This Coming Week In History

This week in history

Date	Event
8/5/1202	On 8th May 1202, Hamelin de Plantagenet, was succeeded by his son William de Warenne, the 5th Earl of Surrey who became owner of Sandal Castle. William remained loyal to King John throughout his reign, being one of the few nobles who did. William was one of the four nobles whose name appeared on  Magna Carta for King John: "John by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou....greeting. Know that we, inspired by God and for the salvation of our soul........and the reform of our kingdom....... and of the noble men, William Marshall, earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury, William earl of Warenne, William earl of Arundel...."
8/5/1360	On 8th May 1360, a treaty was agreed between England and France at Brétigny, near Chartres after negotiations between Henry of Grosmont, lord of Pontefract, and French ambassadors. Its terms were modelled on an earlier agreement between Edward III and King John II at London in May 1358 with Edward renouncing his claim to the crown of France and former Plantagenet possessions of Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Normandy. In return, Edward would hold Aquitaine, Ponthieu, Calais and Guînes ‘in all freedom and perpetual liberty, as sovereign lord and liege and neighbour to the king and realm of France, without recognising the king or crown of France as sovereign over him, nor paying him homage, showing obedience or being in subjection to him.’ King John’s ransom was reduced to 3 million gold crowns (nearly £360 million in today’s money).
8/5/1436	On the 8th May 1436 a Royal Commission named Richard Duke of York , owner of Sandal castle,  as the new Lieutenant-General of France, although Richard would not take up the office until June of that year and the appointment was for a specified period of one year only. Richard was appointed to this role again in July 1440. The fact that Richard was expected to control English lands in France from his own funds whilst, when replaced by Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and grandson of John of Gaunt, was provided with money from the Crown, would be a source of great enmity to York and one of the prime reasons for the bitter rivalry between the Houses of York and  Beaufort that would drive the Wars of the Roses.
8/5/1483	On 8th May 1483, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, lord of Sandal, was named Lord High Protector of the realm due to Edward IV’s death the previous month and Edward V’s minority. Duties included governance of the country and preparations for Edward V’s coronation. Within seven weeks, Parliament declared Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and also Edward V’s claim to the throne due to his illegitimacy.
8/5/1645	On 8th May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded: ‘…this night Captin Horsfold (wth his man) went forth to Sandoll Castle, and allso Bellwether was sent againe towards newarke…’
8/5/1756	On 8th May 1756, markets for horned cattle at Pontefract were opened having not been allowed for several years on account of ‘a distemper which had so long raged amongst them……The distemper continued for many years, and many were very great sufferers…..notwithstanding so many died yet beef was not dear…’
9/5/1308	The formal grant of the Lord High Stewardship of England to Thomas of Lancaster, later lord of Pontefract, and his heirs was given on 9th May 1308. It is an important indication of Lancaster’s position at this time, of his influence with Edward II, and perhaps of the king’s feckless generosity, that he was able to obtain for himself an honour which Edward I had been unwilling to grant even to his own brother, Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster and Thomas’ father.
9/5/1384	Probably on 9th May 1384, a Carmelite friar, John Latimer, warned Richard II that his uncle, John of Gaunt, lord of Pontefract, was plotting to kill him. Gaunt, summoned to a public meeting to answer the accusation, stated to Richard: ‘Oh why, my Lord, do you trust such informers? Am I not your uncle? Am I not your protector? Am I not the chief man in the realm after you? What could influence me to betray or even kill you, when I would gain nothing from your death?’ Latimer was imprisoned at Salisbury Castle and then tortured to death before his corpse was dragged through Salisbury on a hurdle, before burial.
9/5/1402	On 9th May 1402, the authorities in Cumberland and Westmorland were ordered to arrest anyone claiming that Richard II, who had ‘died’ at Pontefract Castle in February 1400, was still alive.
9/5/1645	On 9th May 1645, each party recommenced fire. The besieged Royalists in Pontefract Castle shot an officer and one soldier at the works at the top of Broad Lane. About four o'clock, the besieging Parliamentarians set fire to several houses and barns in different parts of the town.
10/5/1312	On 10th May 1312,  John de Warenne, lord of Sandal Castle,  started to besiege Scarborough Castle along with the Earls of Pembroke, Percy and Clifford. John was normally loyal to the king but Edward II's 'antics' with Piers Gaveston had proved too much for him.
10/5/1326	On 10th May 1326, John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and owner of Sandal Castle, was made Chief Commissioner of Array in the North by Edward II. Later Commissions were made for de Warenne by Edward III to treat with Scotland (1327) and France (1331).
10/5/1403	On 10th May 1403, four years after her husband, John of Gaunt’s, lord of Pontefract, death, Katherine Swynford, Dowager Duchess of Lancaster, died and was buried at Lincoln Cathedral where her son, Henry Beaufort, ruled as bishop. Her youngest child, Joan Neville (neé Beaufort), Countess of Westmorland, was buried with her many years later. Gaunt’s marrying his mistress and legitimising their children had major dynastic ramifications: they were the great-grandparents of Edward IV and Richard III and the great-great-grandparents of the first Tudor king, Henry VII.
