates to about AD 600 and thrived as an agricultural centre. Alnwick Castle
2006-558: Is close to the Bailiffgate entrance to the castle. Its collection is dedicated to local social history. The museum has recently had a major refit funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Its collection includes a variety of agricultural objects, domestic items, railway items, coal mining artefacts, printing objects, a sizeable photographic collection, paintings and a range of activities for children. Other places of interest in and near
2124-775: Is the town's local newspaper. Alnwick Fair was an annual costumed event, held each summer from 1969 to 2007, recreating some of the appearance of medieval trading fairs and 17th century agricultural fairs. It has now been discontinued. Alnwick lies adjacent to the A1 , the main national north–south trunk road, providing easy access to Newcastle upon Tyne (35 miles (56 km) south) and Edinburgh (80 miles (130 km) north). The East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh (journey time approximately 1:10) and London (journey time approximately 3:45) runs through Alnmouth for Alnwick Station – about 4 miles (6 km) away – with
2242-522: The British Isles ), which the regular army increasingly saw as a prime source of recruits. They served in coast defences, manning garrisons, guarding prisoners of war, and for internal security, while their traditional local defence duties were taken over by the part-time Volunteers and mounted Yeomanry . The regiment was ordered to march from Richmond to Newcastle and Gateshead, but the men were not paid their 'marching money'. The following morning, when
2360-796: The Council of State . At the same time the term 'Trained Band' began to disappear. Under the Commonwealth and Protectorate the militia received pay when called out, and operated alongside the New Model Army to control the country. After the Restoration of the Monarchy , the English Militia was re-established by the Militia Act 1661 ( 13 Cha. 2 St. 1 . c. 6) under the control of the king's lords lieutenant,
2478-638: The Old English wic ('dairy farm, settlement') and the name of the river Aln . The history of Alnwick is the history of the castle and its lords, starting with Gilbert Tyson (written variously as "Tison", "Tisson", and "De Tesson"), one of William the Conqueror's standard-bearers, upon whom this northern estate was bestowed. It was held by the De Vesci family (now spelt "Vasey" – a name found all over south-east Northumberland) for over 200 years, and then passed into
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#17330854412232596-663: The River Tees historically in Durham. The area was associated with the North Riding for lieutenancy and other purposes. The main towns of the riding (before its authority was abolished) were Middlesbrough , Redcar , Whitby , Scarborough and Northallerton . In 1974 the North Riding authorities were abolished. The majority of its former area became North Yorkshire , with the addition of northern West Riding and north-western pre-1974 East Riding . The former Teesside county borough and areas around it became part of Cleveland county while
2714-582: The Wapentakes into which Yorkshire was divided. Yorkshire was rarely called upon to supply men for the Plantagenet kings' campaigns in Wales, but its men were regularly summoned for expeditions to Scotland. For instance, Yorkshire levies were in the army at Berwick upon Tweed early in 1298, but a fresh levy later in the year apparently arrived too late for the Battle of Falkirk . For King Edward I 's army of 1300
2832-564: The Yorkshire lieutenancy . Each riding was treated as a county for many purposes, such as quarter sessions . An administrative county, based on the riding, was created with a county council in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 . In 1974 both the administrative county and the North Riding of Yorkshire lieutenancy were abolished, replaced in most of the riding by the non-metropolitan county and lieutenancy of North Yorkshire , and in
2950-522: The two commanding officers (COs), Col Sir Ralph Milbanke, 5th Baronet of the Richmondshire and Col Thomas Duncombe , MP, of the Cleveland & Bulmer, were dated January 1759. Duncombe was a political opponent and had come under suspicion in 1745, but Holderness's friends did not think that he could be refused a commission. Holderness had originally re-appointed his uncle Sir Conyers Darcy as colonel of
3068-463: The 'principal actors' and 'suspicious persons'. Despite these exertions, two of the conspirators made their escape from Scarborough. After the rebellion's defeat, King James II disregarded the militia and concentrated on expanding the Regular Army , upon which he felt he could rely, unlike the locally commanded militia. The Yorkshire Militia horse and foot had been regularly mustered from 1678 until
3186-718: The 2nd North York, in exchange for efficient men from the supplementaries. In May 1797 the North York Supplementaries were part of a brigade in East Yorkshire that also included the three regiments of West Yorkshire Supplementaries as well as the 31st Foot and the Durham, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Northumberland Militia. The flank (grenadier and light) companies from each regiment were formed into composite Grenadier and Light battalions. Several companies of each regiment were stationed at Burstwick , east of Hull, instructed to familiarise themselves thoroughly with
3304-405: The 2nd North Yorks, to make themselves familiar with every road and footpath in the area. On 23 April 1798 the regiment marched (without its guns) to Scotland, camping at West Barn Links near Greenlaw on 1 June, where it was joined by a draft of 264 supplementary militiamen, bringing the strength of the 12 companies to 1146, still 133 short of establishment because of men volunteering to transfer to
