into the road leading to Doncaster. This gate led to another in the centre of the wall which runs across the area from the east to the west gate, and was called the middle gate. The north side of this area was formed by the south wall of the ballium, or great castle yard, in the centre of which wall was the porter's lodge, the grand entrance into the yard of the castle. All these gates might be, and were, frequently used as watch-towers. The whole of this area was sometimes called the barbican; and within it stood the king's stables and a large barn. Near the barbican, and close by the west entrance into the castle, was the main guard, a place of considerable magnitude and strength. A deep moat, or ditch, was cut on the west side of the castle, extending from the west gate round the great tower to the north; and another on the east, extending from the constable's tower along to the east gate. The wall of the ballium, or great castle yard, was high, and flanked with seven towers, called the round tower; the red tower; the treasurer's or pix tower; the Swillington tower; the queen's tower ; the king's tower; the constable's tower. The walls of the ballium had a parapet, and the merlons were pierced with long chinks ending in round holes, called oilets. Within the ballium were the lodgings and barracks for the garrison and artificers, the chapel of St. Clement, and the magazine. The magazine is cut out of a rock, the descent to which is by a passage four feet wide, and forty-three steps to the bottom. It is six yards over and three broad, with six cavities cut out of the side of the rock, and nine yards in depth from the surface of the earth. Near this place was a large dungeon, the entrance to which was at the seventeenth step of the passage, and was a yard in breadth. The wall as you descend these steps is inscribed with many names, evidently cut by the soldiers at the time of the siege of the castle, and amongst others we find the following, who were officers in the castle at that period: 16 Geo '48 1648 John Grant John Smith So strong the zeal t' immortalise himself The entrance into the ballium was usually through a strong machicolated and embattled gate between two towers, secured by a herse, or portcullis. Over this were the rooms intended for the porter of the castle; the towers served for the corps de garde. On an eminence at the western extremity of the ballium stood the keep or dungeon, called the round tower. It was the citadel, or last retreat of the garrison. In large castles it was generally a high tower of four or five storeys, having turrets at each angle, and here we find there were six, three large and three small ones. When those turrets were round instead of square, they were called juliets, from a vulgar opinion that large round towers were first built by Julius Cæsar. The walls of this edifice were always of an extraordinary thickness, and having in consequence withstood the united injuries of time and weather, now remain more perfect than any other part of the castle. Here, commonly on the second storey, were the state-rooms of the governor. The light was admitted by small chinks, which answered the double purpose of windows and served for embrasures whence they might shoot with long- and cross-bows. These chinks, though without they had some breadth and carried the appearance of windows, were very narrow next the chambers, diminishing considerably inward. The different storeys were frequently vaulted and divided by strong arches; on the top was generally a platform with an embattled parapet, whence the garrison could see and command the exterior works. The diameter of the keep is about 63 or 64 feet. There is also in this place a very small, wretched chamber, formed in the thickness of the wall, which had two very narrow windows next the court. Here, tradition says, Richard II. was confined and murdered; but the smallness of the room hardly agrees with what is related of the manner of his death by a blow with a battle-axe from Sir Piers Exton, as his being so murdered was a story generally received and believed. All Saints' Church in the valley below the castle suffered much during the siege. Its tower was used as a battery, and generally the structure received such injuries as rendered it not easy to be repaired. Its fine lantern was battered down, its interior destroyed, and the whole roof considerably damaged. Although the Parliament allotted a thousand pounds out of the money arising from the sale of the materials belonging to the castle towards its recovery, little appears to have been done. The first of the sieges of the castle lasted five months, and the garrison from sheer want only surrendered to the troops of the Parliament on July 20, 1644. The castle was subsequently retaken by stratagem, and held by the Royalists stubbornly until again forced by circumstances to enter into terms with the besiegers for its surrender. The garrison then declared "that they had provisions for a little longer, that they were not afraid to die, and would sell their lives at as dear a rate as they possibly could, rather than submit to dishonourable terms." General Lambert, receiving these hints, answered by throwing letters over the castle wall in which a stone was wrapped: "That he knew they were gallant men, and that he was desirous to preserve as many of them as he could, but that his hands were bound and he was obliged to except six of them whose lives he could not preserve, nor could he mention their names till after the treaty was signed by the governor. As to the rest, he was content to release them, that they might return to their homes secure and unmolested, and that he would do them all the good in his power by applying to Parliament for an easy composition for their delinquency." Colonel Morrice, the governor, through whose strategy the castle had been retaken by the Royalists, consulted his comrades, and they replied to General Lambert, "that they were sensible of his kindness and civility, and would gladly have embraced his offer if they could have done so with honour, but declared that they could never be guilty of so base a thing as to deliver up their companions." Necessity, however, soon compelled them to enter into another treaty with Lambert. They despatched commissioners to