Pontefract Castle at Pontefract was among such properties under threat which roused Bolingbroke to return to England to claim his rights to the Duchy of Lancaster and the properties of his father. Act 2, scene 1, of Shakespeare's play "Richard II" relates Bolingbroke’s homecoming in the words of Northumberland in the speech of the eight tall ships:- When he landed at Ravenspur on the Humber he made straight way for his castle at Pontefract. The King, being in Ireland at the time, was in no position to oppose Bolingbroke who deposed Richard and took the crown for himself as Henry IV. Richard
Honour of Pontefract reign of King Stephen, though records dispute over whether Robert himself was still alive to regain his title or if it was his son, Ilbert. In 1294 the Honour was inherited by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster by marriage to a daughter of the 9th Baron, which later passed to the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1625, Charles I granted the Honour to Sir John Savile, giving him the title of Baron Savile. Honour of Pontefract The Honour of Pontefract, otherwise known as the Feudal Barony of Pontefract, is a medieval English feudal barony which has existed since 1068 in present-day