3422-620: The Bulmer and Ryedale companies (300 men) were alerted to have their bands in readiness. The threat disappeared with the defeat of the Armada at sea. In the 16th Century little distinction was made between the militia and the troops levied by the counties for overseas expeditions. Between 1589 and 1601 Yorkshire supplied 1810 levies for service in Ireland , 400 for France and 400 for the Netherlands . However,
3540-619: The Lion of Scotland was captured during the second Battle of Alnwick in 1174 by a party of about 400 mounted knights, led by Ranulf de Glanvill . Hulne Priory , outside the town walls in Hulne Park , the Duke of Northumberland's walled estate, was a friary founded in about 1240 for the Carmelites by William de Vesci . It is said that the site was chosen for some slight resemblance to Mount Carmel where
3658-585: The North Riding decided to organise their supplementaries into three battalions of six companies each, but in March this was changed to a single regiment of 10 companies while other supplementary men reinforced the regular militia regiment, which had been depleted by men volunteering for the Regular Army. Initially referred to as the North York Supplementary Militia, later as the 2nd North York Militia
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3776-469: The North Riding on 5 August 1758 to put the Acts into force. His political friends in the riding readily offered to take commissions. By the following summer he had formed two battalions each of nine companies, the Richmondshire on 3 July 1759, which was immediately embodied, and the Cleveland and Bulmer Battalion followed later in the year (though it was sometimes referred to as the 1st Battalion). The commissions of
3894-599: The North Riding: The militia were rarely mustered thereafter. In response to the Jacobite Rising of 1715 the lieutenancies of the northern shires were ordered on 16 September to prepare their militia, which meant quickly finding new officers and men. The Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding, Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness , commissioned Thomas Worsley as Lt-Col of the Cleveland Regiment of Militia Foot, and
4012-544: The North York Militia. The regiment was embodied on 20 December 1792, even before Revolutionary France declared war on Britain on 1 February 1793. Fauconberg was still colonel of the regiment, but it was usually commanded by Lt-Col Sir Thomas Dundas, 2nd Baronet , appointed in 1789. The French Revolutionary Wars saw a new phase for the English militia: they were embodied for a whole generation, and became regiments of full-time professional soldiers (though restricted to service in
4130-533: The North Yorkshires found that they could raise men easily in Newcastle. On 20 February 1793, shortly after the regiment arrived in Newcastle, there was a strike among coal miners at Washington, Co Durham . Lieutenant–Col Dundas was in command of all the troops quartered in Newcastle, and he sent a detachment of the regular Inniskilling Dragoons to disperse the crowds, but the strike continued for three weeks and
4248-643: The Percys also left Alnwick to decay, only resuming residence in the mid-18th century. Since then the Percys have remained at Alnwick. There was a Church of Scotland congregation in Alnwick in the 17th and 18th centuries. A Royal Air Force distribution depot was constructed at Alnwick during the Second World War with four main fuel storage tanks (total capacity 1700 tons) and road and rail loading facilities. The tanks were above ground and surrounded by concrete. The site
4366-456: The Regular Army, and arms and accoutrements would be supplied from the Tower of London when the county had secured 60 per cent of its quota of recruits. The North Riding was given a quota of 720 men to fill. There was considerable opposition to the militia ballot and militia taxation, which broke out into rioting, with mobs attempting to destroy the magistrates' and parish constables' lists. Yorkshire
4484-523: The Regulars (a whole company of the 15th Foot at Sunderland Barracks was composed of North York Militiamen). The regiment left the camp on 3 October and wintered in Glasgow . The town was very disturbed at the time, and night picquets had to be placed and the sentries doubled, issued with live ammunition. The regiment also had to provide escorts for French prisoners of war on their way to Edinburgh Castle , where
4602-584: The Richmondshire Militia (who had earlier been conveniently 'unable to find' Lumley when ordered to detain him). The conspirators seized the main guard and gates of the city, detained the Governor, Sir John Reresby, 2nd Baronet , disarmed and turned out the old soldiers of the garrison company and installed their militia in their place. The companies of the Richmondshire Regiment took turns to guard
4720-552: The Richmondshire battalion, but although Darcy helped to organise the regiments he had first held the colonelcy 50 years before and he died in December 1758. Many of the men enlisted were substitutes for balloted men, the officers of the company raised in Ryedale collecting subscriptions from those liable to the ballot in order to pay the bounties promised to the volunteers. The Richmondshire Battalion marched to Newcastle on 2 August, where it
4838-459: The Sea , Scalby, Skelton and Brotton and Whitby . In 1922 Redcar was incorporated as a borough. The rural districts in 1894 were Aysgarth, Bedale , Croft , Easingwold, Flaxton , Guisborough, Helmsley, Kirkby Moorside, Leyburn, Malton, Masham, Middlesbrough , Northallerton, Pickering, Reeth, Richmond, Scarborough, Startforth , Stokesley , Thirsk, Wath and Whitby . County Review Orders reduced
