Construction on the castle began in 1070 by a Norman baron known as Ilbert de Lacy. He'd been given the site as a reward by William the Conqueror as part of the Norman conquest and, as usual with such sites, the original structure was wood replaced with stone over time. Ilbert's descendant, Robert de Lacy, failed to support King Henry I during a struggle within the Norman dynasty for the throne and the irate King confiscated the castle. The Lacy family remained connected enough with it that Roger de Lacy paid King Richard 3,000 marks for the Honour of Pontefract, or the right to use the land. The Castle itself remained in royal hands until John granted the Castle back to the Lacy family. They built a large stone donjon or keep for the castle during their tenure.
The Castle passed by marriage under the control of a Plantagenet descendant, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and here is where the tragedies associated with this castle begin. In 1322, Thomas became involved in a war against King Edward II's favorites, the Despenser father and son. After a loss at the Battle of Boroughbridge, Thomas took refuge in the Castle. Edward II besieged the Castle, tried his cousin for treason in the great hall, and ordered his execution. Thomas is buried in Pontefract Priory and his tomb there became a minor shrine. The Castle went to Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and later to the most famous Lancastrian Duke, John of Gaunt. It became one of Gaunt's many personal residences and he spent a great deal of money on making the fortress a home. After Gaunt's death, Richard II intended to give the Castle to one of his own favorites. The prospect of losing this Castle in particular aroused the wrath of Gaunt's son, Henry of Bolingbroke, who'd been in exile when his father died. Bolingbroke landed at Ravenspur and went right away to Pontefract Castle, making it his first base in England.
In a strange irony, it was Richard II who found himself at Pontefract in 1400, a prisoner who'd been forced to relinquish his crown to Bolingbroke, now Henry IV. Richard died at Pontefract, most likely murdered, though no one is sure exactly when or how. The Darcy family became guardians of the Castle on behalf of the Royal Family, until 1536, when Thomas Darcy surrendered the Castle during the Pilgrimage of Grace revolt against Henry VIII. Henry viewed the act as treason, and later had Darcy executed. Henry and his fifth wife, Katherine Howard, stayed at the Castle in 1541 during their tour of Yorkshire. There, Katherine had a tryst with Thomas Culpepper that would later prove to be her ruin. In 1569, another woman doomed to the block, Mary Stuart, stayed briefly at the Castle. The Castle was besieged three times by Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War. In 1649, the castle was slighted, or deliberately destroyed, to prevent future use as a base by Royalist supporters. The remains of the Castle are still discernable today.
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