When: 11am – 4pm, Saturday 1 June – Sunday 2 June
Where: Pontefract Castle, Pontefract, WF8 1QH
This event is FREE, and there is no need to book. Just come along and join in the fun!
Three hundred and seventy-five years ago, Pontefract was a town under siege – and now the Roundheads are returning to bring to English Civil War to life!
On 1-2 June, Pontefract Castle will once again echo with the sound of cannons and muskets as the Sealed Knot take over the castle for a fascinating recreation of the 17th Century conflict – all free for visitors!
The musketeers, pikemen, and cannons of The Earl of Manchester’s Regiment of Foote, the local regiment of the world-famous reenactment society, will camp within the castle walls to recreate conditions during the infamous siege of 1644.
The castle will be open from 10am to 5pm, with the reenactment running from 11am to 4pm.
At 2pm each day, the soldiers of the garrison will be forced to fight for their lives as the defences are stormed – come and cheer for your side as the two sides clash in a flurry of cannon shot, musket fire, and sword play!
Visitors will be able to meet the soldiers garrisoning the castle, watch as they demonstrate the lost skills of musket and pike, watch live demonstrations of 17th Century cannon fire, and discover what life was like for those tasked with defending Pontefract Castle during the English Civil War.
Reckon you could scale the walls of a besieged castle? Test out your skills on the climbing wall and see if you can be king of the castle!
For more details about the castle, visit their website.
Schedule for both days:
9:30am – Castle gates open
11am – Reenactment event opens with the first cannon shot of the day!
11am – First tour! Meet the witnesses to the siege of Pontefract as we take you around the encampment, from the barber surgeon to the leather worker! Finishes with interactive musket and pike drill for children and youngsters!
11.45am – Cannon display and talk
12pm – Second tour!
12.45am – Cannon display and talk
1pm – Food is served to the troops. Public can interact with the troops
1.40pm – Displays of 17th Century musket and pike
2pm – Skirmish on the ramparts! Watch as besieging troops storm the castle – will the garrison be able to fend them off and keep the castle for their cause?
3pm – Cannon display and talk
3.15pm – Third tour!
4pm – Reenactment event ends
5pm – Castle closes
Pontefract Castle during the English Civil War
During the English Civil Wars, Pontefract Castle was a place of great importance – Cromwell described it as “one of the strongest inland garrisons in the kingdom” and it was besieged three times.
In the first English Civil War (1642-6) Pontefract Castle was held by the forces of King Charles and was under siege for four months from December 1644. The garrison continually confounded the Parliamentarian besiegers and even had the run of large parts of the town, sending cart-loads of dead and wounded back to Leeds and Wakefield. The siege was relieved in March 1645, but the Parliamentarians quickly returned and the garrison surrendered in July after hearing the news of Charles I’s defeat at the Battle of Naseby in July 1645.
Parliament garrisoned the castle until the second civil war in 1648, when John Morris and a few supporters snuck into the castle by pretending to bring in beds for the garrison. These Royalists held the castle for nine months and Oliver Cromwell himself led this final siege, but when King Charles was executed in January 1649 they were forced to surrender and Morris was executed for treason.
Following requests from the townspeople, Parliament gave orders that Pontefract Castle should be “totally demolished & levelled to the ground” and materials from the castle would be sold off.