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4956-402: The Startforth Rural District came under County Durham. Most of the former riding is now represented by the larger North Yorkshire District . The boroughs of Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland are wholly inside the former North Riding's area. They are also some parts of the former area in the council areas of Stockton-on-Tees , York and County Durham . On three occasions a re-use of
5074-449: The TBs as auxiliary units for garrisons. For example, Sir William Pennyman raised a Royalist Regiment of Foot that was largely recruited from the Yorkshire TBs and led by men from Yorkshire and Durham, several of them previously Yorkshire TB officers. This was the senior foot regiment in the King's army and fought at Edgehill in 1642, later forming part of the army at Oxford . The Cholmley brothers supported Parliament, Sir Henry raising
5192-440: The TBs declined in the early 17th Century. Later, King Charles I attempted to reform them into a national force or 'Perfect Militia' answering to the king rather than local control. In 1638 the Yorkshire TBs were the largest in the country, mustering 12,241 foot together with 365 Cuirassiers and 35 Dragoons . In November 1638, the King's relationship with Scotland moved towards outright hostilities (the First Bishops' War ) and
5310-401: The best shots in their companies as corporals, each to train 20–25 of the men in aimed fire at 150 yards (140 m) range. In 1586 the new Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire , the Earl of Huntingdon , doubled the number of men due from the North Riding. The same proportions applied except that billmen were reduced in favour of pikemen, and Huntingdon ordered that the 'shot' should be concentrated in
5428-443: The border. The campaign was as much a failure as the previous year's. Control of the TBs was one of the main points of dispute between Charles I and Parliament that led to the First English Civil War . However, when open warfare broke out neither side made much use of the TBs beyond securing the county armouries for their own full-time troops who would serve anywhere in the country, many of whom were former trained bandsmen, or using
5546-407: The campaign by the Disinherited Scots, and again the following year for King Edward III 's Siege of Berwick and subsequent Battle of Halidon Hill . For the Roxburgh Campaign in the winter of 1334–35 the three ridings of Yorkshire were ordered to send 1050 light horsemen and 5310 foot, but only a fraction of these arrived. Those of the North Riding were the last to join, but they were supplemented by
5664-487: The company marched out of York on 16 December 1688. Colonel Darcy died early in 1689 and Sir William Chaytor, 1st Baronet , became colonel of the Richmondshire Regiment. In 1689 and 1690 the militia were alerted in case of French invasion, but the situation remained quiet during the remainder of the Nine Years' War . A national muster of the militia was called in 1697. There were now eight foot regiments in Yorkshire, of which three (together with three troops of horse) were in
5782-407: The constant wars with the Scots, in which so many Percys spent the greater part of their lives. A cross near Broomhouse Hill across the river from the castle marks the spot where Malcolm III of Scotland was killed, during the first Battle of Alnwick in 1093. At the side of the broad shady road called Ratten Row, leading from the West Lodge to Bailiffgate, a stone tablet marks the spot where William
5900-560: The core of trained troops. It seems that in this campaign Pennyman's Langbaurgh regiment served to guard the crossings of the River Tees . Sir Hugh Cholmley had been dismissed from his county appointments in 1639, but his brother Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Cholmley commanded the Pickering Lythe regiment on its march north. But once again the trained men were outweighed by untrained, unpaid, unwilling substitutes, and there were widespread mutinies and disorders at York and elsewhere. Charles's generals were unwilling to commit this force to action on
6018-400: The counties usually conscripted the unemployed and criminals rather than the Trained Bandsmen – in 1585 the Privy Council had ordered the impressment of able-bodied unemployed men, and the Queen ordered 'none of her trayned-bands to be pressed'. Replacing the weapons issued to the levies from the militia armouries was a heavy cost on the counties. With the passing of the threat of invasion,
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#17330854412236136-469: The counties were ordered to muster their TBs and keep them in readiness. As the King gathered an expeditionary force on the border in 1639, Yorkshire became an important staging-post, with the TBs ordered to rendezvous at York, though in practice many of the men sent were not trained bandsmen but untrained substitutes. Four regiments were assembled from the North Riding: On 1 April the King ordered Pennyman and his regiment to march to reinforce Berwick, which
6254-422: The crowds for a race meeting. On 2 October the two battalions returned to Newcastle. By now the term of service of the early recruits was nearing expiry, and the lieutenancy considered ways to keep up numbers, including amalgamating the two battalions. However, peace was concluded with France on 3 November, and on 3 December the two battalions were marched back to North Yorkshire so the men could be discharged near to
