When Charles the First Was King · Chapter
Of the First Siege of Pontefract Castle explained
Ben Tuckett, anxious about his shop and trade, brings news that the Parliamentarians under Colonel Sands have begun to invest Pontefract Castle.
What happens
Ben Tuckett, anxious about his shop and trade, brings news that the Parliamentarians under Colonel Sands have begun to invest Pontefract Castle. The siege intensifies under Sir Thomas Fairfax, with bombardments, mining, and counter-mining. The garrison, led by Colonel Lowther, holds out until Sir Marmaduke Langdale arrives with Royalist relief, driving off the besiegers. However, a larger Parliamentary force soon gathers for a second siege.
Themes in this chapter
Civil War and Duty
The chapter details the siege, the garrison's defense under Colonel Lowther, and the Royalist relief effort, highlighting the conflict and sense of duty.
Rural Life and Nature
Descriptions of the landscape around Pontefract Castle and the impact of war on the town and its tradespeople, like Ben Tuckett.
Social Class and Hierarchy
Ben Tuckett's concerns as a tradesman contrast with the military commanders, illustrating the effects of war on different social classes.
Characters to notice
- Ben Tuckett
Distressed about the siege's threat to his shop and trade; brings news of the investment; later relieved by the Royalist victory.
- Will Dale
Narrator and confidant to Ben; observes the siege and its effects on the town.
- Captain Ready
Mentioned as having ridden away prior to the chapter's events.
- Colonel Sands
Parliamentarian commander who initially invests the Castle and skirmishes with the garrison.
- Sir Thomas Fairfax
Takes command of the siege, drives in the garrison, and seizes the town.
- Colonel Lowther
Royalist governor of Pontefract Castle; refuses to surrender and defends the Castle.
- Sir Marmaduke Langdale
Leads a relief force of two thousand men to break the first siege.
- Lord Fairfax
Father of Sir Thomas; brings reinforcements and cannon; summons the Castle to surrender.
Key passages
“Alas! I think there is naught but trouble in this world. One down, and t'other comes on before you have got your wind again.”
Ben laments that troubles keep piling up without respite.
Ben expresses his despair over the siege threatening his livelihood.
“Colonel Sands fell in with a foraging party from the Castle yesterday, and killed some, captured others, took all the cattle, and made forty horse prisoners.”
Colonel Sands attacked a foraging party from the Castle, killing and capturing several, and seizing cattle and horses.
Ben reports the start of active hostilities around the Castle.
“Lord Fairfax, however, thought it unwise to attempt an assault by way of the breach, and gave orders that the blockade should continue, so that the besieged might be starved into surrender.”
Lord Fairfax decided not to storm the breach, opting instead to starve the garrison into submission.
The Parliamentarian strategy shifts to a blockade after the Pix Tower collapse.
“Sir Marmaduke Langdale, having pursued them as far as Ferrybridge, returned to the Castle at eleven o'clock that night, and was received with such gratitude as you may well conceive would be shown by a garrison which was already beginning to experience the pangs of hunger.”
After chasing the Parliamentarians to Ferrybridge, Langdale returned to a grateful, hungry garrison at night.
The relief of the Castle by Langdale's forces ends the first siege.
