This Day in History: 1460-12-31

On 31st December 1460, following the Yorkist defeat at Sandal the previous day, prisoners including the Earl of Salisbury, Sir Ralf Stanley, Walter Limbrick, John Harrow, and Captain Hanson were brought to Pontefract Castle. It was originally intended that the Earl of Salisbury was to be spared for a huge ransom; however, he along with other prisoners were probably beheaded by the common people of Pontefract who ‘loved him not’.