6372-414: The end of 1685, but not again except in single troops and companies, and the muster rolls were out of date. With a new invasion threatened, by William of Orange , Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle was appointed Lord Lieutenant of all three Ridings of Yorkshire on 5 October 1688 and he immediately formed the eight independent troops of horse militia into a single regiment under his own command. Although
6490-439: The end of the camping season the regiment moved to Gosport, where the principal duty was escorting prisoners-of-war from Portsmouth to prisons around the country. The summer of 1806 was spent in camp on Southsea Common , the autumn in barracks at Portsea and Hilsea , then in December the regiment moved to Eastbourne . In February 1808 it moved to Pleyden Barracks, near Rye, East Sussex , then it camped within Chatham Lines for
6608-417: The end of the volunteers' 5-year enlistment. The Peace of Amiens was short-lived and on 11 March 1803 the militia was ordered to be re-embodied. The North York Militia assembled at Richmond on 18 March with about 800 men in 10 companies. On 19 May it moved to Sunderland, and then marched to Ipswich on 11 July, arriving on 8 August and remaining for nearly two years, camping at Foxall Heath and Lexden Heath in
6726-473: The first 'division' (half-battalion) paraded at Darlington they refused to continue their march until it was paid. Lieutenant-Col Dundas promised that the money would be paid at Newcastle, and the men were further encouraged by news that an Act going through Parliament meant that wives and children of militiamen would be financially supported by the county. The ban on militia regiments recruiting by 'beat of drum' outside their own counties had also been lifted, and
6844-438: The following results in the North Riding: After Henry's death in 1547, the county and city of York were ordered to send 600 men to Alnwick in Northumberland . The North Riding supplied 227 of these, of whom 141 came from the wapentakes of Richmondshire. The deployment being outside their county, the men were issued with 'coat and conduct money' to supply them with a uniform coat and to pay for their journey. The legal basis of
6962-447: The garrison had troops out daily to watch for the movements of the strikers. In March a party of some 500 sailors at North Shields attempted to free some of their fellows who had been taken by a Royal Navy pressgang. Failing, they then marched on Newcastle, but Lord Fauconberg marched out at the head of a party of the North Yorkshire Militia and the sailors dispersed. In November the regiment was engaged in fire-fighting in Newcastle During
7080-410: The hands of the House of Percy in 1309. The castle was founded as a timber structure by Ivo de Vesci in about 1096. In 1136 it is first recorded as being captured by David I of Scotland . In 1147, Alnwick Abbey was founded for Premonstratensian canons , a short distance west of the castle. At about the same time, the castle was rebuilt in stone. At various points in the town are memorials of
7198-400: The light militia companies were sent out on 1 August 1795 and they were completed on 12 January 1796. Whitley Camp broke up on 20 October 1795 and the North York Militia went to Tynemouth Barracks and North Shields. At the end of April 1796 it began a march in three divisions to Colchester Barracks in Essex, but its arrival was delayed until 22 June while elections were held in Colchester. It
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#17330854412237316-412: The local country and be ready to march at short notice if there was an invasion. Sentries at Hull and along the Humber were doubled. Although the threat to the East Coast diminished after the Battle of Camperdown , the 2nd North Yorks were still stationed at Hull in June 1799, but in common with the other supplementaries was disembodied soon afterwards. The disembodied men were encouraged to volunteer for
7434-404: The magazine at Scarborough. The conspirators then arranged to continue paying the militia when their 14 or 21 days' service had expired. Afterwards a company of mounted grenadiers for service in William's Irish campaign was raised by Henry Belasyse with volunteers from the North York Militia (leading to a legend that the North York Militia had served there). Equipped with militia arms and horses,
7552-407: The market place though it was believed that nearly 50 had died, some bodies being found in the fields. the Cleveland battalion had lost one private killed, the ensign who died of his wound, and three other privates wounded; the Richmond battalion had no casualties. The North York Militia were praised for their resolute action, but gained the nickname of the 'Hexham Butchers'. One of the wounded privates
7670-443: The men to be selected by ballot. This was popularly seen as the 'Constitutional Force' to counterbalance a 'Standing Army' tainted by association with the New Model Army that had supported Cromwell 's military dictatorship, and almost the whole burden of home defence and internal security was entrusted to the militia. The North York Militia regiments of foot were now commanded as follows: The militia were frequently called out during
7788-399: The men were stood down in anticipation of the signing of the Treaty of Breda on 31 July. By the 1670s there were complaints that the North Riding militia had not met for two, three or four years at a time Colonel Conyers Darcy of the Richmondshire Regiment was elevated to the House of Lords in 1680 and the following year passed the colonelcy to his son, John Darcy , who was simultaneously
7906-555: The militia obligation was universal, it was impractical to train and equip every able-bodied man, and from 1572 the practice was to select a proportion of men for the Trained bands , (TBs) who were mustered for regular training. When war broke out with Spain training and equipping the militia became a priority. In 1584–85 the JPs of the North Riding were planning to equip and train 1000 men, 250 with corslets (armour, signifying pikemen), 400 with calivers (firearms), 200 archers and 150 billmen. The captains were to select four or more of
