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Welcome to Pontefractus.co.uk
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Pontefract is one of the 'Five Towns'
in the district of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, with a population close
to 29,000 people. Its name originates from the Latin ponte fractus
which, translated, means 'broken
bridge'. The name Pontefract does not appear in the
Domesday Book of 1086 but an area
of the town known as Tanshelf does. |
Pontefract
Castle was built around 1070 by Ilbert de Lacy and as a consequence
the town suffered terribly throughout the English Civil War years. Oliver
Cromwell once stated that he believed Pontefract Castle was "one
of the strongest inland garrisons in the kingdom."
Pontefract has been a market town since the Middle Ages and its location
on deep sandy soil made it one of the few places throughout Britain
where liquorice
plants could be cultivated. While liquorice growing disappeared some
time ago, other long-standing traditions such as its large number of
public houses and its racecourse continue to provide entertainment for
visitors and inhabitants alike.
This website, constructed in March 2005, aims to relate the history
and origins of the town of Pontefract along with more recent
recollections of the town by those who live
and work here. |
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Spotlight on Previous Articles
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IN A
NUTSHELL - CHARLES ELLIS
I was born in Pontefract Workhouse. My mother and I were there
because she had been turned out of her home (because of her
pregnancy out of wedlock). It was a stigma that was to haunt me for
many years - in 1922 it was a sin..
Read more...
THE BARNBOW LASSES - ERIC
JACKSON
At the outbreak of the First World War in November 1914 the British
army was ill prepared for the scale of the conflict and nowhere was
this more apparent than in the provision of artillery ordinance.
Read more... |
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Forum & User Photo Gallery |
AVAILABLE NOW: Registered members can
now create their own photograph albums into which they can upload
their own local images for sharing with other members of the latest
Pontefract forum.
Start your own discussions in our new forum area or use the forum to
request assistance from other site visitors.
We have already begun adding a number of additional local interest
photographs to the forum gallery and we are asking visitors to help
provide the correct details for each image.
Learn more...
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