Speech from the throne policies and objectives. The monarch would sometimes speak to parliament in person; King Edward III (in 1365), Richard II, and Edward IV (to both houses of parliament on multiple separate occasions) did so. However, various other figures gave the oration on the sovereign's behalf: between 1347 and 1363, it was read by the Chief Justice; by the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1401; the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1344, 1368, 1377 (speaking for a presiding Edward III), 1399, and 1422; and in 1343, 1363, and, usually after 1368, by the Lord Chancellor—who was then the Prolocutor, or chairman
Pontefract Castle France. Pontefract also has an "torre albarrana", a fortification almost unknown outside the Iberian Peninsular. Known as the Skillington Tower, the detached tower was attached to the north wall by a bridge. Its purpose was to increase the defender's range of flanking fire. Wakefield Council, who own the site, commissioned William Anelay Ltd to begin repairs on the castle in September 2015, but work stopped in November 2016 when Anelay went into administration. The Council then engaged Heritage Building & Conservation (North) Ltd, who began work on the site in March 2017. A new visitor centre and cafe were opened