Richmond, Willance's Leap And The Monuments c.1965

Photo ref: R32080

More about this scene

Drummer Boy. This last alludes to the town's on-going military associations, from the North York Militia, through the Green Howards to Catterick Camp. Begun in 1915, and re-named Catterick Garrison in 1973, this is now the largest military base in Europe, and an important part of Richmond's economy. The number of troops based here increased dramatically during both World Wars, and many men still associate Richmond with their time as National Servicemen. From the 1920s war memorials appear in the photographs, which also show iron railings sacrificed during the Second World War. What the Frith views omit is interesting. We see an operative cinema, but only a closed Georgian Theatre, and there is no hint of the important racehorse-training tradition. Several of the pictures were taken in 1929, a year which saw the commemoration of the sixth centenary of the Richmond charter granted in 1329 by King Edward III, but none of this pageantry is shown. Indeed, there is nothing of the civic ceremony which is an important part of Richmond life, despite the loss of borough status in 1974. Some photographs show areas open where now there is housing, but the decline in Richmond as a shopping centre is particularly evident. Not only are there far fewer drapers, grocers and butchers, but the shopping area has contracted to an area barely extending beyond the Market Place. Frith shows shops in Frenchgate, Castle Hill and New Road. A similar trend is reflected in the pictures of villages, taken because there were once village shops and post offices which were points of sale.