Pontefract is a historic market town in West YorkshireEngland, near the A1 or Great North Road and the M62 motorway. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshireit is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28, [1] increasing to 30, at the Census.

At the end of the 11th century, the modern township of Pontefract consisted of two distinct and separate localities known as Tanshelf and Kirkby. The name "Pontefract" originates from the Latin for "broken bridge", formed of the elements pons 'bridge' and fractus 'broken'. Pontefract was not recorded in the Domesday Bookbut it was noted as Pontefracto infour years after the Domesday survey. Once the survey was complete, the construction continued. The modern town is situated on an old Roman road now the Adescribed as the "Roman Ridge", which passes south towards Doncaster.

The Roman Ridge is believed to form part of an alternative route from Doncaster to York via Castleford and Tadcaster, as a diversion of the major Roman road Ermine Streetwhich may have been used to avoid having to cross the River Humber near North Ferriby during rough weather conditions over the Humber.

The period of Yorkshire's history between the demise of the Viking king Eric Bloodaxe in and the arrival of the Normans in is known as the Anglo-Scandinavian age. The modern township of Pontefract consisted of two Anglo-Scandinavian settlements, known as Tanshelf and Kirkby. In Yorkshire, place-name locations often contain the distinctive Danish '-by' i.

And even today, the major streets in Pontefract are designated by the Danish word 'gate' e.

The Anglo-Scandinavian township of Tanshelf recorded variously as TateshaleTateshallaTateshalle or Tatessella in the Domesday Book existed in the region that is today occupied by the town of Pontefract. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle makes its first reference to Tanshelf in the year 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 Doomsday Book was commissioned by William the Conqueror in Tanshelf was still a sizeable settlement for the period.

The town had a priest, 60 petty burgesses, 16 cottagers, 16 villagers and 8 smallholders, amounting to a total of people. But the actual size of the population might be as much as four or five times larger than this as the people listed are landholders, and therefore the Doomsday Book does not take their families into account.

Tanshelf also had a church, a fishery and three mills. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of the church on The Booths in Pontefract, off North Baileygate, below the castle. The oldest grave dates from around The church is likely to be at Tanshelf and may have been similar to the church at Ledsham.

The area which is now the town market place was the original meeting place of the Osgoldcross wapentake. After the Norman conquest in almost all of Yorkshire came under the ownership of followers of William the Conqueror[12] one of whom was Ilbert de Lacy who became the owner of Tateshale Tanshelf where he began to build a castle.

The de Lacys lived in the castle for more than two centuries [13] and were holders of the castle and the Honour of Pontefract from [14] until the death of Alice de Lacy in King Richard II was murdered at the castle in Fifteenth century Robin Hood ballads place the outlaw's activities in the forest of Barnsdalethe southern edge of which borders Pontefract.

In particular, the medieval ballads make specific reference to the village of Wentbridgewhich is an outlying village of the modern town of Pontefract. La' Chance proposes that Robin Hood died at Saint Nicholas's hospital, Kirkby, which was attached to All Saints' Church.

In Elizabethan times the castle, and Pontefract itself, was referred to as "Pomfret".

Bank Holiday Monday supermarket opening hours: what time does Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, Aldi, Lidl, and Iceland close? - Telegraph

Pontefract suffered throughout the English Civil War. In —49 the castle was laid under siege by Oliver Cromwellwho said it was " Pontefract was the site of Pontefract Priorya Cluniac priory founded in by Robert de Lacy dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The priory was dissolved by royal authority in The abbey maintained the Chartularies of St John, a collection of historic documents later discovered among family papers by Thomas Levettthe High Sheriff of Rutland and a native of Yorkshire, who later gave them to Roger Dodsworthan antiquary.

Pontefract has been a market town since the Middle Ages ; market days are Wednesday and Saturday, with a smaller market on Fridays. The covered market is open all week, except Thursday afternoons and Sundays. Thursday afternoon is half-day closing in the town. This theme is continued in the name of bars in the xscape complex, Glasshoughton between Pontefract and Castlefordreferred to locally as 'Cas Vegas'.

It is reported that Pontefract once held the British record for the town with the most pubs per square mile: A Wetherspoon public house opened on Horsefair in Pontefract's deep, sandy soil makes it one of the few British places in which liquorice can successfully be grown.

The town's two liquorice factories are owned by Haribo formerly known as Dunhills and Tangerine Confectionery formerly part of the Cadbury's Group as Monkhill Confectionery, and before that Wilkinson'srespectively. A Liquorice Festival is held annually. Poet laureate Sir John Betjeman wrote a poem entitled "The Licorice Fields at Pontefract". In local farmer Robert Copley announced that he would be re-introducing a liquorice crop to Pontefract. Close by is the coal-fired power station at Ferrybridgealthough the local coal mines largely closed in the s, contributing to high unemployment in the local area.

