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
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