10/5/1645	On 10th May 1645, the besieging Parliamentarians made a new work on Monkhill. The work was in the form of a half moon or crescent shape and afforded protection to the besiegers but constantly annoyed the besieged Royalists. If they made a sally up Northgate, they were exposed to the fire from the Parliamentary forces from Monkhill. The following day, a strong fire was kept up on both sides. The besieged observed the enemy send three or four wagons loaded with goods in the direction of Ferrybridge. This led them to believe the besiegers were getting ready to depart. Strengthening their belief was the sight of sheep and cattle being driven along the same road the following day. It was found afterwards that the wagons and animals were being sent to York to supply the troops there. The besiegers received on the same day a reinforcement of a troop of horse from Doncaster, which joined the main guard at the New Hall.
11/5/1138	On 11th May 1138, William de Warenne, the 2nd Earl of Surrey and owner of Sandal castle, died and was buried in the chapter house of Lewes Priory in Sussex. William had been born circa 1071 and had taken control of the castle in 1088. His father William, the 1st Earl of Surrey, was one of William the Conqueror's most trusted barons, who on his death was either the third or fourth richest magnate in England. It is assumed that the builder of the first Norman castle at Sandal was William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey. The earthenwork defence could well have been finished before his death in 1138.
11/5/1264	On 11th May 1264, Henry III arrived at Lewes which was in the keeping of his supporter John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and owner of Sandal Castle, prior to the Battle of Lewes during the Second Barons’ War. The previous month, de Warenne and Roger de Leybourne had been besieged by the 6th Earl of Leicester’s (Simon de Montfort) forces at Rochester Castle.
11/5/1392	On 11th May 1392, John of Gaunt’s, lord of Pontefract, party arrived at Calais en route to Gaunt meeting Charles VI of France at Amiens. Negotiations surrounded the Duchy of Aquitaine with agreement that it should contain Agenais, Perigord, Quercy and Rouerge, and Angouleme which had all been re-conquered by Charles V. The French were to retain Poitou and the Limousin. Gaunt would hold the territories as a hereditary appanage (perquisite) with direct homage by him as duke to the King of France thereby obviating the King of England having to perform ‘liege homage’ to another sovereign and so diminishing his authority.
11/5/1402	On 11th May 1402, Henry IV wrote to the prior of the Dominicans at Oxford warning him to restrain his preachers from broadcasting that Richard II, who had ‘died’ at Pontefract Castle in February 1400, was still alive.
11/5/1645	On 11th May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded: ‘This day being Sunday, we had 2 learned Sermonds, the one by Doctor Bradlay, the other by Mr Oley (as we have everySonday 2)…..allso we had one of our men was looking out of a Porthole on the Round Tower (A wright by trade), & seldome using to Come thether, but he was shott thorow the Arms, and though at a weekes end full of payne yet there is no signe of his death. We had also a boy about 9 yeares of age (as he was getting of greene sawse (a type of sorrel chewed by children and also used medicinally) without Swillington Tower) was dangerously shott in the Belly from their works at Munkhill.’
11/5/2016	On 11th May 2016, Wessex Archaeology announced that it would be taking part in the community archaeology project which formed an important part of the Pontefract Castle, 'Key to the North' project. Its aim was to collect finds from a spoil heap deposited during the late 19th century on the area covering the former buildings known as the Royal Apartments (Queen's Tower,King's Tower either side of the Great Hall).
12/5/1393	At the beginning of May 1393, John of Gaunt invited Thomas Swynford to become one of his chamber knights. On the 12th May, this role was recognised by Richard II who agreed to grant Thomas and his wife, Jane Crophill, an annuity of 100 marks (over £15,000 in today’s money). It is ironic that Thomas would become the gaoler at Pontefract Castle who would be directly attributed with the starvation and murder of Richard II at Pontefract Castle. Thomas would also serve as the constable of the castle.
12/5/1423	On 12th May 1423, it was determined that James I of Scotland should be allowed to meet at Pontefract Castle with Scottish ambassadors and those of Henry VI to negotiate his release from captivity and return to Scotland. Safe passage was granted to the Scottish ambassadors on this date also. The first treaty was concluded in London (10th September) with the Bishop and Archdeacon of Glasgow and Abbot of Balmerinoch amongst the Scots’ delegation and the Bishop of Worcester and Stafford, Keeper of the Privy Seal, and Robert Waterton, Constable of Pontefract Castle amongst the English commissaries.
12/5/1453	On 12th May 1453, Richard, Duke of York’s (lord of Sandal Castle) lieutenancy of Ireland was taken from him by Henry VI and given to his rival, the Earl of Wiltshire.
