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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.‘