Site News
News
Battle of Wakefield
Today, 30th December is the 564th anniversary of the Battle of Wakefield, which saw the ‘heir’ to the throne, Richard Duke of York and his second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, killed in the battle and it’s immediate aftermath. There are numerous theories and ideas as to why Richard gave battle in vain. If you would like to hear about these and how the battle developed, please come along on one of our tours in 2025 or arrange your own tour with us – which are free – by using the ‘contact us’ button above. We hope to see you in 2025.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
May we wish all the visitors to our site a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will be back in 2025 with more tours and talks whilst we also hope to bring some changes and improvements to this website. Keep visiting the website for more news as 2025 progresses.
Pilgrimage of Grace and Pontefract Castle
Thanks to everyone who came to our talk yesterday on Pontefract Castle and the Pilgrimage of Grace. It was very much appreciated to see so many people there on such an inclement day. We hope you enjoyed the talk. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2025 as we commence another year of talks and tours on Sunday 23rd March 2025 with a talk on ‘Saint or Sinner – The Life of Thomas of Lancaster’ In the meantime we wish you all a very happy Christmas and peaceful New Year..
Pontefract Castle & the Pilgrimage of Grace
Just a reminder that our final talk of 2024, titled ‘Pontefract Castle and the Pilgrimage of Grace’ is taking place at Pontefract Castle on Sunday 8th December, at 2.00pm in the Visitor Centre. Tickets are available from the castle itself. We hope to see you there.
Upcoming Talks
We have 2 more talks planned for 2024; the first at Walton Community Library on Thursday 21st November at 7pm on the origins of the Wars of the Roses and the Battle of Wakefield and the second is at Pontefract Castle on Sunday 8th December at 2pm on Pontefract Castle and The Pilgrimage of Grace. Both events are free. Tickets for the first talk are available from Walton Community Library (tel 01924 303340) and the second are via ticketsource or Pontefract Castle itself . We look forward to seeing you there.
Heritage Weekend Part 2
Thanks to everyone who came on our talk today titled ‘Famous Prisoners at Pontefract Castle’. It was great to see such a large turnout again and we hope you have enjoyed the whole weekend. Our next talk is at Pontefract Castle on Sunday 8th December on ‘Pontefract Castle and the Pilgrimage of Grace’. Tickets are free and available from TicketSource. We look forward to seeing you then.
Heritage Weekend
Thanks to everyone who came on our tour of Sandal Castle this morning when we discussed the history of the castle, the origins of the Wars of the Roses, and the Battle of Wakefield in particular. You were a fantastic group and thanks so much for the great feedback at the end, including the potential to be invited onto Radio Leeds to discuss this story. We would obviously be delighted to take up that opportunity. We hope to see many of you tomorrow when we will be at Pontefract Castle, in the Visitor Centre from 2.00pm giving a talk on ‘Famous Prisoners of Pontefract Castle’.
Sherburn Historical Society
Thanks to Sherburn Historical Society for coming along to Pontefract Castle today for our tour on Thomas of Lancaster and his connections to Pontefract Castle. It was great to see you all again and we hope you enjoyed the dungeon tour as well, in the afternoon. We look forward to seeing you again on 3rd October for our tour at Sandal Castle on the Battle of Wakefield.
Today’s Talk – ‘Henry IV and Pontefract Castle”.
Thanks to everyone who came along to the above talk today at Pontefract Castle. It was great to see so many people there and thanks as ever for the very positive response to the talk. We hoped you enjoyed your visit. Just a reminder that over Heritage Weekend on 7th and 8th September, we will be delivering a tour at Sandal Castle on the 7th, to discuss the history of the castle and the Battle of Wakefield and it’s various theories, and then on the 8th, we will be back at Pontefract Castle in the visitor Centre, to deliver the talk ‘Famous Prisoners of Pontefract Castle”. Both events can be booked via the Pontefract Castle team, and we hope to see you there.
Henry IV & Pontefract Castle
Just a quick message to remind everyone that our next talk will be taking place in the visitor centre at Pontefract Castle on Sunday 21st July, at 2.00pm. When Henry took the crown from Richard II, Pontefract became a royal castle and the talk will look at Henry’s early life, his role as a Lord Appellant, his banishment and return and how Pontefract was used as a base by Henry to put down significant northern rebellions during his reign. We hope to see you there.