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Pontefract Castle: The Remaining Ruins of England's Most Feared Castle

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Pontefract Castle, in Yorkshire, England (or Pomfret Castle, as it was known at its time) used to be the most important, and most terrifying castle in the whole of Early Modern England .

However, visitors today would find this unbelievable to understand. Nowadays, Pontefract is absolutely ruined, and it's incredibly difficult to visualise this vast castle as it once was.

Pontefract Castle is generally ruinous. These tower segments are the largest remaining constructions. Credit: Tim Green, CreativeCommons (CC BY 2.0).

Nonetheless, this mighty stone castle was a real force to be reckoned with - and had such a feared reputation that it was even mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. It's undoubtedly the most important castle in the whole of Yorkshire, England, and is well-worth your time for a visit.

One important side-note on the modern history of Pontefract is that, until very recently, the castle ruins were badly-managed. The entire place was in danger of falling into ruins - and becoming a hideout for modern-day criminals and drug-dealers.

Happily, Wakefield Council (who manage the castle) have secured the funding to pull the castle back from the brink of historical extinction, and it's well worth a visit nowadays. Indeed, with a little a bit more care and investment, it could be one of the best historical attractions in Yorkshire and, indeed, in the whole of North England.

6. Pontefract Castle has a blood-stained history: of death, decay and dark dungeons

Pontefract Castle has attracted a phenomenal amount of death, decay and misery over the years. In an ominous precursor, the entire place was constructed on an old Anglo-Saxon burial ground. In addition to this, the castle was the spot of Richard II's infamous 'murder' (see our next point below), and hundreds of soldiers were killed or imprisoned here during the Wars of the Roses.

A different angle of the remaining two towers of Pontefract Castle. Credit: Tim Green, CreativeCommons (CC BY 2.0).

To add to the general feeling of despair, Pontefract has a huge and oppressive network of dungeons - hollowed out of the bedrock 35 feet below the castle. Prisoners were trapped in the winding, pitch-black pits for weeks at a time, and scratched their names into the walls during their miserable imprisonment.

Pontefract was the site of some dark moments in history - in 1311, Edward II gained the upper hand on his own cousin, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, and had him executed in the castle- along with beheading 20 other rebels. It was in Pontefract too that Richard III condemned Sir Richard Grey, Sir Thomas Vaughan and Earl Rivers to execution, as their faction-fighting endangered his rule. These three were killed in 1483 - the same year of the alleged 'murder' of the two young princes in the Tower of London.

5. And Pontefract Castle was the spot where King Richard II was murdered - which served as inspiration for Shakespeare

King Richard II was certainly held in Pontefract Castle in 1399. We don't know exactly what happened to him, but most sources think that he was either intentionally neglected until he starved to death; or was cruelly murdered in the dungeons. A couple of scholars have suggested the dungeon of the Keep to be the spot of his murder- a tiny, pitch-black space seeping with the cold and damp.

A broader view of the castle grounds, showing the extent of the ruins- and a slightly depressing coal-fired power station. Credit: Tim Green, CreativeCommons (CC BY 2.0).

Writing in the late 1500s, Shakespeare used Pontefract Castle (at his time, Pomfret Castle) as a setting in two of his history plays, Richard II and Richard III. In Richard II, the King is dragged to Pomfret Castle, where he ruminates on his life when imprisoned in the dungeons - and is killed as the play ends.

Although we don't know the exact facts about Richard II's death, the most important point is that Pontefract Castle was notorious - and widely feared - for its bloody reputation.

4. Once a magnificent palace -- although that's hard to imagine today

It's truly hard to imagine nowadays, but Pontefract Castle was once a magnificent and extravagant palace - the jewel of Yorkshire. Pontefract was a vast stone castle, and it's thought that it enjoyed the protection of two-outer walled baileys. Effectively, it was a concentric castle design.

Pontefract was also crowned with around 10 internal towers. Some of these towers climbed to vast heights - the King's Tower and Queen's Tower were thought to be around 20m high.

A primary source - a print depicting the castle in the 1500s. Note the huge size and scale, that's illustrated in the drawing.

Pontefract Castle was equipped for extravagant entertaining. The kitchen had no less than four fireplaces, a bakery with two ovens, and the scale and variety of accommodation in the numerous towers would have been almost incomparable. It would truly have been a castle fit for royalty - it had the considerable distinction of hosting Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Charles I during their time.

3. Pontefract Castle was the last remaining stronghold in the English Civil War - Holding Out for Charles I, even after his execution!

During the Civil War itself, Pontefract Castle was besieged on three different occasions - and fell from Royalist hands to the Parliamentarians, and back again to the Royalists. These battles and sieges were universally hard-fought. Oliver Cromwell described the castle in one of his letters:

One of the strangest moments in Pontefract's history occurred during 1648. The castle had fallen to the Parliamentarians, but the Royalists, lead by Colonel John Morris, managed to dupe their way into the castle by pretending to be bed-collectors. Distraction complete, they then besieged and overcame the castle. Odd, huh?!

Another primary source - a painting of the castle from around 1620-1640, so just before the Civil War. The painter was Flemish Alexander Keirincx. It depicts a phenomenal castle, that's hard to reconcile to today's ruins.

Pontefract Castle was, remarkably, the last castle to surrender to the victorious Parliamentarians at the end of the Civil War. In fact, the castle remained staunchly Royalist until the war was unquestionably won by the Parliamentarians - brilliantly, Charles I was executed in January 1649, but the castle still held out until March that year, living in hope of some Royalist miracle.

2. A Castle Intentionally Destroyed by Parliament (and the will of the locals!)

Oliver Cromwell hated Pontefract Castle, due all the trouble it had caused him during the civil war. Resultantly, he wanted the place destroyed at the first opportunity.

The neighbours were all too pleased to have the castle demolished, as Pontefract Castle had been long-time a magnet for trouble, death and despair. Armies pillaging the castle had generally pillaged the town en route - stealing provisions and assaulting local women - and so the townspeople were more than happy to see the castle destroyed.

The ruinous remains of the castle gatehouse - one of the few things spared by the demolition. Credit: Tim Green, CreativeCommons (CC BY 2.0).

Consequently, three days after the castle finally surrendered at the end of the civil war, Parliament set out to destroy the place. The price of destruction was about £800, and men set out systematically dismantling the entire castle over a couple of weeks. The only place to be left would be the Barbican.

1. A Store For Liquorice: Pontefract Castle at the Brink of Historical Extinction

After the destruction of Pontefract Castle in 1648, the ruins decayed over the centuries.

In recent history, unhappily, the castle has fallen into even worse repair. Under a lack-of-care from the cash-strapped local town council, the ailing old castle was plagued by drug-dealers and graffiti artists, transforming one of England's most important historical sites into a depressed-urban battle-field of assaults, attempted assaults, and even manslaughter on the site. Happily, however, things are looking up.

The foundations of St Clement's Chapel, built within the castle walls. Credit: Tim Green, CreativeCommons (CC BY 2.0).

Pontefract has received grants from English Heritage, local bodies and also the British National Lottery funds to repair, improve and renovate the castle and its visitor centres, making it fit for the 21st century. There's extensive work now going on, and things are looking rosy for the castle's continued survival.

Pontefract remains as one of the most interesting of all the castles of England, and would have been one of the most impressive of all stone castles if it had survived intact to this day.