Thanks to everyone who came along to our tour of Sandal Castle on the Battle of Wakefield, and talk at the Pontefract Castle Visitor Centre on ‘Truths, Myths and Lies – Six Key events at Pontefract Castle’, as part of the National Heritage weekend. It was great to see you all and we hope you found the tour and talk informative. Our next talk at Pontefract Castle will be on Sunday 10th December, again in the Visitor Centre, commencing at 2.00pm, and will be entitled ‘The Civil War in Yorkshire – 1642-49’. We hope to see as many of you there as possible and tickets will be available in due course. Further details will be provided on this website and from the castle itself.

We are delivering two events as part of the heritage weekend on the 9th and 10th September 2023. On the 9th September, we will be delivering a tour at Sandal Castle, commencing at 11.00am entitled ‘A History of Sandal Castle and the Battle of Wakefield’. This tour will last approx one and a half hours. On the 10th September, we will be delivering a talk at Pontefract Castle Visitor Centre, entitled ‘Truths, Myths and Lies – 6 Key Events in the History of Pontefract Castle’. This talk will last approx one hour. Tickets for either event can be obtained from Ticketsource or directly from Pontefract Castle, and are free. We hope to see you at one or both of these occasions.

Just a quick note to thank all from U3A Garforth and Kippax History Group who attended our tour and talk on 13th July. It was uplifting to have so many people interested in the history of the castle, its events and their interpretations. A comment from one of our satisfied customers was most appreciated and we welcome enquiries from others who wish to know more about one of district’s most important historical sites.

‘I have followed the Battles of Wakefield and Towton for several years but only had a rough feeling for the politics behind it all. Alan and Kevin certainly brought a new interpretation to the period which I hope I can retain . Their enthusiasm for that part of history particularly was really refreshing and I’m looking forward to reading their website and seeing how they handle the huge amount of data they have. Thanks again for a really enjoyable day.‘

We have a few places left for our talk this Saturday 17th June at 2pm at Pontefract Castle (12 years old and over) on the fascinating relationship between the district’s two fortresses over six centuries. This free talk is available through entry on the day: we welcome your attendance and contribution.

Our next talk at 2pm on June 17th at Pontefract Castle covers six centuries in the on/off relationship between our area’s two mighty, medieval castles.

Please book for this event on ‘ticket source’ Volunteer Talk: Friends & Enemies – Pontefract & Sandal Castles. We hope to see you on the day.

Thanks to everyone from the Battlefields Trust and Boroughbridge Historical Society who came on our Wakefield Medieval Day yesterday. It was great to see so many of you and we would like to thank you all for the great feedback you provided us with on how much you had enjoyed the event. Thanks to Richard Atkinson for providing such an entertaining talk on the history of the Chantry Chapel in the afternoon, and to all the staff at Sandal Castle cafe for providing such excellent service over lunch. We hope to see you all again soon.

On Saturday 22nd April, we will be delivering a tour/talk at Sandal Castle to thirty plus members of the Battlefield Trust and the Boroughbridge Historical Society. The tour will cover the origins of the castle as well as focusing heavily on the Wars of the Roses and especially the Battle of Wakefield, including the various theories around why Richard Duke of York left his castle when so heavily outnumbered, which would then lead to his death on the battlefield. If you would like to arrange a similar free tour/talk at the castle, then please do get in touch via the ‘Contact Us’ button on the ‘Welcome” page of this website. We would be only to glad to meet with you and share the castles fascinating story.

Thanks to everyone who came to our talk on Saturday 18th March on the tumultuous three month period between the Battle of Wakefield and the Battle of Towton. It was great to see everyone there and to receive your questions and feedback. We will hopefully see you all on Saturday 17th June, when our next talk will take place at Pontefract Castle, entitled ‘Friends and Enemies – Pontefract and Sandal Castles 1070-1650’. In the meantime, if anyone has any further questions or would like to arrange a free tour of the local battlefield sites, then please get in touch via the ‘contact us’ button on the front page of this website.

Just a final reminder about our forthcoming talk on Saturday 18th March 2023, at 2.00pm at Pontefract Castle Visitor Centre. The talk covers three of the most momentous months in English medieval history from the Lancastrian supremacy at the Battle of Wakefield to their catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Towton, which established the Yorkist king, Edward IV, on the throne. We have added a few more places to this talk – as the original allocation had already been taken – so we hope to see you there on the day.

We are now pleased to confirm that our tours and talks at Pontefract and Sandal Castles for 2023 have been confirmed as follows;

Saturday 18th March – Pontefract Castle, 2.00pm – ‘Three Tumultuous Months, From Wakefield to Towton, Dec 1460 – March 1461’.

Saturday 17th June – Pontefract Castle , 2.00pm – ‘Friends and Enemies, Pontefract and Sandal Castles 1070 – 1650’.

Sunday 10th September – Pontefract Castle – 2.00pm – ‘Truths, Myths and Lies – Key Events in the History of Pontefract Castle’.

Sunday 10th December – Pontefract Castle – 2.00pm – ‘The ‘English’ Civil War in Yorkshire’.

We will also be delivering a tour/talk on Saturday 22nd April at Sandal Castle, for members of the Battlefield Trust and the Boroughbridge Historical Society, in conjunction with Richard Atkinson, on the various theories surrounding the Battle of Wakefield. Richard will then deliver a talk in the Chantry Chapel on the history of that building. We hope to see you at some or all of these events.