8024-402: The militia played almost no part in the overthrow of James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, one of the exceptions was the Yorkshire Militia. After William's landing in the West Country on 5 November, two of his leading supporters, the Earl of Danby and Viscount Lumley seized York. They were aided by Lt-Col Sir Henry Goodricke, 2nd Baronet of the West York Militia and Col John Darcy of
8142-420: The militia was updated by two acts of 1557 covering musters ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 3) and the maintenance of horses and armour ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 2). The county militia was now under the Lord Lieutenant , assisted by the deputy lieutenants and justices of the peace (JPs). The entry into force of these acts in 1558 is seen as the starting date for the organised county militia in England. Although
8260-406: The moors round Kirkbymoorside . In June 1782 the regiment moved to Eighton Banks for the camping season and then in November went into winter quarters in nearby Sunderland. On 13 February 1783 it was called out to aid the civil powers in suppressing an anti-pressgang riot by Royal Navy sailors. The militia patrolled the streets for two days. A few days later the war was ended by the agreement of
8378-417: The name of the North Riding for local government purposes has been considered. During the 1990s UK local government reform , the Banham Commission suggested uniting Richmondshire , Hambleton , Ryedale and Scarborough districts in a new unitary authority called North Riding of Yorkshire. Later, the government proposed renaming the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire the North Riding of Yorkshire. This
8496-458: The new regiment was commanded by Col Robert Crowe, former Lt-Col of the North York Militia (in 1787) with Turner Straubenzee as his Lt-Col and Sir Robert D'Arcy Hildyard, 4th Baronet as Major. On 19 March 1797 a party of non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and drummers from the North York Militia marched from Colchester to assist in drilling the new levies, and a year later a group of five sergeants, five corporals and 10 privates were sent to be NCOs in
8614-511: The north-west by County Durham . Archives from 1808 record that the " north-riding of York-shire " had once consisted of "fifty-one lordships" owned by Robert the Bruce . During the English Civil War , the North Riding predominantly supported the royalist cause, while other areas of Yorkshire tended to support the parliamentarians . The County of York, North Riding administrative county
8732-601: The number of urban and rural districts in the county: In 1968 a new Teesside county borough was created, taking in Middlesbrough and parts of the administrative areas of Durham and North Riding councils. From the North Riding came the Redcar Borough and Saltburn-Marske Urban District, Thornaby-on-Tees Borough (formerly part of the Stokesley's rural district) and Eston's urban district. Tees-Side also included parts north of
8850-570: The numerous escape attempts. On 30 December the regiment moved to the North Blockhouse at Hull. However, the barracks were too small for the whole regiment, so seven companies were stationed there with some of the men in billets in Sculcoates , four companies went to the barracks in Hull Citadel , and one was detached to Hedon . While at Hull the regiment and detachments received similar orders to
8968-405: The order originated. In 1314, Sir John Felton was governor of Alnwick. During the 14th century the Percys did extensive work on the castle, adding new towers in the outer wall, strong gates to the wall and keep, and new domestic apartments. After the Percys challenged King Henry IV , the king moved against their castles, taking Alnwick in 1403, despite its improvements. In winter 1424, much of
9086-516: The other for Ryedale and Scarborough. Yorkshire was divided into wapentakes within each riding. There were 13 wapentakes when the system became disused after the 19th century: In the Domesday Book of 1086 they were eight wapentakes, these were as follows: 54°20′16″N 1°25′43″W / 54.33778°N 1.42861°W / 54.33778; -1.42861 Alnwick Alnwick ( / ˈ æ n ɪ k / AN -ik )
9204-564: The parishes did their best to supply the men and equipment. Although there was a Jacobite rising in Northumberland in October, the rebels did not threaten Yorkshire, instead moving towards Lancashire where they were defeated by Regular forces at the Battle of Preston . The Yorkshire Militia seems to have played no part against the Jacobite rising of 1745 – though a volunteer regiments was raised and served without pay – and fell into abeyance like
9322-520: The parishes where they had been balloted. Thereafter the militia did 28 days' training each year.> The American War of Independence broke out in 1775, and by 1778 Britain was threatened with invasion by the Americans' allies, France and Spain, while the bulk of the Regular Army was serving overseas. On 28 March the militia were ordered to be embodied on 21 April. This time the North York Militia
9440-626: The regiment moved in June 1799. In the spring of 1800 there were serious riots in the Edinburgh area, and a 120-strong detachment of the North Yorks had to march down from the castle to Leith to help disperse the mob. The regiment also foiled a breakout attempt by French prisoners in the castle. In June 1800 the regiment was moved to Stirling Castle , with two companies at Linlithgow and two at Falkirk . In November it marched back to Newcastle and Gateshead for
