The castle had fallen apart again by the 1600s. It was sold to Edward Conway by Charles I in 1627. Edward bought it for £100. Edward's son, also named Edward, took over the castle in 1631. It was a ruin. In 1642, the English Civil War started. John Williams, Archbishop of York, took charge of the castle for the king. He used his own money to fix the broken parts of the castle. In 1645, Sir John Owen became governor of the castle. The two men argued about this, since Williams was supposed to be running it, not Owen. Eventually Williams gave up and moved back to London. The castle was taken over by Thomas Mytton between a siege in August and November of 1646.