Pontefract Castle Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or, Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil War. The castle, on a rock to the east of the town above All Saints' Church, was constructed in approximately 1070 by Ilbert de Lacy. on land which had been granted to him by William the Conqueror as a reward for his support during the Norman Conquest. There is, however, evidence of earlier occupation of the site.
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