12/5/1480	On 12th May 1480, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, lord of Sandal, was created Lieutenant-General of the North. Already created Warden of the West March by his brother, Edward IV, to defend England’s border regions with Scotland, he could now call commission of array (raise armies) across most of the north of England and was reinforced in his status as ‘Lord of the North’.
12/5/1913	On 12th May 1913, during a balloon ascent and parachute descent at Pontefract Castle for its Whitsuntide gala, the balloon burst injuring a man and young girl.
13/5/1286	On 13th May 1286, Sir Henry de Lacy, lord of Pontefract, accompanied Edward I on his journey to France to pay homage to the new French king, Philip IV, for the dukedom of Gascony and to attempt to broker a peace between Aragon and France (agreed in July 1286). Other notable royal members of this entourage included Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, the king’s brother and the Earl of Gloucester. Henry spent three years abroad, returning in 1289.
13/5/1645	On 13th May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded: 'This day we kill one of the Enemyes upon Baghill, and 2 from the Round Tower, and divers more were hurt.They grow now so fearfull that they will scarcely looke out of their Trenches…’
13/5/1899	On 13th May 1899, the ‘Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer’ reported that on Whit Monday and Tuesday, Professor Charles Horace Fleet, renowned parachutist and balloonist, would be at Pontefract Castle with the largest balloon in the world, standing 115 feet high with a circumference of 200 feet.
14/5/1264	On 14th May 1264, John de Warenne, the 6th Earl of Surrey and owner of Sandal Castle, was present at the Battle of Lewes in support of King Henry III against the forces of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. King Henry was captured along with his son, Prince Edward, his brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and various lords and Scots barons. With Henry’s capture at the battle, John would flee to the continent for at least a year, with his estates being confiscated, although they would be subsequently returned. John had been a strong supporter of Henry in the first Barons' War but had switched to Simon de Montfort, only to return to the king. He had opposed the initial baronial reform plan in 1258 but did capitulate to take the oath of the Provisions of Oxford.
14/5/1645	On 14th May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded:’ This morning the enemy drive both sheepe and Cattell towards Ferry Brigge. Somme thought it was to victual Yorke, others thought it was to p’vent our Army from having any victual, for they fecht them from the townes nere about Pomphrett…….This night, Captin Benson, with his man & two more, went to Sandall Castle, and we see divers Fires this night, but we know not the Occation thereof.’
14/5/1666	In May 1666, controversial Archbishop of St Andrews, James Sharp, Primate of Scotland, stopped at Pontefract on his way to London from Edinburgh. His secretary, George Martin, recorded his travels in some detail stating the Edinburgh to Pontefract journey of 210 miles on horseback took six days with charges of £140 11s 4d (nearly £34,000 in today’s money). The Pontefract to London ‘leg’ of 185 miles by ‘coatch’ (sic) took five days at a cost of £179 7s (£43,000).

Last week in history

Date	Event
4/5/1302	On 4th May 1302 (some sources say the 2nd), Thomas of Lancaster’s (future lord of Pontefract) mother, Blanche of Artois died and was buried at the Church of the Cordeliers, Paris, with her sons in attendance. Some time later, Thomas employed a chaplain to celebrate divine service for his parents’ souls with daily Masses and yearly anniversaries performed in various churches.
4/5/1312	On 4th May 1312,  Thomas, Earl of Lancaster,  lord of Pontefract, came close to capturing Piers Gaveston and King Edward II at Tynemouth Priory. The two men escaped, however, in a small boat and sailed down the coast to Scarborough.
4/5/1471	On 4th May 1471, Prince Edward, son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury either in the battle or ‘round-up’ afterwards. The Crowland Chronicle states he was killed ‘by the avenging hands of certain persons’ which some have interpreted as a hint at Richard, Duke of Gloucester’s, lord of Sandal, responsibility.
4/5/1483	On 4th May 1483, the day of Edward V’s postponed coronation, Edward V was escorted into London by his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester and lord of Sandal, accompanied by the city’s reception committee, clad in Yorkist mulberry. Proclamations declared that the young king had been rescued from his scheming Woodville family, with four cartloads of weaponry confiscated from Anthony Woodville as proof.
4/5/1645	In the first week of May 1645, Royalist Captain John Benson and three of his men secretly left Pontefract Castle to strengthen the Sandal garrison, which had suffered  eight men killed and several others wounded and captured when a foraging party had been ambushed by Parliamentarian forces.
5/5/1242	On 5th May 1242, the Henry III Fine Rolls recorded: ‘To the barons of the Exchequer. The king has committed to the venerable father in Christ Walter (de Gray) archbishop of York, primate of England, all lands, castles and vaccaries (a place for keeping cattle) with all their appurtenances formerly of John de Lacy, formerly earl of Lincoln (and lord of Pontefract) which are in the king’s hands outside the county of Chester, excepting the castle and manor of Donington and the manors of Snaith and Wadenhoe, to hold at farm for the five years next following the Invention of the Holy Cross in the twenty-sixth year, rendering for each manor per annum at the Exchequer the extent at which they have been extended by Nicholas de Molis, Sheriff of Yorkshire, by the king’s order, one moiety (one part) thereof at Michaelmas and the other moiety at Easter, namely £122 19s 10d (“over £218,000 in today’s money) for the manor of Pontefract…….’
