Pontefract is a historic market town in the

City of Wakefield Wakefield, also known as the City of Wakefield, is a Local government in England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status and a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settl ...

, a

metropolitan district A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. It lies to the east of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

and south of

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, it is one of the towns in the City of Wakefield district and had a population of 30,881 at the 2011 Census. Pontefract's motto is ,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "After the death of the father, support the son", a reference to the town's Royalist sympathies in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. Small villages and settlements in the immediate area include Stapleton.

Etymology

At the end of the 11th century, the modern

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Pontefract consisted of two distinct localities, Tanshelf and Kirkby.Eric Houlder, Ancient Roots North: When Pontefract Stood on the Great North Road, (Pontefract: Pontefract Groups Together, 2012) p.7. The 11th-century historian Orderic Vitalis recorded that, in 1069,

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

travelled across Yorkshire to put down an uprising which had sacked York. Upon his journey to the city, he discovered that a crossing of the

River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. Part of the river below Leeds is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malha ...

near what is modern-day Pontefract had been blockaded by local

Anglo-Scandinavian Anglo-Scandinavian is an academic term referring to the hybridisation between Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures in Britain during the early medieval period. It remains a term and concept often used by historians and archaeologists, and in linguist ...

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

s, who had broken the bridge and held the opposite bank in force. Such a crossing point would have been important to the town, providing access between Pontefract and other settlements to the north and east, such as York.Ayto & Crofton Historians believe that it is this historical event which gives the township of Pontefract its modern name. The name "Pontefract" originates from Welsh and Latin for "broken bridge", formed of the elements ''pont'' (bridge in Welsh) and ''fractus'' (broken in Latin). Pontefract was not recorded in the 1086 ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'', but it was noted as Pontefracto in 1090, four years after the Domesday survey.

History

Neolithic

In 2007, an extension of

Ferrybridge Henge Ferrybridge Henge is a Neolithic henge near Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire (). It is close to the A1 and M62 and Ferrybridge power station. Ferrybridge Henge is the furthest south of Yorkshire's henges, and is the only one in West Yorkshire. Th ...

– a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

henge A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches ...

– was discovered near Pontefract during a survey in preparation for the construction of a row of houses. Once the survey was complete, construction continued.

Roman

The modern town is situated near an old

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

(now the A639), described as the "Roman Ridge". This is believed to form part of an alternative route from

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

to York via Castleford and Tadcaster, as a diversion of the major Roman road

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earninga ...

, which may have been used to avoid having to cross the

River Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

near

North Ferriby North Ferriby is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Haltemprice area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. History Humber Estuary "The archaeology of the intertidal wetlands of the Humber Estuary is of internatio ...

during rough weather conditions over the Humber.

Anglo-Scandinavian history

The period of Yorkshire's history between the demise of the Viking king, Eric Bloodaxe, in 954 and the arrival of the Normans in 1068 is known as the Anglo-Scandinavian age. The modern township of Pontefract consisted of two Anglo-Scandinavian settlements, Tanshelf and Kirkby. In Yorkshire, place-name locations often contain the distinctive Danish '-by' i.e. Kirkby and today, the major streets in Pontefract are designated by the Danish word 'gate' e.g. Bailygate. The Anglo-Scandinavian township, Tanshelf, recorded as ''Tateshale'', ''Tateshalla'', ''Tateshalle'' or ''Tatessella'' in the 'Domesday Book' is today occupied by the town of Pontefract. The ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' made a reference to Tanshelf in 947 when King Eadred of England met with the ruling council of Northumbria to accept its submission. King Eadred did not enjoy Northumbria's support for long, and a year later the kingdom voted Eric Bloodaxe King of York. When the Domesday survey was commissioned by

in 1086, Tanshelf was a sizeable settlement. It had a priest, 60 petty burgesses, 16 cottagers, 16 villagers and 8 smallholders, amounting to 101 people. The size of the population might have been four or five times larger as the only people listed were landholders. Tanshelf had a church, a fishery and three mills. Archaeologists discovered the remains of a church on The Booths, off North Baileygate, below the castle. The oldest grave dates from around 690. The church may have been similar to the church at Ledsham. The area of the town market place was the meeting place of the Osgoldcross

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

. In the Anglo-Saxon period part of the modern town was known by the Anglo-Scandinavian name as Kirkby.

