Raby Castle - History

History

The house of Neville held the manor of Raby since the 13th century, and although the family did not have a formal title from 1295 they were called to parliament as barons of Raby; Ralph Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby, was the first to be called to parliament. His heir, John Neville (1299/1300–1335) became a member of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster's household, beginning the family's link with the Earls of Lancaster. Raby was the family's caput, their seat of power, and there may have been a fortified house on the site of the present building from around 1300. In the second half of the 14th century, the Nevilles began rebuilding several of their properties in northern England, including Raby Castle between roughly 1367 and 1390. In the closing years of the century, the Nevilles were becoming one of the most powerful families in northern England, comparable to the House of Percy who had been made Earls of Northumberland in 1377.

In 1378 Thomas Hatfield Bishop of Durham, granted John de Neville a licence to fortify his property at Raby. John died in 1388 and was succeeded by his son, Ralph. Almost nothing of the family's papers survive from this period, so there is little documentary evidence of Raby Castle's construction. The dating is based mostly on architectural details. In the words of historian Anthony Emery, the work "converted it from a defendable house into a palace-fortress".

Ralph was created Earl of Westmorland on 29 September 1397 by Richard II as a reward for his loyalty in the face of political unrest. However, his family's traditional association with the earls of Lancaster meant that when Henry Bollinbroke of the House of Lancaster invaded in July 1399 Neville sided with Bollingbroke. Neville helped convince Richard II to abdicate and Henry was crowned as Henry IV. Neville was made Earl Marshal of England on the day of Henry's coronation and a knight of the Order of the Garter in 1403.

Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland, died in 1564 and was succeeded to the family estates by his son, Charles. The Nevilles were Catholics and Charles was one of the leaders of the failed Rising of the North in 1569 against England's Protestant Queen Elizabeth I. Due to the severity of the threat to the Crown, over 800 rebels were executed, and Charles Neville and Thomas Percy (Earl of Westmorland and another leader of the rebellion) fled into exile. In 1571 Neville an attainder was issued against Neville and his lands forfeited to the Crown.

After the Rising of the North the castle became the property of the Crown for over forty three years, before being bought by Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington who previously resided at Barnard Castle in County Durham. He was impressed by the size and lands, opposed to that at Barnard which was hemmed in by the surrounding town. The House of Vane were responsible for much of the modernising of the castle, especially the interior. These include renovation of the medieval chapel and drawing room. The family also were responsible for driving a carriage-way though the castle, causing much damage to the castle's medieval fabric. Architect William Burn carried out alterations to Raby Castle between 1843 and 1848; the work included adding new roofs to the great hall and the chapel and adding a drawing room to one of the towers in Jacobean style. The present family are responsible for the great collection of artworks in the castle.

In 1890 the former 4th Duke of Cleveland died, leaving the line of succession to the castle, and its vast estates, unclear. The case was decided in 1891 when the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords held his relative, Henry de Vere Vane to be the 9th Baron Barnard and inheritor of the vast estates of Raby. He did not, however, inherit the title of Duke of Cleveland which became extinct.

Christopher Vane, 10th Baron Barnard divested himself of all but 1,713 acres (693 ha) of the 53,000-acre (21,000 ha) Raby estate. Raby Castle is open to the public every year between May and September and at Easter. In 2007/08 about 26,000 people visited the castle.