We are delighted to announce that from the 19th March 2022, we are now in a position to offer free, individual or small group tours at either Pontefract or Sandal Castles. These tours can be personalised to cover either a general history of either site or a more specific tour covering such events as the Battle of Wakefield or Thomas of Lancaster. To request any such tour please contact us through the ‘Contact Us’ button situated on the ‘Welcome’ page of this site and we will come back to you as soon as possible.

We have today held a meeting with Linda from the Boroughbridge Historical Society and Louise from the Battlefields Trust to discuss all things relevant to Thomas of Lancaster with the 700th anniversary of his capture following the Battle of Boroughbridge on 16th March 1322 and his subsequent execution at Pontefract six days later, fast coming up. Boroughbridge Historical Society is holding a commemorative day this coming Saturday – 12th March – which will include two battlefield tours, so please go along if you can. The Battlefields Trust will also have a stand there for the day. You can visit both their websites from the links here.

To commemorate the 700th anniversary of the execution of one of Pontefract’s most famous sons within sight of his mighty fortress, we invite you to a 50 minutes’ talk/tour on Saturday 19th March at 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. at Pontefract Castle. Places are limited and available for those aged 12 and over, so please book for free at https://bit.ly/WMandCEvents

Thanks to John Barker for allowing us to publish his drone footage of Sandal Castle and the surrounding environs. This gives an intriguing perspective of the dominant position the castle held in the area whilst giving a great overview of the site of the Battle of Wakefield. The link to the video is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik7ffnGQIF0 or can be viewed from our ‘Links’ header above.

Today we met with Chris and Richard from Towton Battlefield Society to discuss all things Wars of the Roses, with particular reference to the battles of Wakefield and Towton. This was a fantastic few hours and we would definitely recommend checking out their website https://www.towton.org.uk or joining their society which undertakes a series of monthly talks and fascinating tours of the battlefield.

In order to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the execution of Thomas Earl of Lancaster, we are delighted to announce that we will hopefully be delivering two tours on Saturday, 19th March at Pontefract Castle. Further details including how to book will be forthcoming shortly.

Thanks to historian Matthew Lewis for reviewing our site. Matthew, who is the author of such books as ‘Richard III – Loyalty Binds Me’ and Richard Duke of York – King by Right’ commented, “I have had a good root around the site and I think it looks great. There’s a lot of detail and nothing struck me as missing”.

We will be developing and adding to this site further throughout this coming year and will hopefully be able to update you soon with some exciting news on forthcoming tours and talks. Stay tuned.