Now, at that time the Castle of Pontefract, which is now reduced to ruins, was one of the strongest fortresses in England, being almost impregnable on account of its situation It was built upon a great rock, from the summits of which are to be seen most diversified views of the surrounding country. Looking towards the northwest you will see the valley of the Aire, which winds in and out through meadow and sand until it is lost in the far distance amongst the hills of Craven. To the north and the northeast the land is flat, but extremely rich in woods, and beyond these rise the towers of York Minster. To the eastward, the Aire pursues its way towards the Humber, passing through a rolling country, and underneath the great hills of Brayton and Hambledon, which relieve the somewhat flat character of the land thereabouts. Southward the landscape presents a fine prospect of agricultural country, and to the southwest the hills of Derbyshire, in the neighbourhood of that great eminence which they call the Peak, rise up and shut out further prospect. How many villages and thorpes you may see from the height of this rock I cannot say; only I know that wherever you look you will catch sight of a gray spire peeping over the thick groves that shut in the red-roofed villages.
But if the prospect from the various towers and battlements was a fine one, the Castle itself was not less worth seeing. In my schooldays, indeed, I was never at a loss for something to look at and admire so long as I could run out of bounds to the great fortress built by the De Lacys, so many hundred years before. There I have spent many an hour in company with Jack Drumbleforth and Ben Tuckett, gazing at the towers and the drawbridges and the barbicans, where a watch was kept for the coming of an enemy. Once or twice, too, I had been admitted within the Castle, and had wandered about it, wondering at it more and more with every step I took. For there were so many curious nooks and corners in it that it was just the sort of place a lad likes to spend an afternoon in, especially if he be fond, as I was, of aught appertaining to war. Later on, when I had grown up nearly to a man’s estate, I became more closely acquainted with the Castle, and did often go there to see certain friends of mine who were attached to the garrison. Now, when I heard that General Fairfax had arrived in front of the Castle and intended besieging it, my first thought was that he would have naught but his pains for his gains, for the place was so exceedingly strong, and so favoured by its natural position, that I did not think any besieging force, however powerful, could dislodge a resolute garrison already in possession. I have told you that the Castle stood on a great rock, which, being raised to a considerable height, did tower high above the surrounding ground. Then there was a deep moat on the west side, and another on the east, and all round the battlements were towers from which active operations could be kept up against the enemy with great safety to the defenders. Round the great yard of the Castle stood seven larger towers, and beyond the western extremity of the yard was the keep, which was built of an extraordinary strength, as the thickness of the ruined walls will show you to this day. As there was no high ground in the immediate neighbourhood of the Castle, the highest being Baghill, some little distance away, the besieging force was naturally at a disadvantage, and likely to lose more men in carrying out its operations than were the besieged, who could keep up a steady fire upon their enemies without exposing themselves to much danger. Nevertheless, by making a close investment, it was possible to starve the garrison into a surrender, and this was what General Fairfax prepared to do rather than to seize the Castle by sheer force of arms.
The investment had no sooner begun than life was lost on either side, the Parliamentarians, however, suffering much more considerably than the Royalists. The siege having closely begun on Christmas Day, , the first skirmishes took place around the ancient church of All Saints, which stands at the foot of the Castle on the west side. Now, the church was so valuable an outwork, both of security and defence, that certain of the besieged endeavoured to retain possession of it, and were soon resisted in that enterprise by the Parliamentarians, who came in strength and finally drove out the little garrison of the church, of whom they killed four men and wounded eleven. This victory, however, cost them dear, for the defence was kept up so gallantly that sixty of the attacking force were slain and forty more wounded.
After this preliminary engagement the siege went forward briskly enough, and at first the garrison had a distinct advantage and caused the Parliamentarians much annoyance by their steady fire from the towers of the Castle. Presently, however, Lord Fairfax, father of Sir Thomas, brought reinforcements to his son, and with him came the cannon which had been used at the sieges of Helmsley and Knaresborough, so that the attacking force became well equipped for their work. Before
