John, King of England have involved only a few of his pack-horses. Modern historians assert that by October 1216 John faced a "stalemate", "a military situation uncompromised by defeat". John's illness grew worse and by the time he reached Newark Castle he was unable to travel any farther; John died on the night of 18/19 October. Numerous – probably fictitious – accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches". His body was escorted south by a company of mercenaries and he was buried in Worcester Cathedral in front of the altar
Taunton Castle the bishop's hall into a castle. It was his successor, Henry of Blois, who transformed the manor-house here into a mighty castle in 1138, during the Civil War that raged during the reign of his brother, King Stephen. In 1216, Bishop Peter des Roches, a supporter of King John, defended the castle during a barons' revolt. By the late 12th century the keep measured by with a first floor great hall over a stone vaulted undercroft. During the Second Barons' War it was used as a prison for the son of Simon de Montfort who was held here until 1282.