5/5/1550	On the 5th May 1550, Edward VI again issued the Pontefract's Charter. A confirmatory charter was issued by James I in 1606-07.
5/5/1645	On 5th May 1645, and the following days there was little firing on both the Royalist and Parliamentarian sides. There were not more than thirty or forty Parliamentarians on guard at Baghill.
6/5/1323	On 6th May 1323, Henry of Lancaster, brother of the executed’ traitor’ Thomas, Earl of Lancaster and lord of Pontefract, instructed his attorneys Sir Thomas Blount and Sir Richard Rivers to petition Edward II for the restoration to him of the earldoms of Lancaster and Leicester, albeit not the earldom of Derby.
6/5/1389	In May 1389, Richard II, then twenty-two, later to be Pontefract Castle’s most famous prisoner, declared himself of age, thereby able to rule in his own right.
6/5/1471	On 6th May 1471, two days after the Battle of Tewkesbury, a court of chivalry under Richard, High Constable of England, Duke of Gloucester and steward of the Duchy of Lancaster north of Trent with official residence at Pontefract Castle, convened to try various opponents for treason. Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, Hugh Courtenay, cousin of the Earls of Devon, and Sir John Langstrother, prior of the military order of St John were amongst the Lancastrians executed after makeshift trials.
6/5/1645	On 6th May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded: ‘…There Came in this Day a horselitter from Ferrybrigges into the towne, wch went away next morning….We supposed did Carrye away summe wounded officer in it…….This night there Came into the Castle a Sargient from the enemy, wch tould us summe newes of the enemyes p’ceedings in the towne..’
7/5/1202	On 7th May 1202, Hamelin de Plantagenet died. He was the illegitimate half brother of Henry II and a loyal supporter of the king. He provided a strong defence in Yorkshire against Scottish raiding parties. In 1164, he married Isabel de Warenne, who owned Sandal Castle. Hamelin was a significant builder and military innovator as his castle at Conisborough shows. The earliest stone castle at Sandal is likely to be his work.
7/5/1285	From 7th May 1285 until 28th June, Sir Henry de Lacy, lord of Pontefract, was at Edward I’s court witnessing forty-one royal charters (from 5th May – 20th June 1289 he witnessed fifty-four). As on numerous past occasions when Henry had undertaken this function, this was an indication of his favoured standing in royal circles.
7/5/1645	On 7th May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded: ‘ This morning the enemy shott of theire drake from Baghill to the Castle (it was loaded with Case shott) 7 scarce hit the Castle, for summe p’te of it hit the Stable, & summee the Battlementes of the Castle, & the rest flew over the Castle, but did no hurt at all…’
8/5/1202	On 8th May 1202, Hamelin de Plantagenet, was succeeded by his son William de Warenne, the 5th Earl of Surrey who became owner of Sandal Castle. William remained loyal to King John throughout his reign, being one of the few nobles who did. William was one of the four nobles whose name appeared on  Magna Carta for King John: "John by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou....greeting. Know that we, inspired by God and for the salvation of our soul........and the reform of our kingdom....... and of the noble men, William Marshall, earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury, William earl of Warenne, William earl of Arundel...."
8/5/1360	On 8th May 1360, a treaty was agreed between England and France at Brétigny, near Chartres after negotiations between Henry of Grosmont, lord of Pontefract, and French ambassadors. Its terms were modelled on an earlier agreement between Edward III and King John II at London in May 1358 with Edward renouncing his claim to the crown of France and former Plantagenet possessions of Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Normandy. In return, Edward would hold Aquitaine, Ponthieu, Calais and Guînes ‘in all freedom and perpetual liberty, as sovereign lord and liege and neighbour to the king and realm of France, without recognising the king or crown of France as sovereign over him, nor paying him homage, showing obedience or being in subjection to him.’ King John’s ransom was reduced to 3 million gold crowns (nearly £360 million in today’s money).
8/5/1436	On the 8th May 1436 a Royal Commission named Richard Duke of York , owner of Sandal castle,  as the new Lieutenant-General of France, although Richard would not take up the office until June of that year and the appointment was for a specified period of one year only. Richard was appointed to this role again in July 1440. The fact that Richard was expected to control English lands in France from his own funds whilst, when replaced by Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and grandson of John of Gaunt, was provided with money from the Crown, would be a source of great enmity to York and one of the prime reasons for the bitter rivalry between the Houses of York and  Beaufort that would drive the Wars of the Roses.
