In 1379 Richard II, aged twelve, gave Sir Richard le Scrope permission to fortify his manor house. The plan is of a quadrangular palace castle. A rectangular courtyard is surrounded by three story residential walls (ranges) with residential towers at it's four corners: the Great Hall situated on the first floor on the north side. The entrance to the castle is through a gatehouse on the east side protected by a double portcullis.

In addition all the doorways leading from the courtyard into the buildings have there own portcullis. This combination of residence and fortress shows the transition of the castle from its mainly defensive role to the point where protection and comfort were regarded as of equal value. Bolton Castle remains one of the best preserved buildings of this type in Yorkshire.

In Queen Elizabeth I's reign Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for a short while before being moved nearer London. During the English Civil War the castle was garrisoned by Royalists besieged by Parliamentary troops in 1644. John Scrope successfully defending it for a number of months until it was captured in 1645. In later years the castle was used as a quarry, the north-east tower eventually collapsing in 1761.