9558-470: The regulars, and the North Riding was expected to find 226 men for the 35th Foot , which was stationed there. During the naval mutinies of 1797 the North York Militia at Colchester sent parties to watch the roads to catch deserters. In October the regiment marched to Norman Cross Prison , a large Prisoner-of-war camp near Peterborough , where it joined the East Norfolk Militia guarding against
9676-560: The reign of King Charles II ; for example, when a plot was discovered in the West Riding in 1663, the North Riding militia was mustered and 300 foot placed on alert to march at the slightest warning. The North Riding men were warned for duty in 1665 and again in July 1666 because of French and Dutch invasion threats. In 1666 it was announced that any additional volunteers who presented themselves would be issued with weapons from reserve stocks if there
9794-564: The rest of the militia in England. Under threat of French invasion during the Seven Years' War a series of Militia Acts from 1757 re-established county militia regiments, the men being conscripted by means of parish ballots (paid substitutes were permitted) to serve for three years. There was a property qualification for officers, who were commissioned by the lord lieutenant. An adjutant and drill sergeants were to be provided to each regiment from
9912-669: The ridings of Yorkshire were ordered to supply 5000 men, but they were over 2000 short and very irregularly arrayed, some 2900 gathering at Carlisle and then taking part in the short Siege of Caerlaverock . The shire levies of Yorkshire would have been among those called out to defend against the Scottish Great Raid of 1322 and again in the Weardale campaign of 1327, where the threat was so great that all men between 16 and 60 were called out in parts of Yorkshire. Levies from Yorkshire were summoned in October 1332 for defensive duties during
10030-406: The statutes, and in 1535 the commissioners took a muster of the men of the wapentakes of Birdforth and Allertonshire on Bagby Moor , near Thirsk , recording the names of the men from each township and the 'harness' each man possessed, such as 'jacks' (padded coats), Sallet helmets and 'splents' (arm guards). Threatened by a French invasion in 1539, Henry held a muster of the whole country, with
10148-462: The summer of 1794 the regiment was temporarily sent out to quarters around Morpeth, Chester-le-Street, Blyth and Seaton while the Newcastle Assizes were in session. That year two 6-pounder 'battalion guns' were attached to each militia regiment, and the North Yorks sent parties to Tynemouth for instruction in gunnery, suffering some casualties in a training accident. In December 1794 the regiment
10266-540: The summer, providing guards aboard the Prison hulks . In September it moved to Deal Barracks . North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire , England, alongside York , the East Riding and West Riding . The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at 2,585 ft (788 m). From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area , having been previously part of
10384-534: The summers of 1803 and 1804. In August 1803 the remainder of the supplementary militia was added to the regiment, raising its strength to 1157 in 12 companies; Maj Cornelius Smelt was promoted to be an additional lt-col. The Volunteers were reformed in 1803 and Lt-Col Lawrence Dundas resigned to take command of the Cleveland Volunteers. William Frankland, MP, was appointed on 14 December to replace him, and when Smelt also resigned soon afterwards Maj William Hale
10502-479: The threat of invasion increased Huntingdon was ordered to raise 12,000 men in Yorkshire and County Durham , 3000 for coast defence, 6000 for the rest of the area, and 3000 as a mobile reserve. He reported that he had only 400 horse, but 6000 good foot and 2000 hardly inferior. When the Spanish Armada threatened to land the Duke of Parma's army on the coast of England, the captains, including Sir William Fairfax of
10620-415: The town include: Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees . Television signals are received from the Chatton TV transmitter. Alnwick's local radio stations are BBC Radio Newcastle on 96.0 FM, Hits Radio North East on 102.6 FM and Lionheart Radio on 107.3 FM, a community based radio station. The Northumberland Gazette
10738-503: The town was burnt by a Scottish raiding party. Again in 1448, the town was burnt by a Scottish army led by William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas and George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus . Following these setbacks, in the 15th century both monastic houses gained defensive towers and the town was walled. In addition to the threat from Scotland, Alnwick was heavily contested in the Wars of the Roses . It
10856-622: The town was partly within the Bamburgh Ward and Coquetdale Ward and later included in the East Division of Coquetdale Ward in 1832. Alnwick Town Hall was the home of the common council of Alnwick. By the time of the 2011 Census, an electoral ward covering only part of Alnwick parish existed. The total population of this ward was 4,766. Some major or noteworthy employers in the town are: Secondary schools in Alnwick include The Duchess's Community High School . The town's greatest building
10974-414: The two rifle companies at Look Battery. On 12 July the militia were ordered to reduce the additional supplementary militia quota added in 1803, but the North Yorks had transferred so many men to the Regulars that only 4 men had to be discharged. With a strength of 1007 men under Lt-Col Frankland the regiment formed part of a militia brigade including the 1st and 2nd Somersets and 1st Royal Lancashires. At
