Wakefield Museums and Castles

John de Lacy

This shield has the coat of arms of John de Lacy on it. The de Lacy family were the founders and original owners of Pontefract Castle.

John de Lacy was a knight. He was one of the noblemen who presented the Magna Carta to King John in 1215.

Can you see the inspiration for our friendly Ilbert the Dragon mascot?

(Image credit: Rs-nourse on Wikimedia Commons)

Nathan Drake

Nathan Drake was a soldier. He was involved in the first and second sieges of Pontefract Castle in the English Civil Wars. His diary, written between 1644 to July 1645, details what life was like at that time. It gives insight into how unpleasant it was to live in Pontefract during a time of war.

Nathan refers to the different types of guns being used in the wars and the sorts of injuries that people got. He also tells us how many people were injured and killed.

Lord Darcy

Lord Darcy was a knight who lived in Tudor times. He served under King Henry VIII.

He began to disagree with the king over religion in the 1530s. King Henry wanted people in England to stop being Catholic and to join the new Church of England. A lot of people did not like this idea.

In 1536 the Pilgrimage of Grace began. It was a popular uprising in northern England. People rebelled against the Dissolution of the Monasteries - Henry’s plan to close all of the Catholic monasteries.

Lord Darcy was Commander of Pontefract Castle at the time. He was supposed to keep the rebels out. Instead, he sympathised with them and surrendered the castle to them. He then tried to negotiate a settlement with King Henry on behalf of the rebels.

This did not go down well with the king. Lord Darcy was executed for treason along with the other rebel leaders.