It comes as a surprise to many that there are over a dozen medieval castles in West Yorkshire. These range from the small earthwork castle at Sowerby to the impressive royal castle at Pontefract. The earliest were created soon after the Norman Conquest of England. Many only lasted for a few decades but the magnificent keeps of Pontefract and Sandal were only finally demolished during the English Civil War. This fully illustrated talk looks at the history, form and function of West Yorkshire’s castles as well as examining their place in the landscape of the county.