Pontefract Castle earl becoming a martyr with his tomb at Pontefract Priory becoming a shrine. It next went to Henry, Duke of Lancaster and subsequently to John of Gaunt, third son of King Edward III. He made the castle his personal residence, spending vast amounts of money improving it. In the closing years of the 14th century, Richard II had banished John of Gaunt’s son Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford from the country and with the death of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster in 1399, much of Bolingbroke's patrimony was being given away by Richard II to his favourites. The castle
John Wittlebury John Wittlebury John Wittlebury or Whittlebury (1333 – 21 April 1400) was an English Member of Parliament. He was the third son and heir of Aubrey Wittlebury (1306–1349) of Whissendine, Rutland, a member of one of the leading families of the county. He inherited his father's estates in Rutland and Northamptonshire after his eldest brother had died young and his other brother had entered Peterborough Abbey. He served on the bench as a Justice of the Peace for Rutland from 1368 to 1399 and was appointed High Sheriff of Rutland for 1372–1374 (2 years), 1377–1378, 1381–1382, 1388 and from 1399