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Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire , it is one of the towns in the City of Wakefield district and had a population of 30,881 at the 2011 Census.
Pontefract Castle. Coordinates: 53°41′44″N 1°18′14″W. Painting in Pontefract Museum of Pontefract Castle in the early 17th century, by Alexander Keirincx. Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there.
Credit: Tim Green, CreativeCommons (CC BY 2.0). 6. Pontefract Castle has a blood-stained history: of death, decay and dark dungeons. Pontefract Castle has attracted a phenomenal amount of death, decay and misery over the years. As an ominous precursor, the entire place was constructed on an old Anglo-Saxon burial ground.
Area 783 square miles (2,029 square km). Pop. (2001) 2,079,211; (2011) 2,226,058. Pontefract, historic market town, Wakefield metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, northern England. It lies east of the Pennine foothills, 4 miles (6 km) south of the River Calder above its confluence with the ...
Jan 20, 2022 · It was built around 1070 by Ilbert De Lacy, close confederate of William the Conqueror who granted De Lacy huge areas of land in the so-called Honour of Pontefract, extending right across the South Pennines. The castle was extended and added to over the centuries to become one of the greatest and most feared castles in England.
Nov 24, 2020 · One of the most infamous moments in Pontefract Castle’s history came in 1399, when Henry IV, a Lancastrian, used it to imprison and murder the deposed king Richard II. With the accession of the Lancastrians to the throne, Pontefract quickly began to hold a key position in the north of England, growing in size and importance whilst other ...
It was the main settlement of modern West Yorkshire. Modern day Pontefract can be traced back to the Saxon times and featured in the Domesday Book, albeit as two separate villages. The two areas slowly merged and became known as Pontefract, or Pomfret, around the 12th century. The name Pontefract is taken from the Latin Pons – meaning bridge ...
