The 18th century historian John Collinson suggested that the castle itself was deliberately destroyed the following year, when parliament ordered that the garrison was disbanded. The extent of the order was debated and clarified again in 1647 and still debated in 1656. More recent studies argue, based on eyewitness descriptions, that much of the castle had already been destroyed and it was just some of the remaining walls and sconces which had been added for its defence which were destroyed.
