Sandal Castle

Sandal Castle is a ruin on the edge of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire and overlooks the River Calder and Pugneys Country Park. It was the site of royal intrigue, the opening of one of William Shakespeare's plays, and possibly the source for a common children's nursery rhyme.

The Warenne family

The early history of the castle can only be guessed at. It is first mentioned in a text from 1240, when it was likely that it was nearing completion. Lawrence Butler (1991) suggests that its construction probably began when the lands passed from royal ownership to William de Warrenne the second earl of Surrey between 1106 and 1121. William was based in Lewes Castle in Sussex which had been built by his father, and the Warenne family also built castles in Surrey at Reigate, and Conisbrough Castle near Doncaster.

It is unclear whether or not Sandal remained in this family's hands until the line lapsed with the death of John de Warrenne in 1347, at which time the family's Yorkshire estates passed back to the king, Edward III, as in 1317 King Edward II granted the manor of Sandal to Lord d'Amory as a reward for his services at the Battle of Bannockburn.

The Dukes of York

Edward in turn granted Sandal and other northern holdings of the Warennes to his fifth son Edmund of Langley who was six years old at the time. Alongside his more vigorous elder brother John of Gaunt (who built up a Yorkshire base with Pontefract Castle and Knaresborough Castle), Edmund grew his estates more gradually, over time being granted Wark Castle near Coldstream in the Scottish Borders, and in 1377 Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire which was to become their home, and for the next 75 years the family seems to have spent little time at Sandal, leaving it to the management of constables or stewards. In 1385 Edmund was made Duke of York as a reward for his support for his nephew, Richard II of England.

The Battle of Wakefield

Early in 1460 Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, made a bid for the throne himself (see the Wars of the Roses). He was initially not well received but he explained his claim and an Act of Accord was made in October 1460 recognising him as heir to the throne and naming him Protector of the Realm. In December Richard went to Sandal Castle, either to consolidate his position or to counter some Lancastrian dissent. He had with him an army of 3,000-8,000 men, but on December 30 in the Battle of Wakefield he was outnumbered and outmaneuvered by Queen Margaret's army, coming from nearby Pontefract. Richard suffered a crushing defeat and both he and his younger son Edmund, Earl of Rutland were killed (although only two months later Richard's eldest son Edward became king).

Literary and folk references

These events formed the backdrop for Shakespeare's play Henry VI, part 3. Act 1, scene 2, set in Sandal Castle, describes Richard's sons urging him to take the crown before news is brought of Margaret's approach. Act 1, scene 4 then depicts the death of Richard at the Queen's hands. This brief fictionalised account bears little resemblance to the history as we understand it today. The play is sometimes performed on the castle ruins today, although there has not been a performance in at least two years The Battle of Wakefield is also said to be the source of the nursery rhyme The Grand Old Duke of York, and the mnemonic for remembering the colours of the rainbow - Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain.

Richard III

The castle's last brush with royalty came in 1483 when Richard's eighth son (and twelfth child) Richard III chose it as a northern base and ordered some significant investments. This hope was short lived however as Richard was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. After this the castle was maintained a little, but gradually declined, with the building of Wakefield Prison in the 1590s leaving it even less useful.

Changes to Sandal

There have been many changes to Sandal Castle since 1138 but the main building was made in 1240-1300 when the keep and many other buildings and the curtain wall was made into stone. Then in 1300-1352 the Queen's window (so called as the lady of the manor was seen to be looking out of it) was changed into a door linking the newly built larder to the banquet hall. The larder was needed as more and more people were stopping at the castle.

The English Civil War

During the English Civil War Sandal Castle was Royalist, although its neglected state left it out of the major conflicts. In 1645 however it was besieged at least three times by Parliamentarian troops. Butler (p.89) recounts: :Having been assured that they would receive a safe passage to Welbeck House in north Nottinghamshire they surrendered the castle at 10 o'clock on October 1 1645. The garrison was then 10 officers and 90 men with two of the men called "seniors" implying that they were professional soldiers rather than just non-commissioned officers. They also surrendered 100 muskets, 50 pikes, 20 halberds, 150 swords and two barrels of gunpowder: no pieces of artillery are mentioned. As a result of this capitulation only Bolton Castle in Wensleydale and Skipton Castle remained in Royalist hands in Yorkshire, but Sandal "was the most resolute of all the three northern garrisons" and its fall caused great rejoicing among the parliamentarian forces.By the end of this siege the castle was basically a ruin. The following year Parliament ordered that it be made untenable.

The Life Of The Ruin

Apart from being a source of stone and a place for locals to relax, little brought the ruins into the historical eye after this. They were depicted in the foreground of a drawing of Wakefield from the south by Samuel Buck c.1719 or 1722, and in 1753 an engraving was published of an Elizabethan survey drawing.

The ruins were first excavated by the Yorkshire Archaeological Society in 1893. A more detailed project began in the summer of 1964 and was a partnership between Wakefield Corporation, Wakefield Historical Society and the University of Leeds. This project started as an experiment in adult education, but with the help of over 100 enthusiastic local volunteers it grew into a complete and rigorous excavation that was to continue for the next nine years.

The Castle today

In 2003, Sandal Castle was given a wooden walkway, to allow people to walk to its summit without causing erosion. A visitor centre was also constructed about 100 metres from the castle, and a car parking area made available. There have been historical re-enactments and "living history" days, including commemoration of the Battle of Wakefield and the deaths of Richard Duke of York and his son Edmund.

References

*Butler, Lawrence (1991) "Sandal Castle, Wakefield: The history and archaeology of a medieval castle" (Wakefield: Wakefield Historical Publications)