The castle that stands in the midst of this belt of level country is the only one in the East Riding, and although now a mere fragment of the former building, it still retains a melancholy dignity. Since a fire in 1796 the place has been left an empty shell, the two great towers and the walls that join them being left without floors or roofs. Wressle was one of the two castles in Yorkshire belonging to the Percys, and at the time of the Civil War still retained its feudal grandeur unimpaired. Its strength was, however, considered by the Parliament to be a danger to the peace, despite the fact that the Earl of Northumberland, its owner, was not on the Royalist side, and an order was issued in 1648 commanding that it should be destroyed. Pontefract Castle had been suddenly seized for the King in June during that year, and had held out so persistently that any fortified building, even if owned by a supporter, was looked upon as a possible source of danger to the Parliamentary Government. An order was therefore sent to Lord Northumberland’s officers at Wressle commanding them to pull down all but the south side of the castle. That this was done with great thoroughness, despite the most strenuous efforts made by the Earl to save his ancient seat, may be seen to-day in the fact that, of the four sides of the square, three have totally disappeared, except for slight indications in the uneven grass. [Illustration: WRESSLE CASTLE WAS one of the two great castles of the Percies in Yorkshire; the other was at Leconfield, but only its site remains. Wressle probably dates from about 1380-90. Three sides of the quadrangular space enclosed by the buildings were destroyed by order of Parliament in 1650, and what remains is the fourth or southern side. Howden Church and the Wolds appear on the horizon. ] A letter dated October 30, 1648, addressed to _Hugh Potter, Esquire_, at Northumberland House, gives a most clear account of the miserable work of destruction: ‘SIR,