Editing Pontefract Castle (section)

===Royalist stronghold===
[[File:JohnLambert.png|thumb|upright|The garrison handed over the castle to [[John Lambert (general)|John Lambert]] on 24 March 1649.{{sfn|Rakoczy|2007|p=223}}]]
On his way south to London, [[James VI and I|King James]] rode from [[Grimston Park]] to view Pontefract Castle on 19 April 1603 and stayed the night at the Bear Inn at Doncaster.<ref>Charles Harding Firth, ''Stuart Tracts'' (New York, 1903), p. 33.</ref> The castle was included in English jointure property of his wife, [[Anne of Denmark]].<ref>[[Edmund Lodge]], ''Illustrations of British History'', vol. 3 (London, 1791), p. 207.</ref>

[[Cavalier|Royalist]]s controlled Pontefract Castle at the start of the [[English Civil War]]. The first of three sieges began in December 1644 and continued until the following March when [[Marmaduke Langdale, 1st Baron Langdale of Holme]] arrived with Royalist reinforcements and the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] army retreated. During the siege, [[Tunnel warfare|mining]] and artillery caused damage and the Piper Tower collapsed as a result. The second siege began on 21 March 1645, shortly after the end of the first siege, and the garrison surrendered in July after hearing the news of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]'s defeat at the [[Battle of Naseby]]. Parliament garrisoned the castle until June 1648 when Royalists sneaked into the castle and took control. Pontefract Castle was an important base for the Royalists, and raiding parties harried Parliamentarians in the area.{{sfn|Rakoczy|2007|pp=222–223}}

[[Oliver Cromwell]] led the final siege of Pontefract Castle in November 1648. [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] was executed in January, and Pontefract's  garrison came to an agreement and Colonel Morrice handed over the castle to Major General [[John Lambert (general)|John Lambert]] on 24 March 1649. Following requests from the townspeople, the grand jury at York, and Major General Lambert, on 27 March Parliament gave orders that Pontefract Castle should be "totally demolished & levelled to the ground" and materials from the castle would be sold off.{{sfn|Rakoczy|2007|pp=223–227}} Piecemeal dismantling after the main organised activity of [[slighting]] may have further contributed to the castle's ruined state.{{sfn|Rakoczy|2007|p=221}}

It is still possible to visit the castle's 11th-century cellars, which were used to store military equipment during the civil war.