Mortimer's Hole
This is a subterranean passage which formerly had six gates at various distances, and is 107 yards in length, seven feet high, and six feet wide. All the way down there are broad steps cut into the rock, and openings on either side to convey light into the passage, and to serve the soldiers to shoot their arrows through upon the enemy. On the upper part are cut some regular port-holes which show that, during civil war, cannons were planted there, which had a command of all the meadows. Near the port-holes are excavations, evidently intended for the reception of balls and powder. Collins, in quoting from Drayton's Barons' War, says, "This wonderful passage had been hewed and dug during the Danish invasion, by some of the Saxon kings, for the better security in case of a siege". And, indeed, in times of peace it was useful, for it afforded a direct communication with the corn-mill, malt-kiln, and brewhouse of the garrison in the Rock yard, now called Brewhouse Yard. About seventeen yards above the lower entrance to this spacious vault is the entrance to a dark and narrow passage, which branches off to the right, and formerly led by secret doors to the keep of the old castle, in which were the state apartments. This was the passage through which Sir William Eland, in 1330, conducted King Edward when he seized Lord Mortimer, and brought him out of the castle, and was afterwards called Mortimer's Hole, in memory of that unfortunate nobleman, a name which is erroneously given to the principal vault. All the entrances to these passages are now walled up.

Mortimer captured
In October 1330, [others say about Michelmas, i.e. 29th September] the King's Court or Parliament came to Nottingham where, in the parlance of the time, they parleyed. Edward  with his  wife of two years, Philippa of Hainault, and his infant son, the future Black Prince  lodged in the town, while Mortimer and Isabella remained in the castle, protected by Welsh mercenaries and 180 knights. Isabella and Mortimer were well protected, Isabella slept with the door keys under her pillow. Edward prince regent needed to surprise them.  In the dead of night on 18/19 October, the king, led by  the castle's constable William de #Eland¹ with 24 men entered Mortimer & Isabella's bed chamber This makes 26 in all, is this the basis of Edward III's 26 members of the original Round Table?
Also see Buckingham Palace's reply to this question
The Companions of the Order of the Garter²

They arrived at a thicket in the park to the west of the castle. In the dark, they failed to meet up with their fellow conspirators, but undaunted, they proceeded with their task, entering the castle through a 'postern in the park'. Then, according to one account, they 'mounted the stairs leading to the upper bailey and entered the hall where the queen was sitting in council'.
 See William de Midgley- A Yorkshire knight
As the conspirators burst in, two of the queen's supporters cried out and tried to protect Mortimer. They were struck down and Mortimer was overpowered as he tried to arm himself and raise the alarm. By morning, he was on his way to London, and the castle had been secured for the king. The Nottingham Parliament was adjourned to Westminster.
The following month, Mortimer was executed at Tyburn [approximately where Marble Arch lies today, not far from Harrod's!], survived by his wife Joan, by whom he had had 11 children. Isabella was forced to forfeit her estates, but the substantial annual allowance of £3,000 she received from the king enabled her to live very comfortably until, towards the end of her life, she joined the Poor Clares. She has not enjoyed a favourable press since 1327, and is still widely known by the nickname given her by the poet Thomas Gray -- the 'She-wolf of France'.
The capture of Roger Mortimer at Nottingham Castle in 1330 was the culmination of almost a quarter of a century of rebellion and murders. He is considered to be the 'greatest traitor'⁶ of the kingdom. The allegations were that he tried to kill the young Edward III., seduced Isabella the Queen of England, invaded England, captured Edward II and tried to cover his death by of rectal entropy.  No doubt Isabella was party to Mortimer's scheming, but Edward III could not bring himself to execute his own mother, so had her incarcerated in a castle in Norfolk for the term of her life. One other reason he was hated by loyal nobility and commoner alike, I have discovered, is that  he ordered the slaying of a popular man whose name is known throughout the world.  I am presently writing up my avalanche of  findings and hope to publish in the near future, it should change the way we perceive the broad canvas politics in the North of England at this time. Besides  it will reveal who this person was and it will add one more six inch galvanised nail to Mortimer's coffin, lest the lid be prised off.

The small group who backed the coup, were subsequently given rapid advancement.
Some mentioned by the chronicler Geoffrey le Baker are²:
* The earl of Lancaster and the active assistance of two members of his household
* William Montague [Montacute] who gained some of Mortimer's lands a peerage in 1331 and the earldom of Salisbury in 1337
* Edmund?, William Montague's brother who became a bishop.
* Richard of Bury, Edward III's tutor who was the keeper of the privy seal was made   Bishop of  Durham in 1333 and  chancellor in 1334.
* William Clinton [Fiennes] who later became warden of the cinque ports and
    1st and only Earl of Huntingdon in his line.
* Robert Ufford who became a steward of king Edward III's household and was made Earl of Suffolk.
          
