Editing Lancaster Castle (section)

===14th and 15th centuries===
[[File:Prisoners at lancaster castle.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The castle's 15th-century gatehouse, in a 19th-century depiction by an unknown artist, with new inmates arriving at the castle when it was used as a prison.]]
For the next 150&nbsp;years, there is no record of building work, although accounts are incomplete. The Well Tower is thought to date from the early 14th century. If there was no work on the castle, this may indicate that it was not important enough to warrant expenditure beyond upkeep, as Lancaster was not near a border. Though the region was generally peaceful, the Scots invaded in [[The Great Raid of 1322|1322]] and 1389, reaching Lancaster and damaging the castle.<ref name="Champness 6"/> The holdings of the Duchy of Lancaster extended beyond the county, and Lancaster was not especially important. However, when Henry Duke of Lancaster ascended the throne as King [[Henry IV of England|Henry&nbsp;IV]] in 1399, he almost immediately began adding the monumental gatehouse.<ref name="Champness 7-9">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|pp=7–9}}</ref> A further devastation of the town, as had been inflicted in 1389, would have been an embarrassment for the new king; his expensive programme of building at the castle helped protect against this. The gatehouse Henry replaced was probably a simple structure, no more than a passage between two towers, but the rebuilt structure rivalled the keep as the strongest part of the castle.<ref name="Champness 7-9"/> Records show that between 1402 and 1422, the year [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] died, over £2,500 was spent on building work. While most of this sum would have been spent on the gatehouse, some may have been used to make alterations to the top storey of the keep.<ref name="Champness 10">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=10}}</ref> Since then, the castle has remained in the ownership of the Crown.<ref name="Champness 11">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=11}}</ref>

[[File:Nance Redferne & Chattox.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Two of the [[Pendle witches]], tried at Lancaster in 1612, in an illustration from [[William Harrison Ainsworth]]'s 1849 novel ''[[The Lancashire Witches]]'']]
After the Scottish invasion of 1389, Lancaster saw no further military action until the [[English Civil War]]. A survey in 1578 led to repairs to the keep costing £235. With the threat of a [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|Spanish invasion]], the castle was strengthened in 1585.<ref name="Champness 10"/> After [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth&nbsp;I]] was excommunicated in 1570, she retaliated by declaring Roman Catholic priests guilty of [[high treason]]. Any discovered in Lancashire were taken to Lancaster Castle for trial.<ref name="Champness 17">{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=17}}</ref> During the period 1584-1646 fifteen Catholics were executed in Lancaster for their faith.<ref>'LANCASTER'S CATHOLIC MARTYRS' BY CHRISTINE GOODIER MA</ref> The notorious [[Pendle witches]] trial took place at Lancaster Castle in 1612.<ref>{{harvnb|Champness|1993|p=15}}</ref>