In gallows corner tesco

The final colliery, Prince of Wales Colliery, closed in There are a number of supermarkets in Pontefract which include a Tesco and Morrisons which are located opposite each other, and an Asdawhich was originally a Kwik Save store, a short distance outside the town centre. The secondary schools in the town are Carleton Community High School in Carleton, and the King's School on Mill Hill Lane, both for pupils aged 11— A sixth-form college, NEW College Pontefract, 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 began to murder his elderly patients. Beneath this building is an old hermitageopen to the public on certain days. Pontefract Museumfrom 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 and opened in with the new name of Pontefract Hospital and there is now a modern library building. Pontefract has three railway stations: Pontefract Baghillon the Dearne Valley Linewhich connects York and Sheffield ; and Pontefract Monkhill and Pontefract Tanshelfwhich connects with Leeds tesco gallows corner opening times during olympics Wakefield.

There are etrade options trading platform rail services from Bradford to London that stop at Pontefract Monkhill. The local police force is West Yorkshire Police, with the town's neighbourhood policing team being situated at the interactive brokers asx options fire station on Stumpcross Lane.

The original police station situated in Sessions House yard is due for closure since the new divisional headquarters for the Wakefield District opened in Normanton and the neighbouring magistrates' court has moved over to Wakefield. Fire cover is provided by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue with one pump sometimes two based at Pontefract Fire Station.

Formerly located on Stuart Road in the town suicides due to stock market crash of 1929, the station has now moved to a new site at Stumpcross Lane, by the A road at the town's eastern edge.

The new fire station also provides cover for Knottingley, that town's fire station having been closed as part of the merging of fire cover for Pontefract and Knottingley. The Territorial Army, Army Cadets and Air Training Corps all forex broker inc mobile a presence within the town and are based at the historic Pontefract Barracks building on Wakefield Road.

It now houses a Rifles Regiment Recruitment team. The local newspaper is the Pontefract and Castleford Express. Pontefract is known for its 'down-to-earth' nightlife.

In September understanding forex trading pdf of Pontefract's old Nightclubs, Kiko's, re-opened its doors to the public after being closed for many years then closed once again in Novelist Jack Vancein the " Demon Princes " 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. Ridings FM is the town's local commercial radio station, Launched in OctoberRidings FM can be heard across Pontefract on The station serves the wider Wakefield District.

The station has tesco gallows corner opening times during olympics close relationship with the community and is actively involved in local charities fundraising efforts. For local government purposes the town lies in the City of Wakefieldcoming under the governance of Wakefield Council. For this purpose it is divided into two electoral wards, Pontefract North and Pontefract South. Pontefract South is currently represented by three Labour councillors with North ward represented by three Labour councillors [as of September ].

During this time he rose to the position of Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. When the general election of was called he stood down to allow Yvette Cooper to be selected as the Labour Party candidate for that election. He was made a peer on 11 June Yvette Cooper MPwas elected MP for the Pontefract and Castleford constituency at the general election. Cooper held a number of dreams about stock market in india in the Labour governments up tofollowed cheap options trading fees Shadow Cabinet roles after the election of that year, but returned to the back benches following the Labour leadership election of Pontefract and Castleford trading des options binaires merged with the Normanton constituency in a boundary change before the general election.

In her maiden speech to the House of CommonsCooper 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 Hoodlived, 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 cats on the Great North Road. The seat, which has a history of mining and industry, has consistently returned Labour MPs at general elections. Yvette Cooper polled The town is home to many sports including cricket, football and squash. Prominent squash players Lee Beachill and James Willstrop both train at Pontefract Squash Centre. Notable institutions are horse racing at Pontefract Racecourse and Featherstone Roversthe area's professional rugby league club.

Nearer to the town centre are the Valley Gardens, with a love garden, an aviary, and an avenue of cherry trees, which bloom in the spring. Although the trees continue to attract admiration, the gardens have become quite depleted and the aviary has been vandalised.

Pontefract swimming pool is on Stuart Road. Pontefract has its own non-league football club, Pontefract Collieries F. The team, known locally as "Ponte Colls" play in the Northern Counties East Football League 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. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Pontefract Old Town Hall. Yorkshire and the Humber. Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford. Retrieved 18 September Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 March When Pontefract Stood on the Great North Road, Pontefract: Pontefract Groups Together, p.

The English Universities Press, p. David Crouch, The Normans: The History of a Dynasty London: Hambledon and London, p. Retrieved 7 December Settlements in Anglo-Saxon West Yorkshire. Retrieved 30 August Pontefract Castle" ; H2G2. Medieval and Post-Medieval, ed. Four Courts Press, pp.

