Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk (1367 – 17 September 1415) was an English nobleman who supported Henry IV (reigned 1399-1413) against Richard II (reigned 1377-1399) during the turmoils of the late 14th century. He died during the Siege of Harfleur in 1415. He was a son of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Katherine Wingfield, daughter of Sir John Wingfield. His father fled abroad amid accusations of treason during the Merciless Parliament in 1388, forfeiting the title of Earl of Suffolk and the family estates. Over
Pontefract third siege, Pontefract inhabitants, fearing a fourth, petitioned Parliament for the castle to be slighted. In their view, the castle was a magnet for trouble, and in April 1649 demolition began. the ruins of the castle remain and are publicly accessible. Pontefract was the site of Pontefract Priory, a Cluniac priory founded in 1090 by Robert de Lacy dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The priory was dissolved by royal authority in 1539. The abbey maintained the Chartularies of St John, a collection of historic documents later discovered among family papers by Thomas Levett, the High Sheriff of Rutland and