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As we reach the end of 2025, the Battle of Wakefield has never been more in focus than at present. New research has cast doubts on the traditional view of the battle and has stimulated intense debate. We here at his site really welcome this new focus on the events of 1460/61 and we will obviously discuss these in our relevant tours and talks in 2026 and beyond. Whilst feeling that there does need to be more corroboration around the potential location of York’s death, what is perhaps more important, is that whether York did indeed die along the lines of the traditional view in battle, or ambushed somewhere near Stanley or Methley, none of this detracts from the importance of the events at Wakefield on 29th/30th December 1460. Can we wish all our readers and visitors to this site a Happy New Year and peaceful 2026.

We would like to wish all our visitors to these pages and all who have come on our tours and talks in 2025 a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2026 already looks to be an exciting one, with new theories being discussed around the battles of Wakefield and Towton, whilst we already have a number of tours and talks booked which will cover such a wide range of topics as the ‘Percy/Neville Conflict in the North’, ‘Richard III in the North’ and the ‘Three Sieges of Pontefract Castle’. Details will be posted here in due course but until then, very best wishes from us all.

Thank you to everyone who came to our talk today at Pontefract Castle on the above. It was really fantastic to see so many people there and we hope you enjoyed the afternoon. Please keep a look out on this site over the next few weeks when we will publish details of our talks and tours for 2026 and we hope to see you then. In the meantime we will take this early opportunity to wish everyone a happy Christmas and peaceful New Year and we will see you in 2026.

Our final talk of 2025 will take place on Sunday 30th November in the visitor centre at Pontefract Castle. For this talk we are joined by civil war historian David Cooke and the talk will take the form of a debate around the biggest and bloodiest battle on English soil. We hope that this event will not only be informative but also a bit of fun, where you the audience, can also have your say. Tickets are available from the usual sources and directly from Pontefract Castle itself and the event, is as ever, free. We look forward to seeing you on the day.

Thank you to everyone who came to our two tours at Sandal Castle yesterday where we looked at the history of the castle and the Battle of Wakefield. It was lovely to see so many of you there and to receive such great feedback on the tours and content. We look forward to seeing you at a future event. Our next talk will be at Pontefract Castle at 2.00pm on Sunday 30th November where we will discussing ‘The Biggest and Bloodiest Battle on English Soil – Towton or Marston Moor?’. The tickets are free and available from the castle itself.