Richard III remains one of our most polarising historical figures. Jan Hunter finds out what she can see of him on the ground in North Yorkshire.

AUGUST saw the return of the York Medieval Festival to the city and surrounding area, reminding us, the inhabitants of God’s own county, that we live in an area rich not only in beauty but also in history.

So much of Britain’s history centres on London, which replaced Winchester as our capital city some time after the Norman Conquest, but during the Wars of the Roses of the 15th Century, one of the most powerful landowners in the North was Richard, Duke of Gloucester, whose headquarters were here in Yorkshire, in Middleham, Sherriff Hutton, Sandal, Pontefract and, of course, York.

After the death of his brother in 1483, Richard became king. He only ruled for two years and 57 days, but his reign is still notorious – mainly because of Tudor propaganda.

Phillipa Langley, the screenwriter and historian who discovered Richard's body in Leicester and who has just announced that she has new leads regarding the murder of the Princes in the Tower, spoke at the Guildhall in York as part of the festival, and was keen to point out that the propaganda started at the moment of Richard's death.

Defeated by Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth, stripped of all dignity, he was slung face down on a horse so that his scoliosis (a spinal condition) would show in the form of a hump below his right shoulder as he was bent forward. And so the evil legend began ...

Yet as a hero or villain, the debate goes on, and his influence on the county of Yorkshire remains today.

His childhood home was Middleham Castle, which is best seen from the Wensleydale Railway. It rises up out of the small picturesque market town and traces of the grandeur and power of the Neville family can be seen in its intricate stonework. When it passed into Richard’s hands through his marriage to Anne Neville, he spent money extending it and building what is believed to be a nursery for his infant son, Edward of Middleham. Edward was born at the castle, and died there in 1484, aged only ten.

Archaeological finds include the famous Middleham Jewel, a livery badge with an engraving of Richard’s emblem of a white boar, and a circular plaque bearing the initials R and A surrounded by the words “A Vo Plaisir” – for your pleasure.

Sherriff Hutton Castle is privately owned, but there is a walk around the moat which gives good views of the castle. Originally another Neville stronghold, it fell into Richard’s hands on the death of Richard Neville at the Battle of Barnet in 1471. Its close proximity to York made it a convenient base for Richard and at one time it was the chief headquarters of the Council of the North.

While Richard waited for Henry Tudor to invade, he sent his niece, Elizabeth of York, and her sisters, plus his illegitimate son, John of Gloucester, and various other nobles to Sheriff Hutton for their safety, and there they waited for news of the outcome of the Battle of Bosworth.

The church of St Helen’s of the Holy Cross in Sherriff Hutton is believed to be the only English parish church which contains a tomb of a member of the Royal Family. In a little chapel, there is a white alabaster cenotaph which has the effigy of a child on top. It is said to be the tomb of Edward of Middleham, Richard’s only legitimate son, and above the effigy, in the stained glass window, is the Sun in Splendour, the emblem of the House of York.

If Richard had lived, Yorkshire may have been a different place. For example, a rare document, bearing his seal, is now on display at Scarborough’s Art Gallery, a town he had great affection for. He used the town as a port and supply base for his warships, improving the harbour and fortifications. The document gives Scarborough and the surrounding district the right to become an independent county. It was written four months before his death, but Henry Tudor did not recognise it, so Scarborough remained one of Yorkshire’s great seaside towns.

The people of Yorkshire had a great respect for Richard. His brother, Edward IV, made him the first Lord President of the Council of the North, and through the council, Richard ruled the North on behalf of his brother for ten years. He gained a positive reputation among the Northern noblemen for being fair and peaceful – which is very different from his reputation as a deformed, child-murdering interloper, which is how his enemies outside the county see him.

In fact, Richard’s death at the Battle of Bosworth was announced in York by the Mayor’s Sergeant who captured the county’s enormous loss. He said: “King Richard, late mercifully reigning over us, was through great treason piteously slain and murdered to the great heaviness of this city.”