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[ Text Only: Homepage ]
[ Graphical: Channel4 Homepage ]
Pontefract was besieged three times during the English Civil War. In each case
it was held by a Royalist garrison and besieged by a Parliamentary army. The
first two sieges (really one long siege with a 10 day interruption) ended in
the summer of 1645. After the fall of the castle, Parliament decided to repair
and garrison Pontefract rather than destroy it. This proved to be a mistake,
as the castle was retaken by local Royalists in July 1648
The transcript from the voice over for the video:
“In July 1648, Pontefract Castle was recaptured by the Royalists and there
is a terrific and true story about how they did it. The first thing they tried
was to go over the walls, undercover of darkness using scaling ladders. But
that didn’t work. They were discovered and the alarm was raised.
Now the parliamentary governor, inside the Castle, realising that there trouble
was brewing, ordered more soldiers from the town and more beds for them. Now,
this is where the royalists had a brilliant idea. They disguised themselves
as bed delivery men and carrying beds, they simply walked into the Castle and
once they were inside, they threw down their beds, got out their weapons and
imprisoned the garrison.”
Graphic version
Includes layout and images.