11092-564: The wapentakes nearest the coast. Training should be held four times between 24 May and 22 July, the 'shot' being trained for three days on each occasion before the whole band was brought together, the powder and match to be supplied by the Lord Mayor of York and paid for by the wapentakes. In 1588 Captain Ralph Bosvile was appointed muster-master to oversee the training of the Yorkshire TBs. As
11210-561: The winter, the heavy baggage going by sea. At the end of July 1801 the regiment joined a camp at Whitburn near Sunderland, brigaded with the Durham and 1st and 3rd Royal Lancashire Militia , with the North Yorks trained as the brigade's light infantry. The Supplementary Militia had been disembodied in 1799, but was now re-embodied, a draft of 470 joining the North Yorks at Whitburn, the regiment forming 13 complete companies and one partially complete. In October news reached Whitburn that peace preliminaries had been agreed. The Treaty of Amiens
11328-573: Was besieged from February until 25 July 1645, when Cholmley surrendered on terms. Colonel John Scrope and members of the Darcy family, with a party of the Richmondshire TBs, held Bolton Castle , which was intermittently under siege from July 1643 until its surrender in November 1645. Once Parliament had established full control it passed new Militia Acts in 1648 and 1650 that replaced lords lieutenant with county commissioners appointed by Parliament or
11446-624: Was an invasion. The Dutch did mount an attack in 1667, raiding the Medway and Suffolk coast . Viscount Fauconberg as Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding (a new position since the Restoration), had been ordered in June to call out all his horse and foot to defend the coast, and when news of the rids arrived he deployed three Troops of Militia Horse along the coast: Viscount Fauconberg's at Whitby, Sir George Savile 's at Bridlington , and Sir Thomas Slingsby's at Scarborough. After six weeks' paid service
11564-627: Was apparently one of the militia regiments ordered to London during the Gordon Riots , camping in Hyde Park and St James's Park . It then camped at Stokes Bay outside Gosport until the end of October, when it was distributed by companies in billets across Hertfordshire . From 1 June 1781 the regiment was at Danbury Camp in Essex . On 26 October it began a move back to Yorkshire, arriving at Pontefract on 14 November. Training included winter route marches on
11682-630: Was appointed colonel, Maj Lawrence Dundas being promoted to Lt-Col. In an attempt to have as many men as possible under arms for home defence in order to release regulars, the Government created the Supplementary Militia in 1796, a compulsory levy of men to be trained in their spare time, and to be incorporated in the Militia in emergency. North Yorkshire's additional quota was fixed at 1360 men. The lieutenancies were required to carry out 20 days' initial training as soon as possible. The lieutenancy of
11800-470: Was brigaded with the 11th and 22nd Foot and the Northumberland and Somerset Militia under Maj-Gen William Crosbie . While at Colchester the War Office ordered composite battalions to be formed from the grenadier companies of different battalions: Lt-Col Lord Dundas (as he had now become) was in command of that formed at Colchester. In practice, Lord Fauconberg was rarely with the regiment, and Lord Dundas
11918-493: Was brigaded with the 37th Foot and the Royal Lancashire Fencibles at Whitley Bay under the command of Major-General Lord Mulgrave . In response to the invasion threat the government had increased the available forces by forming fencible (home defence) regiments of horse and foot, and by encouraging the counties to add volunteer companies to their militia regiments, paid for by subscription. North Yorkshire set up
12036-545: Was called off and the North Riding remained disturbed for some time, particularly around Whitby. The Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding, Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness , was in a difficult position: he had voted against the Acts, but as Secretary of State for the Northern Department he was obliged to order the lords-lieutenant in Northern England to enforce them. Accordingly, he began lieutenancy meetings in
12154-473: Was closed in the 1970s, and its demolition and disposal were completed in 1980. The Alnwick by-pass takes the A1 London–Edinburgh trunk road around the town. It was started in 1968. Alnwick lies at 55°25′00″N 01°42′00″W / 55.41667°N 1.70000°W / 55.41667; -1.70000 (55.417, -1.700) . The River Aln forms its unofficial northern boundary. Historically,
12272-514: Was deemed inappropriate and rejected, after a "chorus of disapprobation". During a further local government review in the 2000s as part of the preparations for the regional assembly referendums , a unitary authority with the name North Riding of Yorkshire, consisting of Richmondshire, Hambleton, Ryedale and Scarborough was again suggested. However, the Commission withdrew this in favour or two unitary authorities, one for Hambleton and Richmondshire,
12390-402: Was embodied as a single regiment of 10 companies (including a Grenadier Company) under the command of Sir Ralph Milbanke. On 1 May 1778 the regiment was sent to quarters at Leeds , with a strength of 642 rank and file against its establishment of 720. The great majority were substitutes rather than balloted men, and this continued through the regiment's early history. Lord Fauconberg wanted to add