8/5/1483	On 8th May 1483, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, lord of Sandal, was named Lord High Protector of the realm due to Edward IV’s death the previous month and Edward V’s minority. Duties included governance of the country and preparations for Edward V’s coronation. Within seven weeks, Parliament declared Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville invalid and also Edward V’s claim to the throne due to his illegitimacy.
8/5/1645	On 8th May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded: ‘…this night Captin Horsfold (wth his man) went forth to Sandoll Castle, and allso Bellwether was sent againe towards newarke…’
8/5/1756	On 8th May 1756, markets for horned cattle at Pontefract were opened having not been allowed for several years on account of ‘a distemper which had so long raged amongst them……The distemper continued for many years, and many were very great sufferers…..notwithstanding so many died yet beef was not dear…’
9/5/1308	The formal grant of the Lord High Stewardship of England to Thomas of Lancaster, later lord of Pontefract, and his heirs was given on 9th May 1308. It is an important indication of Lancaster’s position at this time, of his influence with Edward II, and perhaps of the king’s feckless generosity, that he was able to obtain for himself an honour which Edward I had been unwilling to grant even to his own brother, Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster and Thomas’ father.
9/5/1384	Probably on 9th May 1384, a Carmelite friar, John Latimer, warned Richard II that his uncle, John of Gaunt, lord of Pontefract, was plotting to kill him. Gaunt, summoned to a public meeting to answer the accusation, stated to Richard: ‘Oh why, my Lord, do you trust such informers? Am I not your uncle? Am I not your protector? Am I not the chief man in the realm after you? What could influence me to betray or even kill you, when I would gain nothing from your death?’ Latimer was imprisoned at Salisbury Castle and then tortured to death before his corpse was dragged through Salisbury on a hurdle, before burial.
9/5/1402	On 9th May 1402, the authorities in Cumberland and Westmorland were ordered to arrest anyone claiming that Richard II, who had ‘died’ at Pontefract Castle in February 1400, was still alive.
9/5/1645	On 9th May 1645, each party recommenced fire. The besieged Royalists in Pontefract Castle shot an officer and one soldier at the works at the top of Broad Lane. About four o'clock, the besieging Parliamentarians set fire to several houses and barns in different parts of the town.
10/5/1312	On 10th May 1312,  John de Warenne, lord of Sandal Castle,  started to besiege Scarborough Castle along with the Earls of Pembroke, Percy and Clifford. John was normally loyal to the king but Edward II's 'antics' with Piers Gaveston had proved too much for him.
10/5/1326	On 10th May 1326, John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and owner of Sandal Castle, was made Chief Commissioner of Array in the North by Edward II. Later Commissions were made for de Warenne by Edward III to treat with Scotland (1327) and France (1331).
10/5/1403	On 10th May 1403, four years after her husband, John of Gaunt’s, lord of Pontefract, death, Katherine Swynford, Dowager Duchess of Lancaster, died and was buried at Lincoln Cathedral where her son, Henry Beaufort, ruled as bishop. Her youngest child, Joan Neville (neé Beaufort), Countess of Westmorland, was buried with her many years later. Gaunt’s marrying his mistress and legitimising their children had major dynastic ramifications: they were the great-grandparents of Edward IV and Richard III and the great-great-grandparents of the first Tudor king, Henry VII.
10/5/1645	On 10th May 1645, the besieging Parliamentarians made a new work on Monkhill. The work was in the form of a half moon or crescent shape and afforded protection to the besiegers but constantly annoyed the besieged Royalists. If they made a sally up Northgate, they were exposed to the fire from the Parliamentary forces from Monkhill. The following day, a strong fire was kept up on both sides. The besieged observed the enemy send three or four wagons loaded with goods in the direction of Ferrybridge. This led them to believe the besiegers were getting ready to depart. Strengthening their belief was the sight of sheep and cattle being driven along the same road the following day. It was found afterwards that the wagons and animals were being sent to York to supply the troops there. The besiegers received on the same day a reinforcement of a troop of horse from Doncaster, which joined the main guard at the New Hall.

Next week in history

Date	Event
18/5/1407	On 18th May 1407, Robert Waterton, Constable of Pontefract Castle (and also Constable at Tickhill Castle and Castle Donington), was appointed by Henry IV as Chief Steward of the northern parts of the Duchy of Lancaster. Unfortunately for Waterton, this appointment was not renewed on the accession of Henry V.
18/5/1455	On 18th May 1455, Richard Duke of York and lord of Sandal castle, sent out summonses to his estates for men to rally to his side. This was following Henry VI’s recovery from illness on Christmas Day 1454 and Henry’s subsequent release from the Tower of London of Richard’s enemy, Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. York had resigned his position as Lord Protector early in the year and events were now to presage the Battle of St Albans four days later. This has traditionally been seen as the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England.
