Sandal Castle Sussex and Reigate in Surrey, Castle Acre Castle in Norfolk and Conisbrough in Yorkshire. In 1347, Edward III granted Sandal to his fifth son Edmund of Langley who was six years old at the time. His elder brother John of Gaunt held Pontefract and Knaresborough Castles, Edmund was granted Wark Castle near Coldstream in the Scottish Borders, and in 1377 Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire which was to become his home, and for the next 75 years the family seems to have spent little time at Sandal, leaving it to the management of constables or stewards. In 1385 Edmund was made
Fotheringhay Castle was named "protector and defender of the realm" while King Henry VI was suffering from mental illness and remained in the position until 9 February 1455. During the subsequent Wars of the Roses between the houses of York and Lancaster the Duke of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. Fotheringhay Castle remained a favoured residence of the family after Richard's death: Cecily often entertained guests there and in 1469 Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's queen, resided at the castle. On 11 June 1482, the Scottish prince, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany made a treaty at the castle