Pontefract was referred to as "Pomfret". William Shakespeare's play "Richard III" mentions the castle:<br> Pomfret is referred to in Shakespeare's Richard II also My lord, the mind of Bolingbroke is changed:You must to Pomfret, not unto the Tower.And, madam, there is order ta'en for you;With all swift speed you must away to France Pontefract suffered throughout the English Civil War. In 1648–49 the castle was laid under siege by Oliver Cromwell, who said it was "... one of the strongest inland garrisons in the kingdom." Three sieges by the Parliamentarians left the town "impoverished and depopulated". In March 1649, after the
Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd to conduct negotiations with the king. Henry Percy took an oath in the castle chapel to protect the king if he agreed to leave the castle, but when Richard left he was promptly taken prisoner, and was taken away to die later in captivity at Pontefract Castle. Tensions between the Welsh and the English persisted and spilled over in 1400 with the outbreak of the Glyndŵr Rising. At the start of the conflict, Harlech's garrison was badly equipped, and Conwy had fallen into disrepair. Conwy Castle was taken at the start of the conflict by two Welsh brothers, who took