Pontefract Castle

NEW DISCOVERIES AT PONTEFRACT CASTLE

Mar 22, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion

Anthony Woodville, Boroughbridge, dungeons, Edward II, English Civil War, executions, lost Chapel, Oliver Cromwell, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Sir Richard Grey, Thomas of Lancaster, Yorkshire

Pontefract Castle was, in its day, the Windsor of the North. Large and seemingly impregnable , it had two massive tapering towers that rose up to over a hundred feet high, a landmark visible from miles away. It was the scene of many historical events–in 1322 Edward II executed his cousin, Thomas of Lancaster here,…
Two tragic kings called Richard….

Jan 8, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings

“Princes”, Battle of Bosworth, Edward of Middleham, France, Henry IV, Isabella de Valois, peace, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, royal marriages, usurpation

I know I’ve rabbited about this before, because I’m fascinated by both King Richard III and his predecessor Richard II. Such fascination sparks latter-day loyalties. It certainly has with me. Tragedy struck them both, and as supporters of Richard III we know he was maligned as the killer of his two small nephews, betrayed,…
Some minor problems with Thomas More’s account.

Dec 31, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources

“Princes”, “withered arm”, Anne Beauchamp, Anthony Wydville, Beaulieu Abbey, bigamy, discrepancies, Edward IV, executions, Henry VI, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Jane Shore, Lady Elizabeth Lucy, Lord Chancellor, marriage ceremony, mediaeval canon law, More, Pontefract Castle, pre-contract, Ralph Shaa, Richard III, secret marriage, Sheriff of Glamorgan, Sir James Tyrrell, Sir Richard Grey, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Sir Robert Brackenbury, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Tewkesbury, Thomas Dighton, Tower of London, Vice-Constable, Westminster, William Catesby, witchcraft

King Edward, of that name the fourth, after that he had lived fifty and three years, seven months, and six days, and thereof reigned two and twenty years, one month, and eight days, died at Westminster the ninth day of April. King Edward was born 28 April 1442 and died 9 April 1483. He was…
Edmund of Rutland – a life cut short – his burial at Fotheringhay.

Dec 30, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Battle of Bosworth, Cecily Neville, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Edward VI, executions, First Battle of St. Albans, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Lady Chapel, Lord Clifford, Ludlow Castle, Micklegate Bar, Pontefract Castle, Priory of St. John the Evangelist, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Rouen, royal burials, Sandal Castle, Sir Richard Croft, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York, Yorkist tombs

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Fotheringhay Church and Yorkist Mausoleum 1804. Watercolour by unknown artist. Described by Simon Jenkins as ‘the church that seems to float on its hill above the River Nene, a galleon of Perpendicular on a sea of corn…’ Edmund, son of Richard Duke of York and Cicely Neville was born…
When it comes to receiving kickings, Richard II begins to catch up with Richard III….

Feb 14, 2022

anniversaries, art, buildings, law

Anne of Bohemia, Black Prince, Edward III, France, Henry IV, Henry VII, Isabella de Valois, John of Gaunt, Lancastrian propaganda, Peasants’ Revolt, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, royal marriages, Wilton Diptych

Oh dear, here we have 10 “facts” about Richard III’s predecessor namesake, Richard II. Yes, poor old Richard of Bordeaux gets it in the neck yet again. At this rate he’ll soon be Richard III’s equal. Well, maybe not quite, but you know what I mean. Firstly it’s stated that Richard of Bordeaux was…
The Black Prince’s tomb is nothing but his son’s propaganda….!

Feb 9, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, heraldry, religion

Canterbury Cathedral, Duchy of Cornwall, Edward the Black Prince, Henry IV, Henry VII, Pontefract Castle, propaganda, Richard II, royal tombs, usurpation

Here’s more about the Black Prince’s tomb/effigy at Canterbury. It includes a link to a very detailed account of the investigations and findings. And now another on the same subject, that claims the effigy (which the prince himself requested and described in detail) was created by his son Richard II solely to boost his own…
THE MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES OF GREAT BRITAIN : CHARLES A STOTHARD

Jan 16, 2022

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, religion

Arundel Castle, Aveline de Foix, Bere Ferrers, Blanche of the Tower, Branchepeth Church, British Museum, Canterbury Cathedral, Charles Alfred Stothard, Devon, Edmund Crouchback, Edward II, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, effigies, Elizabeth of Suffolk, Harfleur, Hatfield Broadoak, Henry IV, Ingham Church, Joan “Beaufort”, Joan of Navarre, John Duke of Suffolk, John of Eltham, Lord Ligonier, Magna Carta, Michael Earl of Suffolk, Miles Stapleton, Monumental Effigies, Pontefract Castle, Ralph 2nd Earl of Westmorland, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, Richard II, Robert Baron hungerford, Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford, Salisbury Cathedral, Sir john Wingfield, Staindrop Church, Westminster Abbey, William Fitzalan, William of Windsor, Wingfield Church

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Effigies of Ralph Neville 2nd Earl of Westmorland d.1491 and one of his wives. Branchepeth Church, Durham. These effigies, which were wooden, are now lost to us having since been destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1998. Made in very dark oak it was difficult to get good photos of…
Digging up our monarchs; no, not Richard III this time….!

Aug 17, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, religion, Science

Anne Boleyn, Anne of Bohemia, Banqueting House, burial, Catherine de Valois, Charles I, childbirth, death, Edward I, Edward IV, Edward V, Edward VI, executions, Exhumation, George IV, Greenwich Palace, Henry II, James VII/II, John, King’s Langley, Leicester, Newark Castle, Old St. Paul’s, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, Samuel Pepys, Society of Antiquaries, St. Edward the Confessor, St. Peter ad Vincula, St. Thomas Becket, Tower of London, Victoria, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, Worcester Cathedral

I’m told that even now, if you purchase a plot of ground in which to put your loved ones to rest, the chances are they’ll only lie in peace for eighty years, at which time they are removed and new occupants move in. Well, for centuries our dead haven’t always been left to enjoy their…
The denouement at Penmaenhead in 1399….

Aug 16, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, sources

Clwyd, Colwyn Bay, Duchy of Lancaster, duel, duplicity, Earl of Northumberland, exile, Flint Castle, Henry IV, Ireland, Isabella de Valois, Milford Haven, Monty Python, Paul Murray Kendall, Penmaenhead, Pontefract Castle, property, Richard II, St. Albans Chronicle, Terry Jones, The Chronicle of Jean Creton, The Yorkist Age, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, usurpation, Wars of the Roses

When we think of Colwyn Bay today, we don’t think of vital historic events in August 1399, when a King of England, Richard II, was captured. This fact led to his deposition, imprisonment and suspiciously convenient death…culminating in the rise of the House of Lancaster in the form of his usurping first cousin, Henry…
A Keighley man has traced his ancestry back to Sir Thomas Vaughan . . .

Jun 25, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

ambush, Edward IV, Edward V, executions, Jimmy Vaughan, Keighley, Ludlow, Pontefract Castle, Richard III, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Westminster Abbey, Wydeville plot, Yorkshire

A Keighley man, Jimmy Vaughan, has traced his ancestry back to the Sir Thomas Vaughan who was executed at Pontefract Castle on June 25 1483 for opposing Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was by right of his late brother’s request, Lord Protector of England. Of course, Sir Thomas was one of the multitude of three…