                                                                                                                                                  The capture of the 'greatest traitor' Roger Mortimer

Execution of a favourite
The early years of Edward II's reign were bedevilled by quarrels with the barons who were disturbed as his father Edward I had been by his (possibly homosexual) infatuation with Piers Gaveston. As soon as he ascended the throne in 1307, Gaveston, son of a Gascon noble, returned from exile, was made Earl of Cornwall and was appointed guardian of the kingdom when the king departed for France to marry Isabella, the daughter of Philip IV and reputedly one of the most beautiful women of her time. The indignant nobles combined to compel Edward to banish Gaveston, and he was sent away twice, but by Christmas 1311, he was back with the king. The earls took up arms, besieged Gaveston at Scarborough and captured him. Then, in 1312, a group of them -- led by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, the king's cousin and the richest noble of them all -- sentenced him, on dubious grounds, to death for treason. Edward never forgave those whom he held responsible for his friend's execution.

The victory of the Scots at Bannockburn [1314¹] two years later added to the king's humiliation. As a result of this defeat, he was forced to give in to the de facto take-over of government by Lancaster, the man he blamed for Gaveston's death.

Arrogance and greed
Between 1315 and 1317 the young  King Edward gradually formed a group of allies from among the aristocracy, and by 1318, he was in a position to reassert his authority. However, the following year, his inadequacy as a military leader was demonstrated again with the Scots' capture of Berwick which, with Bannockburn, removed virtually every trace of his father's conquests in the north. He also showed himself still susceptible to the blandishments of an arrogant and greedy favourite - this time, Hugh Despenser. The latter's predations, especially in the Welsh Marches, allowed Lancaster - despite a personality so alienating thatt all his previous allies and his wife had left him to lead a widespread anti-Despenser movement that, in 1321, resulted in civil war.

Lancaster's popularity was already waning again, he had made a political error in seeking Scottish aid when he was defeated at Boroughbridge. Six days later, Edward had him executed for treason. It had been almost 250 years since a man of his rank had been put to death for rebellion, but the king, determined to avenge Gaveston, would not be stopped. There followed more executions and a reign of terror. After destroying their principal opponents, Edward, Despenser and the latter's son set about enriching themselves with scant regard for law or justice.

Murderers and malcontents
When Charles IV of France seized Edward's territories in that country, the English king sent Charles' sister Isabella  who after Gaveston's death had managed to bear Edward four children, including the future Edward III, who now accompanied her to effect an amicable arrangement. She despised her husband, hated the Despensers and now fell in love with Roger Mortimer who, condemned to life imprisonment for rebellion, had escaped from the Tower in 1324 and fled to the French court.

In Paris, Isabella became Mortimer's mistress. When she refused to return to England, it became clear to the population, among whom she enjoyed a great deal of support, that the Despensers' ascendancy had led to the complete alienation of their queen. In September 1326, Isabella and Mortimer landed on the Suffolk coast with a small force of malcontents. The Despensers were executed. Edward, who was so unpopular by then that no one would obey his orders, fled but was captured and taken to Kenilworth. In January 1327, Parliament accepted a damning - and largely accurate  indictment of his rule, concluding that, since he was 'incorrigible without hope of amendment', he should be deposed. Edward abdicated in favour of his 14-year-old son and was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. However, while he lived, he remained a potential threat to Mortimer and Isabella, and attempts to rescue him sealed his fate. It was later announced that he died at Berkeley on 21 September. Almost certainly he was murdered, perhaps in a particularly gruesome fashion.

The young king still did as his mother told him, and for three years, she and her lover Mortimer were the virtual rulers of England. However, they were soon faced with gathering resentment of their ostentatious life-style and policies. The avaricious Mortimer exploited his position hugely, taking the bulk of the Despenser estates in south Wales and then, in 1328, giving himself the title Earl of March. Edward II's murder, the humiliating treaty of Northampton  in which they recognised Robert Bruce's kingship and renounced all claims to Scotland, in return for £20,000, most of which found its way into their private coffers -- and the execution of the king's uncle, Edmund, Earl of Kent, were all laid at their door. Edward III, now 17 and increasingly asserting himself, was more than aware of the destruction of his kingdom being carried out by his mother and her lover.

2.The first 25 knights ['Founder Knights"] besides Edward III included Prince Edward [The Black Prince], John of Gaunt [Duke of Lancaster] his own sons and:

             Earl of Salisbury, William Montague.
                  Earl of Stafford,
                  Earl of Warwyk [Warwick],
                  Sir James Audeley [Audley],
                  Balle [Walter Balieley],
                  John de ?Beauchamp,
                  Bedivere
                  de la Boleye,
                  Sir Batholemew Burghersh
                  Sir John Chandos,
                  Sir Hugh Courtenay,
                  Sir Jean de Grailly [a Gascon],
                  John Grey,
                  Henry Grosmont [A Gascon knight], father of Alys who married Earl of  Salisbury
                  Oties Holland,
                  Thomas Holland,
                  Santal Labrychant,
                  Neele Loring,
                  John de Lysle,
                  Roger Mortimer [earl of March]
                  Percival
                  Myles Stapleton,
                  Trotfleur
They filed into St. George's chapel, Windsor Castle on the 10th August 1348 in pairs, the lines parting to seat themselves behind either the king or the Black Prince. They faced each other across the chapel like the opposing tournament teams they were.¹

3. John of Gaunt, the fourth son of Ed.III, had the Honour of Pontefract and his arms are depicted in the east window of Elland Parish Church.  Elland is one of the Townships [villages] within the Honour of Pontefract.
4. Buckingham Palace's reply:
 

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