Richmondshire Landscape Trust
Our Story
The Richmondshire Landscape Trust is a registered charity formed in 2004 to take over the running of 88 acres of land to the south and west of the town formerly owned by the Richmondshire District Council. Our aim has always been to preserve this land as public open space whilst increasing biodiversity and providing secure wildlife habitats.
We enjoy enormous support from people in and around the town who worked with us over a period of four years to raise the £120,000 needed to buy the land. We reached our target in 2008 and the five original pieces of land which belong to the Trust, together with the more recently acquired land at Whitefields, will now be preserved for future generations as beautiful open spaces within the heart of Richmond.
Since 2004 we have worked to conserve the unique nature of the landscape. We have repaired and rebuilt drystone walls, renewed all our boundary fences, planted trees and hedgerows, established wildflower meadows and installed new accessible gates. We have also restored two mediaeval monastic fishponds and completed a project involving Heritage Drainage Restoration for which we won a conservation award.
In 2017 we became the owners of a section of Scots Dyke, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, together with the adjacent pasture. We call this area Whitefields to preserve its ancient connection with Easby Abbey and to perpetuate the name of Whitefields Farm from which it is derived.
One of our wildflower meadows was recognised by the Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust as one of their Flagship Meadows and we have been able to provide seed from this meadow to help others undertaking similar ventures in Richmondshire and the Yorkshire Dales.
In the 20 years of our existence we have successfully participated in grant aided projects funded by various national and local bodies. We participate in Countryside Stewardship and are currently in the sixth year of a Farming and Wildlife Plan in connection with which we graze our land to maintain biodiversity and preserve and maintain hedgerows to provide food and shelter for small mammals and overwintering birds. We have worked with Buglife to encourage pollinating insects and we care for areas of woodland and infield trees. Sadly Ash Dieback has now reached Richmondshire and we have had to fell several mature trees. We are balancing that loss with a replanting programme. We have recently planted 440 saplings and young trees and we hope to plant another 316 in the coming months with a view to enhancing these beautiful open spaces for future generations.
A Note from the Chair:
Elizabeth Downes
Introducing myself I am a retired university lecturer and have lived in Richmond for three years now. I joined the Landscape Trust as soon as we moved here, having read about it online. I became a trustee in 2023 and was keen to step up as Chair because the RLT is an organisation close to my heart in many ways. I have a lifelong interest on natural history and enjoy hill walking, cycling, swimming and (in the past) kayaking and sea rowing.
My connections with and love for Richmond go back much further than three years as some of my family live locally and three nephews and a niece attended Richmond school. In fact, looking through old photos, I found one of myself in Bridge field 36 years ago, well before ROSA and the start of the trust.
I have volunteered with several environmental charities in the last few years including the RSPB as an education volunteer. I worked with young people outdoors and am passionate about access to green spaces for all. I currently volunteer at Foxglove Covert Local Nature Reserve as a general reserve volunteer, part of the species team and also as an education volunteer.
I regularly walk the Trust’s land with my dog and love to see the wildlife changing with the seasons. This year will be the twentieth anniversary of the trust and I look forward to celebrating this with the people of Richmond.
The initial objectives of the Trust set out in 2014:
“to maintain, conserve, and enhance the unique qualities of the landscape around Richmond and Richmondshire for the improvement of the environment and the recreation of the public in the interests of social welfare” are as relevant today as they were then. I look forward to working with all the trustees to protect and enhance the land for future generations.