About
Pontefract Museum is the local history museum of Pontefract — one of the most historically significant market towns in Yorkshire, famous throughout England for two things above all: its great medieval castle and its Pontefract cakes, the flat liquorice confectionery that has been produced in and around the town for over three centuries. The museum occupies a handsome former Carnegie library building in the town centre, a fitting home for a collection that celebrates the remarkable depth and variety of Pontefract's history from its Norman origins to the industrial age.
Pontefract Castle, a short walk from the museum, is one of the most historically charged sites in England. Built by the Normans in the late eleventh century on a commanding rock outcrop above the town, the castle grew to become one of the most powerful fortresses in the north of England and played a decisive role in some of the most dramatic episodes of English medieval history. It was here that Richard II, deposed by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV), was brought as a prisoner in 1399 and here, according to the overwhelming historical consensus, that he died — whether from starvation, murder, or self-starvation remains debated. The castle's subsequent history is equally dramatic: a Lancastrian stronghold in the Wars of the Roses, a Royalist garrison in the English Civil War, and one of the last Royalist fortresses in England to fall to Parliamentarian forces — it held out until 1648, when it was finally reduced and subsequently demolished to prevent future military use.
The liquorice story is equally distinctive. Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) has been cultivated in the Pontefract area since at least the sixteenth century, when the Cluniac monks of nearby Monk Bretton Priory are believed to have grown it in their physic garden. The fertile Magnesian limestone soils around Pontefract proved ideal for the crop, and by the eighteenth century liquorice cultivation had become a significant local industry. The distinctive flat, round Pontefract cake — stamped with an image of the castle — was developed in the early nineteenth century and became a nationally and internationally recognised confectionery product. The Haribo factory on the outskirts of Pontefract continues the town's liquorice confectionery tradition today.
The museum addresses both these major themes alongside the broader history of Pontefract as a market town, parliamentary borough, and industrial centre. The building itself — a handsome early twentieth-century Carnegie library built with funding from the American steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie as part of his global programme of public library provision — is of architectural and historical interest in its own right, with its dignified classical facade and well-proportioned interior spaces providing an appropriate setting for the collections.
Pontefract Museum is operated by Wakefield Council and is free to enter.
Categories:
Highlights
Richard II and Pontefract Castle
Pontefract Castle's role in the imprisonment and death of Richard II in 1399-1400 is one of the most dramatically charged episodes in English royal history, and the museum explores this story in depth using documentary evidence and archaeological finds from the castle site. Richard, deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV) in September 1399, was brought to Pontefract as a prisoner and held in the castle's secure inner ward.
He died there in February 1400 — the circumstances of his death (starvation, murder, or voluntary self-starvation in protest at his deposition) have been debated by historians ever since.
Shakespeare's Richard II set the definitive dramatic interpretation of the king's final weeks, locating them powerfully at Pomfret Castle.
The Pontefract Cake — Liquorice History
The Pontefract cake — a flat, round disc of liquorice confectionery stamped with the image of the castle — is one of the most distinctive and historically deep confectionery products in Britain, and its story is central to the museum's interpretation of Pontefract's identity. Liquorice cultivation in the Pontefract area is documented from at least the sixteenth century, when the Cluniac monks of the region grew the plant for its medicinal properties.
The town's Magnesian limestone soils proved ideal for liquorice, and by the eighteenth century the town's liquorice gardens were a noted feature of the local landscape.
The distinctive round confectionery was developed in the early nineteenth century and exported across Britain and internationally, making Pontefract famous in a sweetshop tradition that continues today.
The English Civil War and the Last Royalist Siege
Pontefract Castle played a remarkable role in the English Civil War as one of the most determined and longest-lasting Royalist holdouts in the entire conflict. The castle was besieged three times by Parliamentary forces between 1644 and 1648, withstanding the first two sieges before finally surrendering in March 1649 — after the execution of King Charles I — to forces besieging it under the command of John Lambert.
The garrison of the third siege, commanded by Colonel John Morris, held out for almost a year and a half under conditions of increasing privation, making Pontefract one of the very last places in England to capitulate to the new Commonwealth.
The museum's Civil War collections document this dramatic chapter in local and national history.
The Carnegie Library Building
The building that houses Pontefract Museum was constructed in 1904 with funding provided by Andrew Carnegie — the Scottish-American steel magnate and philanthropist who gave away approximately 90% of his enormous fortune, funding the construction of over 2,500 public libraries in English-speaking countries across the world.
The Pontefract Carnegie library is a handsome example of the dignified Edwardian classical architecture that Carnegie's architects typically employed — a building designed to express the civic value of public learning and the democratic ideal of universal access to knowledge. The building retains much of its original character, and its repurposing as a museum is entirely consistent with Carnegie's ambitions for free public access to culture and information.
Collections
Pontefract Through the Ages
The principal permanent display exploring Pontefract's history from its Norman origins through the medieval and Tudor periods, the Civil War, and the development of the liquorice trade and industrial economy to the twentieth century.
Pontefract Cakes and Liquorice
A dedicated display exploring the history of liquorice cultivation in Pontefract and the development of the distinctive Pontefract cake confectionery tradition from its origins to the present day.
Current Exhibitions
Rotating displays drawing on the museum's local history collections and photographic archive, addressing different aspects of Pontefract's past in accessible formats suitable for general and specialist audiences.