Richmond at the start of the 21st Century An Architectural History by Mark Whyman Publisher: Bargate Publications ISBN: 0-9545789-0-2

Since boyhood, Mark Whyman wanted to be an architect but lacking the then essential skills of drawing and mathematics, this was not to be. However throughout his life he has maintained an intense interest in buildings and local history. A professional personnel manager, he studied local history in his spare time and became the first person from the Middlesbrough Adult Education Centre to be awarded the University of Leeds, Accredited Continuing Education Certificate in Local Historical Studies.

He is well known as a speaker on architecture and local history and has taught W.E.A. evening classes on 19th century architecture, the history of gardens and local history. Previous publications include Echoes of the Past - the architectural heritage of Middlesbrough, the world's first railway town and, with Dr. Malcolm Chase, Heartbreak Hill - a response to Unemployment in East Cleveland, as well as articles in local history publications. He was recently appointed Honorary Archivist to the Company of Cordwainers of the City of York, one of the seven guilds of that City. He now lives in Richmond and is a freeman of the Company of Fellmongers of Richmond.

About the Book

The book provides a unique 'snapshot' of Richmond at the start of the 21st century. It includes a photograph of every street in the town as well as descriptions and photographs of some of the more interesting buildings. Extensively researched and photographed between 2000 and 2003, it makes accessible information that is otherwise difficult to obtain.

It includes over 600 photographs and 18 maps, together with a short glossary of architectural terms.

It is a 'must' for anyone interested in the buildings of Richmond.

Richmond contains some of the finest architecture in North Yorkshire but as every day passes some detail changes. This book is an attempt to take a snapshot of the town's buildings at a moment in time - the start of the 21st century. It seeks to describe in words and pictures every street within the town boundary, with at least one photograph of each street and some of the more interesting buildings. It is unusual in terms of books on architectural history in that it covers not only the historic buildings in the town but even modest suburban developments that have taken place up to 2003. It will also be of interest to local and family historians, as changes in the names of streets are indicated, together with some streets that have disappeared altogether. The amount of space devoted to each street varies, partly due to the level of interest and partly due to the information that is available. For some streets it has been possible to identify research material which allows a fairly accurate chronology to be developed. For others there appears to be little or nothing available.

The dating of streets and individual buildings is based on a combination of map evidence, local history, the architectural style of the building and, where they are available, documentary sources.

It is inevitable that errors will occur in a work of this nature, some apparently Victorian buildings may in fact have an 1 or even a 17" century core with a facade added in the lgth century and so on. Much use has been made of map and trades directory evidence but sometimes these printed sources are not entirely accurate. I have attempted to caption photographs with the numbers of the houses depicted - not an easy task as houses are increasingly ceasing to display legible numbers. On some estates there appears to be neither numbering nor names and one wonders how post and papers can possibly be accurately delivered.

I would have liked to include many more houses but space is limited, also if your side of the street is not illustrated this is probably due to the lighting. As an "evening" person I tend to take photographs in the afternoon, so that a west facing building is likely to be better lit than an east facing one - so apologies to all those omitted, it's a matter of geography!

This is probably the first time that an attempt has been made to picture an entire town of the size of Richmond - it is hoped it will be of use to future generations who would like to know what Richmond was like at the start of the 21st century.