meet the general, and having concluded and signed the articles of capitulation, brought back with them the names of the six persons who were excepted from mercy, which were Colonel Morrice, Lieutenant Austwick and Cornet Blackburn, Major Ashby, Ensign Smith, and Sergeant Floyd. The troops in the garrison were sensibly affected when they heard the names of those excepted. They again sent the commissioners to Lambert, and requested that he would allow them six days, in which time the unfortunate victims might endeavour to escape, and that it might be lawful for the rest of the garrison to assist them. To this proposal General Lambert consented, "provided the rest would surrender at the expiration of the time, and engage never again to advise or take up arms against the Parliament," to which the commissioners agreed. On the first day after this agreement the garrison appeared twice or thrice as if they were resolved to make a sally, but retired every time without charging. On the second day they made a strong and vigorous sally in a different direction, and drove the enemy from their post with the loss of several men. Although the attempt was made at the time the guards were relieving, and when the number of men was doubled, yet such was the resolution and charge of this small band of men that Colonel Morrice and Cornet Blackburn, two of the excepted persons, pushed through the troops of the enemy and made their escape. About a fortnight after the surrender of the castle, Colonel Morrice and Cornet Blackburn were taken in Lancashire, as they were inquiring for a ship, with the intention to get abroad. They were put in safe custody and conveyed to York Castle. Once more they made an attempt to obtain their liberty. Colonel Morrice had succeeded by means of a rope in sliding down the castle wall, but Blackburn, in trying the same method, had the misfortune to fall and break his leg. The generous colonel would not desert his friend, but remained with him till they were both retaken. On August 23, 1649, they were executed at Tyburn, near York, asserting their loyalty, and dying with hope and resignation. The other four excepted persons were compelled to retreat with their friends to the castle after the charge, and they now remained still for two whole days; but early on the night of the fourth day they made another attempt, and were wholly unsuccessful. They were driven back to the castle, having Ensign Smith, another of the excepted persons, killed. His friends conveyed his body into the castle, and he was interred in the chapel of St. Clement. extensive, and owing Among the ruins they The buildings of the castle were large and to the sieges some of them had become ruins. found a place where the three excepted persons might be concealed, and from whence they might easily make their escape. Accordingly, their friends walled up the place after they had entered, leaving them apertures sufficient for the admission of air, and furnishing them with provisions for a month, in which time it was not doubted but they would be able to make their escape. The next morning the garrison pretended to rejoice, and sent the general word that, as their six friends had made their escape, they would surrender the next day. At the hour appointed the garrison marched out of the castle. Lambert narrowly inspected each individual, not believing that any of the excepted persons had escaped, but being satisfied that they were not amongst those who now surrendered, he treated them with great civility and punctually performed all his promises, nor did he seem displeased "that the brave soldiers had happily escaped." Lambert did not pay any attention to the castle, so that the three excepted persons, the night after, threw down their enclosure and securely decamped. Austwick and Floyd lived till after the Restoration. It was ordered that Pontefract Castle, being the last garrison in England that held out against the Parliament, should be dismantled and rendered wholly untenable for the future. In compliance with this order Lambert soon rendered this stately and princely fortress a heap of ruins. The buildings were unroofed and all the valuable material sold. Thus fell the Castle of Pontefract, which had successively been the stronghold of the brave and warlike Saxons; the residence of a proud and imperious Norman Conqueror; the turreted seat of the high and aspiring Dukes of Lancaster; the palace of princes and of kings; at some periods a nest of treachery and rebellion, and at others the last hope of vanquished loyalty. Here the Lacies, attended by their knights, esquires, and vassals, lived in splendour and dignity scarcely inferior to the king upon the throne, and enjoyed the absolute property of all the lands included within the Honour of Pontefract, an extent of territory equal to many of our modern counties. When this castle and its dependent territory passed into the House of Lancaster, impelled by ambition, or urged by the more generous motive of redressing grievances of an oppressed country, the dukes often called forth their vassals, put on their armour, unsheathed the sword, and bade defiance to kings. In these unhappy times what lives were destroyed! and doubtless the apartments of the castle have often been stained with the blood of many an innocent victim. When the wars of the barons and the contests of the Houses of York and Lancaster were happily ended, then commenced religious animosities which led to the destructive civil war, in which the castle of Pontefract holds a distinguished place. Cromwell himself arrived before the castle and vainly adopted every measure to restrain the excursions of the garrison and to induce them to surrender. The place has been visited by poets, historians, and statesmen from many lands. Sir Walter Scott visited it in 1829, when he doubtless wove in his brain the web of the battles between the indomitable Lacies and Front de Bœuf, of Conisborough Castle, who was thrice put hors de combat before its legendary towers. Before the massy walls of Pontefract Castle thousands have fallen. It is now in ruins, and a few years ago was opened by the Duke of Cambridge as a place of public resort, and to be looked upon as a memento of fallen grandeur and an ornament of antiquity. EDWIN WELLINGTON KIDD. |