Pomfret History

POMFRET COAT OF ARMS
A coat of arms consists of three parts:
Blazon (image on the shield). Crest (image above the shield). Motto (image under the shield).

Pomfret, Pomphrett and its variations is a rare surname in Ireland. It is most often found in East County Cork. It is a fairly common name in England.

POMFRET MOTTO
The Motto of Pomfret is "Hora è sempre" meaning "Now and always".

THE MEANING OF POMFRET
Pomfret is the English translation of the Latin "ponte fracto" meaning "broken bridge".

POMFRET HISTORY AND GENEALOGY
Pontefract Castle is a castle in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. During 1311 the castle became part of the estates of the House of Lancaster. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (1278–1322) was beheaded outside the castle walls six days after his defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge, a sentence placed on him by the King himself. This resulted in the earl becoming a martyr with his tomb at Pontefract Priory becoming a shrine. Later John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III of England, was so fond of the castle that he made it his own, spending vast amounts of money improving it. Richard II of England (1367–1399) was also murdered within the castle walls, possibly in the Gascoigne Tower. William Shakespeare's play Richard III mentions this incident: Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison, Fatal and ominous to noble peers! Within the guilty closure of thy walls Richard the second here was hack'd to death; And, for more slander to thy dismal seat, We give thee up our guiltless blood to drink. The castle has been a ruin since 1644 when it held as a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and besieged at least three times by Parliamentarian forces, the last of which was responsible for the castle's present dilapidated state and many of its scars. Apparently this last raid had the full support of the surrounding population, who were grateful to destroy the castle and thus stop the fighting in their area. In their view the castle was a magnet for trouble. It is still possible to visit the castle's 11th century cellars which were used to store military equipment during the civil war.

Pontefract Castle is a castle in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England.

During 1311 the castle became part of the estates of the House of Lancaster. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (1278–1322) was beheaded outside the castle walls six days after his defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge, a sentence placed on him by the King himself. This resulted in the earl becoming a martyr with his tomb at Pontefract Priory becoming a shrine. Later John of Gaunt, a son of Edward III of England, was so fond of the castle that he made it his own, spending vast amounts of money improving it. Richard II of England (1367–1399) was also murdered within the castle walls, possibly in the Gascoigne Tower. William Shakespeare's play Richard III mentions this incident:

Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison,
Fatal and ominous to noble peers!
Within the guilty closure of thy walls
Richard the second here was hack'd to death;
And, for more slander to thy dismal seat,
We give thee up our guiltless blood to drink.

The castle has been a ruin since 1644 when it held as a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and besieged at least three times by Parliamentarian forces, the last of which was responsible for the castle's present dilapidated state and many of its scars. Apparently this last raid had the full support of the surrounding population, who were grateful to destroy the castle and thus stop the fighting in their area. In their view the castle was a magnet for trouble. It is still possible to visit the castle's 11th century cellars which were used to store military equipment during the civil war.