Just a quick note on two upcoming events we are delivering in February and April 2024. On Wednesday 21st February between 11.00am and 2.00pm we will be at Sandal Castle as part of the ‘366 Things to Do in Wakefield in 2024’. We will be taking anyone who is interested on a walk round tour of the castle, giving a brief history of it’s development and key events that have taken place there. Then on Sunday April 14th, at 2.00pm, we will be giving our next talk at Pontefract Castle, in the Visitor Centre, titled, ‘Wars of the Roses – A Yorkist Civil War 1461 – 71’. We would love to see anyone who reads these pages at one of these events.

Many congratulations to one of our friends and contacts, Danielle Burton, whose book ‘Anthony Woodville – Sophisticate or Schemer’ is published today. Woodville was the brother of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV and governor to the young Prince of Wales, who would become briefly, EdwardV. Anthony Woodville would meet his death at Pontefract Castle on the 25th June 1483 on the orders of the soon to be, Richard III. We are sure this book will be a fascinating read and would urge all followers of these pages to purchase if possible.

Today is the 563 anniversary of the Battle of Wakefield which led to the death of the ‘heir’ to the throne, Richard Duke of York. The many theories regarding why Richard engaged the Lancastrian army when so outnumbered are many and varied, and are covered in our tours of Sandal Castle which will re-commence in 2024. On the 18th May 2024 we will be covering this topic and how Shakespeare’s portrayal of the Wars of the Roses may have differed from the reality, in a tour which will form part of the Wakefield Wordfest weekend. More details of this festival in the New Year. In the meantime, we wish all our readers a very Happy New Year.

Thank you to everyone who came to our talk today at Pontefract Castle on “Yorkshire in the Civil Wars 1642-49”. We really do appreciate so many of you turning out in the run up to Christmas and we hope you found the talk both interesting and enjoyable. We already have all our talks for 2024 in the calendar with the first being held at Pontefract Castle on Sunday 14th April and entitled “A Yorkist Civil War – The Wars of the Roses 1461 – 71′. We look forward to seeing you again then but in the meantime may we wish everyone who comes to our talks and reads our website a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

A great lunch meeting today with David Cooke, an eminent Yorkshire historian who has written many books on local history including ‘Battlefield Yorkshire’, ‘Yorkshire Sieges in the Civil Wars’ and ‘The Civil War in Yorkshire’. David has a fantastic knowledge of the Civil Wars and it was great to sit down with him and discuss this cataclysmic event. Thanks for your time David. Just a reminder of our own talk on ‘The Civil War in Yorkshire 1642-49’ at Pontefract Castle Visitor Centre on Sunday 10th December 2023, at 2.oopm. Tickets are still available and are free from the castle.

Thanks to Chris Berendt of Towton Battlefield Society, for inviting us along to their tour of Towton battlefield and the visitor centre, with the staff and pupils of Loughbrough Grammar School. A great day was had by all with the opportunity to handle replica weapons and walk the iconic battlefield, whilst Chris advised us on the latest thinking on potential numbers and casualties on that fateful day. Real food for thought!.

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.