Battlefields›Pontefract Castle Third Siege Final Phase 1649
English Civil War

Pontefract Castle Third Siege Final Phase 1649

1649
West Yorkshire, England
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
West Yorkshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Royalists
Forces
Royalist garrison under Colonel John Morris
VS
Victor
Parliament
Forces
Parliamentary siege force
Outcome
Royalist garrison surrendered March 1649 on honourable terms; last castle to fall after the Second Civil War; subsequently demolished.
The Battle

History & Significance

Pontefract Castle was the last English castle to surrender after the Second Civil War. The garrison held out long after the execution of Charles I in January 1649 before receiving direct orders from Charles II in exile to surrender in March 1649. The garrison proclaimed Charles II king of England on the castle walls before yielding.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Pontefract Castle Third Siege Final Phase 1649

Pontefract Castle: part of late Saxon cemetery and town ditch, Norman motte and bailey castle and later medieval enclosure castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 miles
St John's Priory
Scheduled monument · ~0.7 miles
Boundary cross on the corner of Ferrybridge Road and Stumpcross Lane
Scheduled monument · ~1.3 miles
Ferrybridge Henge, a prehistoric enclosure, and two round barrows
Scheduled monument · ~1.9 miles
Churchyard cross at the Parish Church of St Luke and All Saints
Scheduled monument · ~2.1 miles
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