Medieval

$Pontefract Castle$ After the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in 1066 almost all of Yorkshire came under the ownership of followers of

,Fletcher 16–17 one of whom was

Ilbert de Lacy de Lacy (Laci, Lacie, Lascy, Lacey, Lassey) is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first reco ...

who became the owner of Tateshale (Tanshelf) where he built a castle.

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II of England, Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-cent ...

began as a wooden

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

castle before 1086 and was later rebuilt in stone. The de Lacys lived there for more than two centuries and were holders of the castle and the Honour of Pontefract from 1067 until the death of Alice de Lacy in 1348.

King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

was murdered at the castle in 1400. Little is known of the nature of his demise; Shakespeare may have "adjusted" the facts for his own purposes. At least three theories attempt to explain his death: either he was starved to death by his keepers, he starved himself to death or he was murdered by Sir Piers (Peter) Exton on 14 February 1399 or 1400.

Early modern history

In Elizabethan times the castle and the town were both referred to as "Pomfret".

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' mentions the castle:

Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison,
Fatal and ominous to noble peers!
Within the guilty closure of thy walls
Richard the second here was hack'd to death;
And, for more slander to thy dismal seat,
We give thee up our guiltless blood to drink.

Pontefract suffered throughout the

. In 1648–49 the castle was laid siege by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, who said it was "... one of the strongest inland garrisons in the kingdom.""Yorkshire's Castles: Pontefract Castle"
H2G2.com, Not Panicking Ltd. Three sieges by the Parliamentarians left the town "impoverished and depopulated".Padgett 166–169 In March 1649, after the third siege, Pontefract inhabitants, fearing a fourth, petitioned Parliament for the castle to be

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

. The castle was a magnet for trouble, and demolition began in April 1649. The castle ruins are publicly accessible.

Pontefract Priory Pontefract Priory was a Cluniac monastery dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, founded about 1090 by Robert de Lacy, 2nd Baron of Pontefract, and located in Yorkshire, England. It existed until the dissolution of the monasteries. The Church a ...

, a

Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...

priory founded in 1090 by Robert de Lacy dedicated to

St John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on h ...

was dissolved by royal authority in 1539. The priory maintained the Chartularies of St John, a collection of historic documents later discovered among family papers by Thomas Levett, the

High Sheriff of Rutland This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland. The high sheriff, sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enf ...

, a native of Yorkshire, who gave them to Roger Dodsworth, an

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

. They were published by the

Yorkshire Archaeological Society The Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society (YAHS), formerly known as the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, is a learned society and registered charity founded in 1863. It is dedicated to the study of the archaeology, history and people of ...

Governance

For local government purposes, the town lies in the

and is administered by

Wakefield Council Wakefield Council, also known as the City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, is the local authority of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield has had a council since 1848, which has been reformed on several occasions ...

. It is divided into two electoral wards, Pontefract North and Pontefract South. Pontefract South was represented by two Labour councillors and one Conservative councillor and North ward represented by three Labour councillors in 2022. From 1978 to 1997, ex-miner and former NUM branch leader Geoff Lofthouse (18 December 1925 – 1 November 2012) was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Pontefract and Castleford constituency. During this time, he became Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. When the general election of 1997 was called, he stood down. He was made a peer on 11 June 1997.

Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician who has served as Home Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, Cooper has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) for Po ...

was elected as the MP for the Pontefract and Castleford constituency at the 1997 general election. In her maiden speech to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, Cooper said:

"It is true that my constituency is plagued by unemployment, but I represent hard-working people who are proud of their strong communities and who have fought hard across generations to defend them. They are proud of their socialist traditions, and have fought for a better future for their children and their grandchildren. In the Middle Ages, that early egalitarian, the real
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
, lived, so we maintain, in the Vale of Wentbridge to the south of Pontefract. It was a great base from which to hassle the travelling
fat cat Fat cat is a slang term for a wealthy person, originally used to describe a rich political donor. Fat Cat may also refer to: * Fat Cat (singer), a South Korean singer, also known as Defconn Girl * Fat Cat, Norwich, a pub in Norwich, England * Fa ...
s on the Great North Road."

She held a number of positions in the Labour governments up to 2010 and Shadow Cabinet roles (most notably

Shadow Home Secretary In British politics, the shadow home secretary (formally known as the shadow secretary of state for the home department) is the person within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK), shadow cabinet who shadows the home secretary; this effecti ...