Tesco Hatfield Extra opening times and supermarket details

Retrieved 27 October Retrieved 18 June Retrieved 4 July Pontefract Barracks Wentbridge House Hotel. Pontefract cakes The Black Monk of Pontefract Peter of Wakefield Connection to Robin Hood.

Alice Edmund Henry Ilbert, Robert John Maud Roger Pontefract de Lacys' family tree. Ackworth School Carleton Community High School King's School NEW College Pontefract and District Girls High School St. Albarrana towers Ballot Act First ballot box Battle of Wakefield Thomas Darcy Dungeons at the castle Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster John Morris soldier John of Pontefract Nostell Priory Osgoldcross Wapentake Pontefract UK Parliament constituency Pontefract Castle Pontefract and Castleford UK Parliament constituency Pontefract Friary Pontefract Hermitage Pontefract Priory Richard II Second English Civil War Robert Waterton.

Osgoldcross Rural District Pontefract South. Henry Arthington Percy Barstow Richard Beaumont Richard Benyon De Beauvoir Frederick Handel Booth Christopher Brooke Hugh Childers Yvette Cooper Joseph Compton-Rickett John Dawnay, 1st Viscount Downe Henry Dawnay, 2nd Viscount Downe John Dawnay MP Culling Eardley Walter Forrest Francis Foljambe Sambrooke Freeman Viscount Galway John Gully William Gerard Hamilton Joe Harper John Hewley Adam Hills Thomas Houldsworth John Jackson Henry Lascelles Beilby Lawley John Lambert Geoff Lofthouse John Lowther William Lowther — William Lowther died Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet, of Swillington Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet Samuel Martin Charles Mellish Earl of Mexborough John Monckton Robert Monckton Robert Monckton-Arundell Richard Monckton Milnes Robert Pemberton Milnes John Mordaunt Thomas Nussey Bill O'Brien George Morton Pitt John Ramsden Harold Reckitt Edwin Sandys George Savile John Savile, 3rd Earl of Mexborough John Savile, 4th Earl of Mexborough John Savile, 1st Baron Savile of Pontefract Henry Savile Nathaniel Smith Tom Smith John Smyth Thomas E.

Sotheron-Estcourt Henry Stafford-Jerningham Le Gendre Starkie George Sylvester Samuel Waterhouse Rowland Winn George Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse George Wentworth of Woolley Thomas Wentworth William White Rowland Winn Sidney Woolf. Baghill Castleford Featherstone Glasshoughton Knottingley Monkhill Streethouse Tanshelf.

George Clarkson Gordon Fallows John Finney John Flack Rob Frost Jonathan Greener Richard Hare Campbell Hone Francis House David James Tom Longworth Arthur Morris Tony Robinson Eric Treacy. Pontefract Racecourse Flying Fillies' Stakes Silver Tankard Stakes Pontefract Collieries F. Pontefract rugby league Squash Kinsley Greyhound Stadium. Ackton Ackworth Badsworth Castleford Crofton Darrington East Hardwick Fairburn Featherstone Ferrybridge Fitzwilliam Glasshoughton Knottingley Monkhill Moorthorpe Normanton Nostell Thorpe Audlin Upton Wentbridge.

Pontefract bus station Pontefract Museum. Ceremonial county of West Yorkshire. City of Bradford City of Leeds City of Wakefield Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees. Baildon Batley Bingley Bradford Brighouse Castleford Cleckheaton Denholme Dewsbury Elland Farsley Featherstone Garforth Guiseley Halifax Hebden Bridge Heckmondwike Hemsworth Holmfirth Horsforth Huddersfield Ilkley Keighley Knottingley Leeds Liversedge Meltham Mirfield Morley Mytholmroyd Normanton Ossett Otley Pontefract Pudsey Rothwell Shipley Silsden South Elmsall Sowerby Bridge Todmorden Wakefield Warley Town Wetherby Yeadon See also: List of civil parishes in West Yorkshire.

Retrieved from " https: Pontefract Geography of Wakefield District Market towns in West Yorkshire Towns in West Yorkshire. Use dmy dates from April Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles with OS grid coordinates Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing potentially dated statements from All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from April All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April Pages using ISBN magic links.

Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in. Views Read Edit View history. Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Wikipedia store. Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact page. Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Wikidata item Cite this page.

In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikivoyage. This page was last edited on 17 Juneat Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Opening hours for Tesco Extra, Romford Gallows Corner, RM3 0LL | Opening Hours UK

Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Developers Cookie statement Mobile view. Pontefract shown within West Yorkshire. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pontefract.