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PONTEFRACT CASTLE

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The principal royal castle in the North of England. Norman motte and bailey castle surviving as an earthwork and overlying part of an 8th-10th century Saxon cemetery and the town ditch of the royal town of Tanshelf. The motte and bailey was built before 1086, and in the late 11th century a chapel was built, within the bailey, dedicated to St Clement, although it possibly replaced a Saxon chapel or church. This was collegiate between 1090 and 1546. In the 12th century and 13th century the medieval enclosure castle was constructed. In 1618-20 a major programme of repair was undertaken. The castle was dismantled following the siege of Pontefract in 1649. Scheduled.

The Medieval castle, chapel, and motte, are visible as structure and earthworks on air photographs.

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MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

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[SE 4606 2236] PONTEFRACT CASTLE [G.T.]. (1)

Pontefract Castle was originally a motte and bailey constructed
in the time of William I. The earliest stonework probably dated from temp. Henry II. The castle was demolished after the third seige of Pontefract in 1649. (2)

The castle is a scheduled monument (a) and is open to the public.
See G.P. AO 63/188/8 and AO 63/189/2 for southern and eastern aspects of the Round Tower and AO 63/189/1 for the remains of St. Clement's Chapel.
Earthworks resurveyed. (3)

Condition unchanged apart from minor amendments, published survey (25") revised. (4)

1981-85 Excavations carried out by W Yorks Archaeol Unit revealed a number of features:

1. The basement of the King's Tower probably forms the E end of an extensive undercroft running beneath the N curtain apartment block.

2. St Clement's Chapel was of 2 phases: initially the chancel formed a primary single cell stone structure, to which was added an apse during the second half of the 12th century. The nave was added either at this time or later. The orientation of the buildings suggests it respects and perpetuates a pre-castle site. Evidence for a substantial pre-chapel cemetery was identified, probably of late Anglo-Saxon date.

3. The `Elizabethan' chapel overlay a series of medieval structures, including a garderobe shaft. A `listening shaft' of Civil War date was dug adjacent to the curtain wall.

4. The Constable Tower was located for the first time by excavation. Built c.1405-12, its basement survived intact, 4m deep, its floor forming the pre-castle ground surface. Dug into this were the well-preserved remains of a timber building aligned diagonally to the basement wall. It is undated, but a few abraded Roman sherds have been recovered in the old ground surface.

5. The Bakehouse Block directly overlay the truncated early castle rampart.

6. The Kitchen. Surviving C15 structures overlay hearths and ovens suggesting continuity of use. A pre-15th century garderobe contained 14th century pottery, including a vessel from the Cowick kilns that is the most highly decorated jug from medieval W Yorkshire. A buried pot part-filled with lead probably had an industrial or craft use.

7. The Keep. A shaft in the W Tower cut what appeared to be layers forming upcast for the original motte, around which the mid-13th century keep had been constructed.

8. A large pit immediately S of St Clement's Chapel contained rich 15th century refuse deposits. At its lowest levels it cut through a well-organised Christian cemetery that pre-dated the construction levels of the Norman chapel. [See also (2)].

Interim reports. (4)(5)

Scheduled. (6)

SE 4605 2233. Pontefract Castle: part of late Saxon cemetery and town ditch, Norman motte and bailey castle and later medieval enclosure castle. Scheduled RSM No 13298. (7)

Listed by Cathcart King. (8)

Additional reference (9,10)

Extensive excavations were undertaken by the West Yorkshire Archaeological Unit between 1982-6 throughout the castle area. Detailed account of the excavations. The 11th century church is situated in the midst of the 8th-10th century cemetery and may have originated then, since none of the graves were cut by the church.

The best-preserved assemblages came from the 17th century deposits, and included a notable collection of military artefacts. (11)

Originally a castle of the Lascy family, it passed to the Lancastrians in 1311 and became a Crown possession in 1399. Until its destruction in 1649 it was the principal royal castle in the North of England, and the administrative centre fot the lands of the Duchy of Lancaster in Yorkshire. Although not upgraded defensively to cope with changing warfare, it housed the principal armoury in Yorkshire, and was located in such a strong defensive position that it withstood 3 sieges during the Civil War. Expenditure on the castle in the reigns of both Henry IV and V was heavy and continuous, and fairly large sums were spent annually in the later years of Henry VI's reign and that of Edward IV. (12)

More money was spent on Pontefract Castle during the period from 1485-1660 than on any other of the Duchy castles. In 1536 it surrendered to the leaders of the Pilgramage of Grace, the constable claiming that the armoury was barely adequate to defend the castle. On regaining it, a survey was ordered and rpairs put in order. Despite extensive works during Elizabeth Is reign, in 1621 a survey showed that £3000 was required to repair it. It was besieged in 1644-5 and 1648-9, and on account of its great strength was demolished on the orders of Parliament. in April 1649. (13)

A Medieval castle, chapel, and motte, are visible as structures and earthworks on air photographs. They are centred at SE 4605 2236. They are as described by previous authorities.
(14)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:1250 1952

( 2) by John L Illingworth 1970 Yorkshire's ruined castles : an account of their history, asssociations and architecture with a chapter on the fortified houses of the county

Page(s)78-81

( 3a) Scheduled Monument Notification

Ancient Monuments in England and Wales 1958 (MOW) Page(s)93

( 3) Field Investigators Comments

F1 RWE 05-NOV-63

( 4) Field Investigators Comments

F2 BHP 03-JAN-75

(4) Council for British Archaeology Group 4 Yorkshire Archaeological Register

1984-5 (S Moorhouse) Page(s)38-41

(5) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

(Youngs et al) 31, 1987 Page(s)172-3

(6) English Heritage 1987 County list of Scheduled Ancient Monuments : December 1987

West Yorkshire Page(s)9

(7) English Heritage 1995 County list of Scheduled Monuments : March 1994

West Yorkshire Page(s)9

(8) David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands

2 - 1983 Page(s)523

(9) by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 1971 Medieval religious houses in England and Wales

Page(s)435

(10) edited by Peter Furtado et al 1988 Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain

Page(s)202

(11) Roberts, I. 2002 Pontefract Castle: Archaeological Excavations 1982-86

Yorkshire archaeology [series]1 (1987) - 8

(12) R Allen Brown, H M Colvin and A J Taylor 1963 The history of the King's Works, volume 2 : the Middle Ages

Page(s)781-3

(13) by H M Colvin, D R Ransome and John Summerson 1975 The history of the King's Works, volume 3 : 1485-1660 (part 1)

Page(s)287-90

(14) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

NMR OS/92218 0111 26-Jun-1992

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