Pontefract Castle Facts & Worksheets

• By this time, the castle was maintained by the female descendants of Ilbert de Lacy until the early 14th century, when it passed to the Duchy of Lancaster by marriage. During this period, the notorious royal fortress served as the place of imprisonment for prominent figures.

People imprisoned at Pontefract Castle in this period:

Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster

• He was the Lord of Pontefract in 1311 following the death of his father-in-law, Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln. He held the honour of Pontefract in right of his wife, Alice de Lacy.
• He became a leader in the baronial opposition to his first cousin, Edward II. The rebellion was initially successful, but Lancaster was later captured and taken prisoner in March 1322.
• He was imprisoned and tried for treason at Pontefract Castle. He was found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed on the hill near the castle on 22 March.
• Lancaster’s estates, including the castle, were forfeited to Edward II following the execution. 

Richard II

• He was king of England from 1377 until he was captured by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, in 1399. 
• Bolingbroke then seized the throne, becoming Henry IV. Henry IV imprisoned Richard II at Pontefract Castle, where he died on or around 14 February 1400. It is believed that he starved to death while being held in the castle. William Shakespeare immortalised this notorious event in his play Richard II, though he certainly embellished the details for dramatic effect.

James I of Scotland

• The 11-year-old James was fleeing to France to avoid the political instability in Scotland when he was captured by English pirates and delivered to Henry IV of England in March 1406. He was in captivity when his father, Robert III, died in April.
• During his 18-year captivity, he was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle and other English locations, including Windsor Castle and the Tower of London.
• James I was well-treated and educated, and was often treated as a royal guest at the English court. He was freed in 1424 after a treaty was finalised the previous year. 

French nobility

• Charles, Duke of Orleans, was one of the many French noblemen at the Battle of Agincourt in October 1415. He was captured at Agincourt following the French defeat.
• He was transported from Windsor to Yorkshire and was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle around 1417. He was later held at various locations in England, moving from one castle to another.
• He was finally freed in 1440, returning to France after 24 years of imprisonment in England.
• Another French noble imprisoned at Pontefract was John, Duke of Bourbon. Bourbon was also captured at Agincourt in 1415. He died a prisoner in London in 1434.

Anthony Woodville and Sir Richard Grey

• Anthony Woodville was one of the leading members of the Woodville family, which rose to prominence during Edward IV’s reign. Sir Richard Grey was an English knight and the half-brother of Edward V.
• Both were arrested and executed at Pontefract Castle under the orders of Richard III in 1483.

In 1536, Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy and guardian of the castle, surrendered Pontefract Castle to the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace. This was a Catholic uprising in northern England opposing Henry VIII’s rule. The king interpreted this alleged “surrender” as treason, and Darcy was subsequently executed. Later in 1541, Henry VIII visited Pontefract Castle with his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, during his summer royal progress of the north. In 1569, Mary, Queen of Scots, was lodged at the castle, travelling between Wetherby and Rotherham.

English Civil War

• When Pontefract Castle was surveyed in 1621, it was estimated to require £3,000 in repairs, a vast sum for the era. The castle desperately needed these repairs, as it was soon to endure three separate sieges that severely tested both the resolve of its garrison and the integrity of its defences during the English Civil War.
• The English Civil War was a series of conflicts and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in England from 1642 to 1651. Whilst the sieges at Pontefract are frequently combined in historical accounts, they were distinct events, not a single continuous siege.

First siege of Pontefract Castle

• Pontefract Castle, as the main royal stronghold in the north of England, was crucial for the royalist side during the English Civil War and a key target for Parliament. 
• Following the defeat of York, Parliamentarian forces, led by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Colonel Lambert, advanced on Pontefract.
• The siege commenced on 25 December 1644 and involved intense bombardment. Since the attackers could not penetrate the castle’s defences, the siege was abandoned in March 1645, after Royalist troops under Sir Marmaduke Langdale secured a victory at Chequerfield.
• Parliamentarians were forced to retreat toward Ferrybridge.

Second siege of Pontefract Castle

• The Royalist victory at the first siege was brief, as they lacked the military strength to sustain it.  
• As a result, the second siege started in March 1645, lasting four months until the castle garrison eventually surrendered, placing the castle under Parliament’s control. However, the garrison was soon to face an unexpected setback.

Third siege of Pontefract Castle

• In June 1648, Royalist supporters, led by Colonel John Morris, captured Pontefract Castle by entering in disguise and surprising the defenders. Parliamentarians responded by gathering an army to besiege the castle starting in October 1648.
• Initially, the siege struggled, prompting Oliver Cromwell to personally take command. However, he soon departed for London to oversee the trial of Charles I.
• Following the execution of the English king in January 1649, the castle garrison immediately proclaimed Charles I’s son as Charles II. They also minted ‘siege coins’ featuring the new king’s likeness, including distinctive diamond-shaped coins used for troop payments. These were the first coins struck in Charles II’s name, and they inspired Pontefract’s official motto, ‘Post Mortem Patris pro Filio’, meaning ‘After the Death of the Father, we support the Son’.
• By March 1649, Pontefract remained the last Royalist stronghold resisting the Roundheads. Recognising the hopeless situation, the garrison finally surrendered. 
• Pontefract Castle was demolished not by the English Civil War, which it survived despite being heavily contested, but as a direct result of the conflict’s aftermath. Local officials petitioned for its demolition after the fighting ended, as they believed that the castle’s strategic position had caused great suffering in Pontefract, leading to numerous casualties and extensive damage to the town. Consequently, in April 1649, Parliament and the West Yorkshire Quarter Sessions issued the official order for its demolition. The dismantling involved multiple contractors who were paid to demolish various towers and walls, with funds recovered from the sale of valuable materials. This ruined fortress is what we see today.

Later years of Pontefract Castle

• Following its demolition, the Pontefract Castle site found an unexpected new use among locals: growing liquorice. Liquorice, which reached England in the 11th century and was long used for medicinal purposes, was cultivated in Pontefract by the 17th century, rapidly becoming a major local industry. By 1720, the local Dunhill family leased the castle grounds to grow liquorice, storing the plants in the castle dungeons. The castle’s environment proved ideal for the plant’s growth, allowing George Dunhill to leverage this success and revolutionise the liquorice trade.
• In 1760, the format of liquorice underwent a complete transformation. What was once a dissolvable, medicinal pastel became a chewable sweet with the addition of sugar, and was subsequently named the Pontefract Cake. The Dunhill family remained at the castle for over a century.
• With the arrival of the Victorian era, the castle and its grounds saw another shift in use. Jeanette Leatham, a wealthy local woman, helped establish pleasure gardens at the castle and became involved with the castle’s museum.
• Pontefract Castle remains under the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster but is managed as a heritage site by Wakefield Council, with funding from organisations such as English Heritage and Historic England. A significant conservation project in 2016 revealed multiple previously unknown structures south of the gatehouse and found several cannonballs embedded into the outer wall of the castle. Whilst restoration of the castle initially faced delays, it was completed on Yorkshire Day (1 August) 2019. The castle offers free public access, though guided tours of the castle and dungeon are available for a fee. Amenities include a visitor centre displaying artefacts, a playground, and a herb garden.