18/5/1471	On 18th May 1471, Richard, brother of Edward IV, Duke of Gloucester, steward of the Duchy of Lancaster north of Trent and later Richard III, with official residence at Pontefract Castle, was granted the office of Great Chamberlain of England, previously held by the Earl of Warwick. This office was superior to that of Constable given to Richard in 1469.
18/5/1645	On Sunday 18th May 1645, after prayers and sermon all men in the Royalist garrison were ordered to arms. Major Warde was ordered to stand on Neville's Mount to see that no one gave any type of signal from the towers informing the besiegers of the proceedings in the castle. Meanwhile, Captain Smith with thirty men went out of the castle, up Denwell Lane to the outskirts of the back of Monkhill. They beat the enemy from there and cleared the trenches as far as the lowest works. Captain Flood and Ensign Killingbeck charged up to the top of Monkhill where they fired the houses and demolished the works of the enemy, being joined by Captain Smith and his men. Another party under Captain Munroe, consisting of seventy men, sallied out to the lowest works of the enemy and beat them from there. They next proceeded towards Monkhill, after having killed some of the enemy, and joined the other parties at Cherry Orchard Head near the New Hall. Lieutenant Gilbreth and seventy men were stationed at the Low Church and Major Warde and forty men lined the walls in the low barbican. These men were prepared to assist their friends in case the besiegers from the town and Baghill made an attack. The different parties succeeded in every direction and drove the enemy from all their trenches over St. Thomas' Hill towards Ferrybridge. In this attack, the Parliamentarians lost about sixty men and as many wounded. By their return to the castle, the party had seized the hats and arms of those they had slain. They rifled their pockets and brought to the castle a quantity of swords, muskets, halberts, drums, saddles, spades etc. and in every trench was found a bag of powder and some match left by those who had fled. Although about sixty men were killed and the same number wounded on the side of the besiegers, there was only one dead and one taken prisoner on the side of the besieged. That night, the besiegers were observed to send two wagon loads of wounded men to Ferrybridge. The besiegers had their losses soon repaired by the arrival of considerable reinforcements both of foot and horse.
18/5/1648	Royalist Colonel John Morris (he served on both sides during the Civil War)  made an unsuccessful attempt to seize the castle by means of a scaling ladder on 18th May 1648. This 'reckless' endeavour failed, however, as Morris's confederate, Corporal Floyd, had not, as promised, put a friendly guard on duty. The castle governor, Cotterell, subsequently pulled in those of the garrison who were sleeping in the town, and issued warrants for beds for a hundred men. Morris and Captain William Paulden then came up with a plan to disguise themselves and eight other soldiers as bed delivery-men and gain access and control of the castle . It worked and the castle guard were shut in the ‘dungeon’ on 3rd June. The only casualty was a wounded Governor Cotterell. A force of 300 men quickly garrisoned the castle.
19/5/1152	On 19th May 1152, Cistercian monks moved from land given to them by Henry (1) de Lacy, lord of Pontefract, at Barnoldswick to a new site at Kirkstall, Leeds. Henry had vowed to dedicate an abbey to the Virgin Mary should he survive a serious illness. He recovered and agreed to give the Abbot of Fountains Abbey land at Barnoldswick on which to found a daughter abbey. Abbot Alexander with twelve Cistercian monks from Fountains went to Barnoldswick and attempted to build the abbey on Henry de Lacy's land. They stayed for six years but found the place inhospitable. Alexander sought help from de Lacy who was sympathetic and helped acquire the land from William de Poitou. The monks moved from Barnoldswick to Kirkstall. The buildings were mostly completed between 1152 when the monks arrived in Kirkstall and the end of Alexander's abbacy in 1182
19/5/1312	On 19th May 1312, Piers Gaveston, the favourite knight of King Edward II, surrendered Scarborough Castle after only 9 days, due to having no food. Gaveston had been left there by Edward while he raised support in the North. The besieging forces included John de Warenne, owner of Sandal Castle, who had become exasperated with the King's obsession with  Gaveston. John was not party, however, to the subsequent execution of Gaveston.
19/5/1359	On 19th May 1359 (some sources say the 20th), eighteen-years-old John of Gaunt married thirteen-years-old Blanche of Lancaster, leading to his inheriting various titles: including Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester. Not all of these titles were inherited at the time of the marriage; some were received on the death of Blanche's older sister Maude in 1362. Edward III gave lavish presents to Blanche totalling almost £400 (£199,165 in today's money) including a large brooch with an eagle and huge diamond in its breast, garnished with rubies, diamonds and pearls; this alone valued at £120 (nearly £60,000 today). Shortly before Gaunt’s marriage, he had an affair with a Flemish woman, Marie de Sainte-Hilaire, one of the queen’s ladies. Marie gave birth to a girl, called Blanche in 1359 and Gaunt acknowledged her throughout his life arranging a good marriage to Thomas Morieux, Constable of the Tower of London, around her twenty-first birthday.
19/5/1402	By 19th May 1402, the recently dismissed Prior of Launde and eight Franciscan friars had been arrested and executed after claiming that Richard II, who had ‘died’ at Pontefract Castle in February 1400, was still alive.
