Pontefract Castle formed the Honour of Pontefract, a large estate granted to Ilbert de Lacy in 1086. Originally as a motte and bailey castle built on a natural rock mound, it acquired two more baileys. All three baileys included buildings and walls, originally of timber but later made into stone.
The de Lacys lived at the castle for two centuries. Upon the death of Henry de Lacy in 1311, the Honour came to Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster. Under Thomas, major building began. These buildings included a variety of flanking towers, a gatehouse with two polygonal turrets, a barbican and a great tower situated on the mound.
The work that Thomas of Lancaster began was finished by John of Gaunt, between the years of 1374-78. The Swillington Tower, named after his steward, can be seen today beside the road under the castle hill.
Richard II lived here after his overthrow in 1399 and died around 1402. As a Duchy of Lancaster stronghold, Pontefract belonged to the Crown, and was considered the principal castle in northern England. It was Richard, Duke of Gloucester’s official residence as Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster (April, 1471). Earl Rivers, Lord Richard Grey, and Sir Thomas Vaughn were executed here in 1483.
The castle suffered three sieges during the Civil War. In 1644, a Royalist force broke the first siege. In 1648, the castle was again Royalist and it took another six months to subdue it. The castle surrendered after Charles I’s execution. It was demolished with the consent of Parliament in 1649.
Today there is very little to be seen of the castle. There are a few cluster of stubs of towers only a few feet tall. It was said to have been of quatrefoil, or trefoil, or even of sixfoil plan. In 1989 a document dating 1643 was found in the Scottish Record Office listing the castle’s apartments. In the document the great tower is described as being three-storied, with five rooms on each story. It also said that there was a small courtyard inside the tower, which suggests that the five rooms were set in a ring around an open center area at each level.
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