Local History

Pontefract Castle's just one of many historic places across West Yorkshire which will be opening their doors in September and, with so much history packed into the castle's ruins, we just had to investigate!

Wandering around the ruins of Pontefract Castle today it comes as something of a surprise to find that this was once one of the most important fortresses in the country. The execution of traitors, the imprisonment of enemies and even the murder of kings - it all happened in Pontefract.

Pontefract Castle's keep

Pontefract Castle is certainly something that Oliver Cromwell's soldiers knocked about a bit. During the English Civil War it was held by the Royalists throughout three sieges and was the last royal castle to fall to the Parliamentarians. Today, although it's a scheduled ancient monument in the care of Wakefield Council, it's actually still the property of the Queen as part of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The history of Pontefract Castle goes back as far as the Norman Conquest when it was an earth and timber fortress built by Ilbert de Lacy in the 1080s. Ilbert had come over from Normandy with William the Conqueror and fought at Hastings. He was rewarded with more than 100 estates in the West Riding alone and it was only natural he would want a prominent castle from which to control his estates. When a revolt against the Normans broke out in Yorkshire Ilbert was happy to 'lay waste' large areas in the Conqueror's name. Lovely chap!

The castle was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century and other buildings were added as time went on. A painting in Pontefract Museum shows how grand and imposing the castle still looked in the 17th century before the Civil War. Only the cellars now remain of the Great Hall which was once the heart of the castle.

As the castle was strengthened so was the power of the de Lacy family. Following very successful marriages they became Earls of Lincoln and eventually their estates were transferred to the powerful House of Lancaster.

Going underground: The castle's magazine

While life as a foot soldier or peasant in the Middle Ages might be brutish and short, even the rich and powerful had to be careful about how they chose their friends. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was tried for treason at Pontefract Castle and executed on the hill adjacent to nearby St John's Priory. There were other important prisoners: ames I of Scotland and Charles Duc D'Orleans who had been captured at the battle of Agincourt in 1415. But the most famous incarceration in Pontefract Castle has to be that of Richard II whose last days there were immortalised in Shakespeare's play.

In 1399 Richard was forced to abdicate by a group of barons led by Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster. Henry imprisoned the deposed King in his fortress at Pontefract but risings in Richard's support was something of an embarrassment and it appears that by the end of February 1400 Richard was dead, probably killed by starvation on Henry's orders. It's likely he was held in Gasgoigne Tower, also known coincidentally as the Red Tower.

The most immediate link the castle has with the past is the underground magazine. Originally the cellars of the Great Hall (part of today's magazine date from the 11th century) this area was used as a military store and during the Civil War as a prison. The Royalists held the castle though three sieges and prisoners carved their names into the magazine's walls. Although one prisoner, unsure of his fate, even carved gallows there, they were eventually returned to their own side.

Once upon a time: The castle as it was

Surviving written records tell us a bit more about some of these men. Robert Greathed, a captain, pretending to be his brother and a private soldier, bought himself out while Robert Brear asked if he could take a couple of days to sort out some private affairs. Castle custodian, Steve Coulson, says Brear is the only person ever known to 'escape' from Pontefract Castle. Perhaps their fellow prisoners were less cunning. Having defeated the King's supporters Cromwell was determined that castles - far too handy for anyone planning a rising - should, where possible, be reduced to rubble.

But the history of Pontefract Castle did not stop there. It was used for growing liquorice and in Victorian times was a pleasure garden and a municipal park. More recently the castle has been excavated, some of the medieval stonework restored and a Visitor Centre opened. Thanks to continual conservation work the remains of the castle stand as a reminder of the glory that was once Pontefract's!