• 1177-09-25

    On 25th September 1177, Henry de Lacy, lord of Pontefract, accompanying the Earl of Essex and Count of Flanders, died on crusade to the Holy Land. This was Henry’s second crusading venture having campaigned in 1158 and most probably being exempted from taxation that year on account of this action.

  • 1199-09-23

    On 23rd September 1199, Roger de Lacy, nominal lord of Pontefract, was made castellan of Chinon on King John’s campaign to France to hold onto his Angevin lands. Chinon was of major strategic importance to the king’s Angevin empire, commanding the borders of Anjou and Poitou and overlooking Touraine. Pontefract Castle was subsequently released back to Roger by the king albeit his eldest son, John, was held hostage by the king as surety for his loyalty.

  • 1194-06-06

    On 6th June 1194, Roger fitz John, Constable of Chester, lord of Pontefract, formally ‘converted’/used the name of de Lacy for the first time by virtue of an agreement with his grandmother, Albreda (Aubrey) de Lisours.

  • 1199-04-06

    Richard the LionheartOn 6th April 1199, King Richard I, the Lionheart, died. During his 10 years’ reign, he stayed only briefly in England. He is more famously known for fighting in both European wars and Crusades to Palestine. Baron Roger De Lacy of Pontefract Castle was one of his military leaders.