) after the election of that year, but returned to the back benches after the Labour leadership election of 2015. Pontefract and Castleford was merged with the Normanton constituency in a boundary change before the 2010 general election. The seat, which had a history of mining and industry, has returned Labour MPs at

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

s. Yvette Cooper polled 59.5% of the vote in the 2017 general election and 48.1% of the vote in the 2019 general election.

Economy

Pontefract has been a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

; market days are Wednesday and Saturday, with a small market on Fridays. The covered market is open all week except Sundays. It is said by some that Pontefract once held a record for being the town with the highest number of pubs per square mile in the UK, but this is likely an urban legend, and the title is held by another town. Haribo Sweets Factory - Sessions House Yard - geograph

Haribo Sweets Factory - Sessions House Yard - geograph

The town has a liquorice-sweet industry; further, the famous Pontefract cakes are produced, though the liquorice plant is no longer grown there. The town's two liquorice factories are owned by

Haribo Haribo GmbH & Co. KG, doing business as Haribo ( , , ; stylized in all caps), is a German confectionery company founded by Hans Riegel Sr. It began in Kessenich (Bonn), Kessenich, Bonn, Germany. The name "Haribo" is a syllabic abbreviation forme ...

and Valeo Confectionery (formerly Tangerine). A Liquorice festival is held annually. Poet laureate

Sir John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

wrote a poem entitled "The Licorice Fields at Pontefract". In 2012, local farmer Robert Copley announced that he would be re-introducing a liquorice crop to Pontefract. Close by is the site of the former coal-fired Ferrybridge power station, although the local

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

largely closed in the 1990s, which contributed to high unemployment in the local area. The final colliery, Prince of Wales Colliery, closed in August 2002. It has since been redeveloped into a large housing estate named after the colliery.

Amenities and services

The secondary schools in the town are Carleton High School in Carleton and the King's School on Mill Hill Lane, both for pupils aged 11–16. A sixth-form college,

New College, Pontefract New College is a coeducational, sixth form college in Pontefract in West Yorkshire, England. It acquired academy status in 2017, forming a trust to open colleges in other areas, called the New Collaborative Learning Trust. At its Ofsted inspecti ...

, is located on Park Lane. The old Pontefract General Infirmary on Southgate (pictured) was a general hospital; it is the place at which serial killer

Harold Shipman Harold Frederick Shipman (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004), known to acquaintances as Fred Shipman, was an English doctor in general practice and serial killer. He is considered to be one of the most prolific serial killers in modern ...

began to murder his elderly patients. Beneath this building is an old hermitage, open to the public on certain days. Pontefract Museum, from which the hermitage schedule can be obtained, is in the town centre, housed in the former Carnegie library. A new hospital was built on Friarwood Lane and opened in July 2010, with the new name of Pontefract Hospital; there is now a modern hospital building. Near to the hospital is Friarwood Valley Gardens, a rose garden, a sensory garden, a pinhole camera (formerly an aviary and earlier a Georgian gambling den) and an avenue of cherry trees. The local police force is

West Yorkshire Police West Yorkshire Police, formerly the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England ...

, with the town's neighbourhood policing team situated at the new fire station on Stumpcross Lane. The original police station in Sessions House Yard has been demolished since the divisional headquarters for the Wakefield District opened in Normanton and the neighbouring magistrates' court has moved to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, following the closure of the Wakefield and Pontefract courts. Fire cover is provided by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, with one pump (sometimes two) based at Pontefract Fire Station. Formerly located on Stuart Road in the town centre, the station has moved to a new site at Stumpcross Lane, by the A645 at the town's eastern edge. The new fire station provides cover for Knottingley; that town's fire station having been closed as part of the merging of fire cover for Pontefract and Knottingley. Ambulance cover is provided by

Yorkshire Ambulance service Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) is the NHS ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to ...

, whose depot is situated in neighbouring town,

Barracks Business Centre - Wakefield Road - geograph

The Territorial Army, Army Cadets and Air Training Corps all have a presence within the town and are based at the historic

Barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

building on Wakefield Road. It now houses a Rifles Regiment Recruitment team.

Media, arts and entertainment

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshir ...

and

ITV Yorkshire ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

. Television signals are received from the

Emley Moor The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...

TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Leeds on 92.4 FM,

Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire Greatest Hits Radio (GHR) is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK. It currently includes 18 local and regional radio stations operating over 50 FM and DAB licences in England, Scotl ...

