The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name comes from ascam or ascha meaning "enclosure of ash-tree". It has been also known as "Little" or "West" Askham". The "Richard" in the village name is reputed to be that of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall.

The villages of Askham Richard and close-by Askham Bryan were once just one manor around the time of Edward the Confessor and belonged to Edwin, Earl of Mercia. When Edwin's lands were confiscated by the William the Conqueror, the village was granted to Roger de Mowbray who then passed the Manor to his friend, William de Tykhill, a former Warden of Foss Bridge.