Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford of Holbrook. His father had been strongly attached to the Lancastrian cause at the close of the reign of King Richard II (1377–1399), having been steward in the household of John of Gaunt. On the accession of King Henry IV in 1399, Walter was knighted and was granted an annuity of £40 out of the lands of Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk. He served as Member of Parliament for Wiltshire in October 1400, in 1404, 1407, 1413, and in January 1413–14, and served as Member of Parliament for Somerset in 1409. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from
Pontefract ballads make specific reference to the village of Wentbridge, which is an outlying village of the modern town of Pontefract. In addition, Michael Drayton's "Poly-Olbion" Song 28 (67–70) composed in 1622 speaks of Robin Hood's death and clearly states that the outlaw died at Saxon 'Kirkby', modern Pontefract. The historian S. A. La' Chance proposes that Robin Hood died at Saint Nicholas's hospital, Kirkby, which was attached to All Saints' Church. In commemoration of Wakefield's connections to Robin Hood, a plaque has been placed on the bridge that crosses the River Went. In Elizabethan times the castle, and Pontefract itself,