(formerly Ridings FM) on 106.8 FM, Heart Yorkshire on 106.2 FM, Hits Radio West Yorkshire (formerly

Pulse 1 Hits Radio West Yorkshire, formerly Pulse 1, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Leeds, England, owned and operated by Bauer Radio, Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to West Yorkshire. As of Sept ...

) on 102.5 FM,

Capital Yorkshire Capital Yorkshire was a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcast to South Yorkshire & North Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. Capi ...

on 105.1 FM and 5 Towns FM, a community online radio station that broadcasts from

. The local newspaper is the ''Pontefract and Castleford Express''. Novelist

Jack Vance John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. He also wrote several mystery novels under pen names, including Ellery Queen. Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Ach ...

, in the "

Demon Princes Demon Princes is a series of five science fiction novels by Jack Vance, which cumulatively relate the story of Kirth Gersen, a man trained by his grandfather to exact revenge on five notorious interstellar crime bosses, collectively known as the ...

" cycle has named the capital of Aloysius, the main planet in the Vega system, after Pontefract. The hero of the series, Kirth Gersen, has his residence there. Pontefract made local and national newspapers in April 2020, with a range of art which lay tribute to the key workers and NHS during the coronavirus outbreak. The art was painted by a local mural artist, Rachel List.

Sport

The town is home to many sports including rugby, football and squash. Prominent squash players Lee Beachill and James Willstrop both train at Pontefract Squash Club. Notable institutions are horse racing at

Pontefract Racecourse Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. Layout The track is left-handed undulating course with a sharp bend into the home straight. Horses drawn low (i.e. on the inside of the ...

and

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

, the area's professional rugby league club. Pontefract Racecourse is the longest continuous horse racing circuit in Europe at . It stages flat racing between the end of March and the end of October. A new sports centre is located at Pontefract Park which opened on 12 April 2021, which replaces the old swimming pool located on Stuart Road. Two-time European Masters Champion weightlifter Martyn Riley is from Pontefract. Pontefract has its own non-league football club, Pontefract Collieries F.C., which was founded in 1958 and plays adjacent to the former Prince of Wales Colliery off Beechnut Lane. The team, known locally as "Ponte Colls" play in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Division One North West (correct as of the 2021–22 season). Pontefract is also home to the Pontefract Knights rugby league football club. Pontefract RUFC is based at Moor Lane, Carleton. It runs three senior sides as well as a number of junior and girls teams. Rugby Union has been played in the town since the 19th century when Pontefract won the Yorkshire Cup. Pontefract used to boast two cricket clubs, Lakeside CC (based in Pontefract Park) and Pontefract CC (adjacent to Pontefract Collieries FC), but by 2002 neither of these clubs were still in existence, leaving the town without its own club despite giving its name to the Pontefract and District Cricket League. Nowadays cricketers must travel to clubs in neighbouring towns and villages, with the closest being Hundhill Hall Cricket Club based in the nearby village East Hardwick.

Transport

Pontefract lies in close proximity to the A1 and the M62. Access from the A1 is via a junction at the nearby village of Darrington, while access from the M62 is via Junction 32 (also for

) and Junction 33 (also for

Knottingley Knottingley is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, increasing ...

). Bus transport is provided by

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

, operating from Pontefract bus station as the town's main hub. There are three railway stations in the town. is on the Dearne Valley Line, which connects and . Pontefract Monkhill and

Pontefract Tanshelf Pontefract Tanshelf railway station is the most central station in the market town of Pontefract in West Yorkshire, England, and serves Pontefract Racecourse, Pontefract Races, the racecourse located just down the street from the station. It l ...

connect with , and . There are rail services from to London that stop at Pontefract Monkhill. The closest airport is

Leeds Bradford Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...

Notable people

* Darren Appleton (1976–) Professional pool player, 9 ball world champion, 10 ball world champion. *

Thurstan :''This page is about Thurstan of Bayeux (1070 – 1140) who became Archbishop of York. Thurstan of Caen became the first Norman Abbot of Glastonbury in circa 1077.'' Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux ( – 6 February 1140) was a medi ...

of Bayeux, (c.1071–1140), archbishop, died in Pontefract. * Richard de Pontefract (?–1320?), Dominican

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

* John Ramsden (1594–1646),

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

, MP for Pontefract in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

, and

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

soldier * John Jackson (1595?–1637), MP for Pontefract during the

Happy Parliament The 4th Parliament of King James I was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England, summoned on 30 December 1623, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 29 May 1624, and thereafter kept out of session with repeated pro ...

