Sandal Castle, West Yorkshire, England

Sandal Castle was build by William de Warenne in the early 12th Century.  This was a wooden motte and bailey castle.   Evidence suggests that the rebuilding of the castle in stone was started at the end of the 12th Century.  

It was from here that the Duke of York, in 1460, left the safety of the castle with an army of 3,000 men, to engage the opposing forces of Queen Margaret of Anjou, who’s army numbered 8,000.  While the logic of that decision has been debated for centuries, he must have had a reason at the time to do so.  

The two armies met and the Battle of Wakefield was fought, with the Duke of York’s forces decimated. The Duke and his son both lost their lives.

The castle passed to the Duke of York’s son, later Edward IV, and then on to Richard III who made substantial upgrades to the castle.  Unfortunately none of this survives. Due to its resistance in the Civil War, Sandal Castle was condemned by Parliament and was systematically destroyed.