19/5/1426	On Whitsunday 19th May 1426, Richard, Duke of York (lord of Sandal Castle), was knighted by the Duke of Bedford along with a young Henry VI and thirty-seven other lords.
20/5/1381	On 20th May 1381, John of Gaunt, lord of Pontefract, was made Lieutenant and Vicar-General in the Marches towards Scotland, by Richard II.
20/5/1643	On 20th May 1643, Parliamentarians, under Sir Thomas Fairfax, marched towards Wakefield with 1,500 horses and infantry. Fairfax launched an attack on Westgate and Northgate. The fighting was fierce but they suffered few casualties. Fairfax took Wakefield and took prisoner all the Royalist officers. His forces were too weak, however, to retain the town and so he marched away in triumph with 1,500 prisoners, three captured cannons, along with arms and other valuables.
21/5/1327	On 21st May 1327, Letters Patent were issued at Pontefract by Edward III regarding William, Abbot of Grestein (Normandy) who, living overseas, nominated Richard de Milleward and William Conreye his attorneys for three years.
21/5/1424	On 21st May 1424, David Menzies, hostage for James I of Scotland was sent from Pontefract Castle to the Tower of London under the following order in the name of Henry VI: ‘The K(ing) orders Robert Waterton, Esq., Constable of Pontefract Castle, to deliver David, eldest son and heir of the Earl of Athol; Alexander, Earl of Crawford; Alexander of Gordoune, John Lindesay; Patrick, eldest son and heir of Sir John of Lyon, knight; Andrew Gray of Foullys; David of Ogilvy, Sir William of Rothvane, knight; David MEIGNEZ (Menzies), and William Olyfaunt, Lord of Abirdalgy — hostages under the treaty with the K(ing) of Scots. To Robert Scot, Lieutenant of the Constable of the Tower of London.’
21/5/1471	On 21st May 1471, seventeen days after Edward IV’s victory at Tewkesbury, Richard, Duke of Gloucester and lord of Sandal, led his brother’s victorious army into London with ex-Queen Margaret of Anjou appearing in a ‘chariot’ not much better than a cart. That night, it is believed Henry VI, her husband, was murdered in the Tower of London; by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, according to Sir Thomas More in his ‘History of Richard III’. Henry’s body was embalmed and taken to Chertsey Abbey but in 1484 brought to Windsor for burial at the command of Richard III. An exhumation of Henry’s body in November 1910 showed a man of 5ft 9in with brown hair matted with blood (according to Professor MacAlister, forensic scientist) possibly indicative of a brutal death.
21/5/1645	The 21st May 1645 remained quiet until the afternoon. A party from the Royalist garrison was fired upon whilst collecting wood and had to retreat. Five hundred men marching to the New Hall from the Park with drums beating and colours flying relieved Sir John Savile's Parliamentary troops.
22/5/1306	On 22nd May 1306, John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and owner of Sandal castle, was knighted by Edward I, along with the Prince of Wales, the future Edward II.
22/5/1455	On 22nd May 1455, Richard, Duke of York, lord of Sandal Castle, along with his Neville allies, intercepted a heavily armed royal party of Henry VI at St Albans, twenty miles north-west of London. Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, had summoned Henry’s nobles (not York et al) to a great council meeting at Leicester earlier that month and this had forced York’s hand as he saw a pre-emptive counterattack as his only choice. The Lancastrian army of 2,000 men, led by the Duke of Buckingham on the orders of Henry VI, was beaten by the stronger Yorkist forces but there were relatively ‘minor’ casualties with estimates of fewer than one hundred deaths, albeit Somerset, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford were killed. The First Battle of St Albans traditionally marks the start of the Wars of the Roses.
22/5/1645	On 22nd May 1645, Nathan Drake, Royalist diarist, recorded: ‘This morning one Kerbyes Sonne, Going to get grasse for his Fathers horse, was shott wth a muskitt bullitt…also our Governor had letters from his Matie & Sr Marmaduke Langdall that a Royall Armey was advancing towards us for our releeefe, (a Comforth long expected & Joyfully accepted)….this night also Came Hanson wth letters from Sandall Confirming the formr rapoart…’
23/5/1261	On 23rd May 1261, knights met at Pontefract and tourneyed against a prohibition order by Henry III, who was fearful of potential anti-royal activities. The Sheriff arrested the knights and confiscated their lands but the King remitted the punishment a few days later. The knights included Peter de Ros, William de Percy, Robert Fitz-Brian, Robert Pikot, and Hugh de Neville.
23/5/1455	On 23rd May 1455, a day after the disastrous Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of St Albans, a wounded Henry VI was escorted back to London encircled by three victorious Yorkist lords: Richard, Duke of York (lord of Sandal Castle), in the place of honour on the king’s right hand, the Earl of Salisbury on his left and the Earl of Warwick bearing the king’s sword before them. This public assertion of Yorkist power and influence was compounded two days later on Whitsunday when York placed the crown on Henry’s head at St Paul’s Cathedral.