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

(1696–1771),

and surgeon *

Robert Monckton Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in com ...

, (1726–1782), MP for Pontefract and

British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

general * John Smyth (1748–1811), MP for Pontefract *

Jesse Hartley Jesse Hartley (21 December 1780 – 24 August 1860) was an English Civil Engineer and Superintendent of the Concerns of the Dock Estate in Liverpool, England between 1824 and 1860. Hartley's career Despite having no experience building docks, ...

(1780–1860), civil engineer and Superintendent of the Concerns of the Dock Estate, Liverpool; built the Albert Dock and many other parts of Liverpool Docks * Charles Coleman (1807–1874), English painter * Isaac Cole (1886–1940), rugby union and league player who represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Edward Upward Edward Falaise Upward, FRSL (9 September 1903 – 13 February 2009) was a British novelist and short story writer who, prior to his death, was believed to be the UK's oldest living author. Initially gaining recognition amongst the Auden Group a ...

(1903–2009), novelist, lived in Pontefract from 2004 until his death in 2009 *

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament from 1945 United Kingdom general elec ...

(1910–2002), Labour Party politician *

John Poulson John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson (14 April 1910 – 31 January 1993) was a British architectural designer and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced ...

(1910–1993), architectural designer and businessman * Don Robinson (1932–2017), 1954 Rugby League World Cup winning rugby league footballer who represented Great Britain, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds, and Doncaster * Mal Kirk (1936–1987), wrestler *

Margaret Drabble Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, (born 5 June 1939) is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer. Drabble's books include '' The Millstone'' (1965), which won the following year's John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, and '' Je ...

(1939–), novelist, was evacuated to Pontefract during WW2 * Harvey Proctor (1947–), Conservative Member of Parliament * Mick Jackson (1947–), musician, writer of " Blame It on the Boogie" * Kevin Moreton (1959–), actor known for ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' *

Jane Collins Jane Maria Collins (born 17 February 1962) is a British politician and horse show-jumper who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber from 2014 to 2019. She was elected in May 2014 as a member of the UK ...

(1962–), politician,

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

MEP

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

(2014–2019) * Paul Crichton (1968–), former footballer who currently serves as the goalkeeping coach for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

* Helen Baxendale (1970–), actress known for ''

Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...

'', ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', and ''

Cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

'' * Paul Newlove (1971–), English rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s * Dave Smith (1971–), professional darts player from

* Robert Hanby (1974–), former footballer * Dexter Tucker (1975–), footballer * Chris Silverwood (1975–),

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

who represented Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Yorkshire, Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middlesex, and England. Former coach of the England cricket team, England Men's Cricket team * Jamie Davis (actor), Jamie Davis (1981–), actor best known for his roles in Footballers' Wives, Hex, and currently in ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'' as Characters of Casualty#Max Walker, Max Walker * Rob Burrow (1982–2024), former rugby league footballer with Leeds Rhinos, Leeds; he also has represented both England and Great Britain * Toby Kebbell (1982–) actor known for "Black Mirror", "RocknRolla", "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes", "Warcraft", and "Kong: Skull Island" * Jamie McCombe, (1983–), footballer who currently plays for Doncaster Rovers F.C., Doncaster Rovers * Paul Green (footballer born 1983), Paul Green (1983–), footballer who plays for Oldham in the EFL League One, English Football League * James Willstrop (1983–) squash player and gentleman. Attended Ackworth School and in 2012 became World No.1 in squash by beating David Palmer. * Tim Bresnan (1985–), cricketer who represented Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Yorkshire, Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Warwickshire and England national cricket team, England * Ben Parker (footballer), Ben Parker (1987–), former footballer who played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United and represented England national under-19 football team, England U19 * Oliver Hindle (1988–), artist and musician, best known for his band project Superpowerless * Max Litchfield (1995–), swimmer, silver medallist in the 400m medley at the European Long Course Championships * Joe Litchfield (1998–), swimmer and brother of Max * Joe Westerman, rugby league footballer *Dr

spent some time working here.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

Local history
{{authority control Pontefract, Towns in West Yorkshire Market towns in West Yorkshire Unparished areas in West Yorkshire Former civil parishes in West Yorkshire Geography of the City of Wakefield