12508-611: Was formed in 1889. In 1894 it was divided into municipal boroughs, urban districts and rural districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . Middlesbrough had already been incorporated as a municipal borough in 1853 and formed a county borough , exempt from county council control, from 1889. Richmond and Scarborough had been incorporated as municipal boroughs in 1835, with Thornaby-on-Tees added in 1892. The urban districts in 1894 were Eston , Guisborough, Hinderwell, Kirkleatham, Kirklington cum Upsland , Loftus, Malton, Masham, Northallerton, Pickering, Redcar, Saltburn and Marske by
12626-622: Was granted an Out-Pension from the Royal Hospital Chelsea , one of the first awarded to a militiaman. (The militia contributed 5 per cent of their pay towards the cost of the hospital, the same as the Regulars). The two battalions spent the summer of 1761 and 1762 in Yorkshire, being quartered at various times at Hull , Richmond, Masham , Gilling and Beverley . In September 1762 they were moved out of their billets in Richmond to accommodate
12744-718: Was held for Henry VI until the Lancastrian collapse of 1461, when it fell to Edward IV . That winter the Lancastrians recaptured it, but in July 1462 the Yorkists retook it. By the autumn the Lancastrians were again in possession, and quickly came under Yorkist siege. Despite Franco-Scottish reinforcements, the Lancastrians abandoned the castle to the Yorkists in January 1463, though by May they had regained it through betrayal. On 23 June it
12862-528: Was later joined by the Cleveland & Bulmer. They remained in the North-East for several years, alternating quarters between Newcastle, Gateshead , Durham , Berwick and Sunderland . Rioting against the militia ballot broke out in various towns in Northumberland in February 1761. On 7 March Col Duncombe sent two companies from each battalion of the North York Militia under Maj Christopher Crowe to Hexham . Next day
12980-483: Was not so dark as that of the 95th Rifles when that regiment was formed in 1800. It appears that the choice of colour was simply because the green uniforms had already been ordered for the four proposed troops of fencible cavalry in the North Riding. However, these fencibles were never raised, part-time troops of yeomanry cavalry being formed instead (the forerunners of the Yorkshire Hussars ). Recruiting parties for
13098-561: Was often absent, so the effective command devolved on the latter's son, Maj Hon Lawrence Dundas , first commissioned as a captain in 1789 and promoted in 1795. On 28 December 1796 a Corps de Reserve was formed from the North York Militia, the Warwick Fencible Cavalry and the East Norfolk and West Suffolk Militia , ready to march at short notice. Earl Fauconberg resigned the command on grounds of ill-health in 1797 and Lord Dundas
13216-525: Was particularly affected, with a major riot in the Wapentake of Bulmer on 12 September 1757. The mob terrorised the magistrates and seized the lists, then moved on to York to prevent the meeting of the lieutenants, destroying the inn where they were to meet. Afterwards George Fox-Lane , the Lord Mayor of York formed a 500-strong body of armed citizens to mount guard. A lieutenancy meeting at Thirsk on 20 September
13334-408: Was promoted on 5 March 1804. On 6 October 1804 208 rifles were issued to the North York Militia to form two additional companies. Unlike the previous light companies, these wore the true Rifle green uniform, and had buglers rather than drummers. In July 1805, when Napoleon was massing his ' Army of England ' at Boulogne for a projected invasion, the regiment moved into camp at Weymouth with
13452-456: Was rapidly marched in two divisions to Berwick and Tweedmouth on their way to deal with a serious mutiny at Glasgow . The mutiny having been quelled, the regiment remained in billets at Berwick until February 1795 when it marched through snow to the Sunderland area to join a division of regular and auxiliary troops on coast defence duties under General Sir William Howe . The North York Militia
13570-404: Was signed the following March and the regiment was marched back to the North Riding, where it was disembodied by Lt-Col Dundas on 23 April 1802. The arms and accoutrements of the regiment were stored at Scarborough Castle. New establishments were set for the disembodied militia in 1802, with the North Yorkshires' quota set at 911 in 10 companies, the light companies having been disbanded in 1801 at
13688-534: Was surrendered to the Yorkists for the final time. According to historian Dan Spencer, this made Alnwick the most besieged place in the country in the Wars of the Roses. Sir Thomas Malory mentions Alnwick as a possible location for Lancelot's castle Joyous Garde. In the English Reformation , monastic life at Alnwick came to an end, with both Alnwick Abbey and Hulne Priory being suppressed in 1539. Shortly after,
13806-537: Was the home of the most powerful medieval northern baronial family, the Earls of Northumberland . It was a staging post on the Great North Road between Edinburgh and London. The town centre has changed relatively little, but the town has seen some growth, with several housing estates covering what had been pasture, and new factory and trading estate developments along the roads to the south. The name Alnwick comes from
13924-697: Was threatened by the Scots. The rest of the force at York marched north piecemeal until it concentrated at Newcastle upon Tyne and then moved up to camp at Birkhill west of Berwick on 30 May. The force was poorly trained and supplied; when a superior force of Scots Covenanters was arrayed on nearby Duns Law Charles negotiated the Treaty of Berwick and the army dispersed. When hostilities were renewed in 1640 (the Second Bishops' War ) Charles's government attempted to form better regiments by combining TB contingents. The northern counties including Yorkshire were to provide
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