23/5/1633	On 23rd May 1633, Charles I stayed at Pontefract Castle as part of his ‘Great Progress’ to Scotland for his coronation in Edinburgh at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on the 18th June.
23/5/1835	On 23rd May 1835, The Spectator reported that the electors of Pontefract had presented their MP, John Gully (ex-boxer) with ‘a richly-chased silver salver, as a token of their approbation of the Liberal votes he has uniformly given in the House of Commons.’
24/5/1213	On 24th May 1213, Peter of Pontefract (or Wakefield) who had foretold that King John would no longer be king by Ascension Day that year was removed from Corfe Castle and dragged by horses to Wareham where he was hanged with his son.
24/5/1315	On 24th May 1315, in the chapter house of Pontefract Priory, at Thomas of Lancaster’s (lord of Pontefract) mandate and in his presence, fifteen northern lords assembled: Thomas de Multon, Thomas Furnival, Edmund Deyncourt, Henry Fitzhugh, Ralph de Greystoke, Gilbert de Atton, Marmaduke de Twenge, Nicholas de Menill, Henry Percy, John Marmion, Philip Darcy, William Fitzwilliam, John de Fauconberg, John Deyncourt, and Robert Constable of Flamborough. Most of these men were Yorkshire barons: Furnival’s lands lay around Sheffield; Twenge, Menill, and Marmion had extensive holdings in Cleveland; and most of Percy’s estates were in the North Riding. Of those who held little land in Yorkshire, only Multon, whose estates were mainly in Cumberland and Westmorland, could be considered entirely outside the range of Lancaster’s territorial influence. Unfortunately for Lancaster, this was not a body which the earl could bend to his will. Those present agreed that the current disturbances threatened the peace of the land and the well-being of the king and kingdom, and to counter this they came together in a league for their mutual defence, so that if any man rose against the earl or any other, the rest would come to his aid. This agreement was set down in writing and confirmed by seal, but because it was thought necessary to obtain the advice of a greater number, and especially of the prelates, Lancaster wrote to the Archbishop of York and summoned him and the other prelates to Sherburn-in-Elmet, one of the Archbishop’s own manors, a few miles north of Pontefract, on 28th June.
24/5/1321	On 24th May 1321, at Pontefract Castle, Thomas Earl of Lancaster held the first of two meetings to gather support of  barons and clergy to remove the Despensers from power. The Despensers had become royal favourites of Edward II and had undue influence on the king. A second meeting happened at Sherburn-in Elmet on 28th June. The picture above is of Hugh le Despenser the Younger from the Founders' and benefactors' book“ of Tewkesbury Abbey, early 16th century.
24/5/1328	On 24th May 1328, Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, brother of the executed Thomas of Lancaster, and now restored to the earldom and control of Pontefract Castle, hosted Edward III at Warwick Castle to discuss plans to attack France.
24/5/1343	On 24th May 1343, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and later lord of Pontefract, was made Chief Ambassador to Pope Clement VI by Edward III.
24/5/1645	On 24th May 1645, a  Parliamentary gun battery opened up against the Castle keep. Colonel General Poyntz took command of the attack and in a few days the church tower of the neighbouring All Saints Church was battered down and the post abandoned. At three o'clock in the morning, the besiegers commenced fire against the Round Tower; this fire continued for most of the day. The besieged Royalists were in suspense not knowing whether the enemy was preparing to take the castle by storm before the army of the king came to their assistance. However, they resolved to defend the castle as long as possible and to surrender it only with their lives. The besiegers received letters the same day stating that the army of the King consisting of 15,000 men was divided and that half, under Prince Maurice, was marching to relieve Carlisle and the other half was coming to relieve Pontefract. The enemy continued its fire all night and the next morning blasted in whole volleys of shot from every quarter against the castle and cried “a Cromwell, a Cromwell" The besiegers had received information that Cromwell was marching to the King's rear and so the hopes of both parties were alternately encouraged and depressed. The great gun in the castle was removed from the mount before the gates and placed on the platform where it discharged against the sentry house near Alderman Rusby's. The shot struck the house with great force and forty to sixty men ran out. A drake  (small artillery piece) was placed by the besieged on Swillington Tower and played against the enemy's guard at Paradise Orchard. Also, on this day, a man called Will Tubb and a boy, along with others, went out of the castle to cut grass for the cattle and ventured too near the enemy. The boy was wounded with a ball and the man was taken prisoner. The enemy seeing that he was a simple man gave him ale until he was nearly drunk and then tried to obtain from him an account of the numbers at the garrison, the quantity of their ammunition, provisions etc. Tubb either gave an exaggerated account or evaded the questions and as the enemy was taking him to the guardhouse at the New Hall he slipped away and got back to the castle.