PONTEFRACT, a parish in the upper division of the wapentake of
OSGOLDCROSS, West riding of the county of YORK, comprising
the borough of Pontefract, which has a separate jurisdiction,
the chapelry of Knottingly, and the townships of Carleton,
East Hardwick, Monkhill, Arms. and Tanshelf, and containing
8824 inhabitants, of which number, 4447 are in the
borough of Pontefract, 23 miles (S. S. W.) from York, and
177 (N.N.W.) from London. This place, which appears
to have risen from the ruins of the ancient LegeoUum, a
Roman station in the vicinity, now Castleford, was by
the Saxons called Kirkby, and after the Conquest obtained
the name of Pontfract, from the breaking of a
bridge over the river Aire, while William, Archbishop
of York, and son of the sister of King Stephen, was
passing over it, attended by an immense crowd, who
escorted him on his return from Rome. Though not
itself a Roman station, it was probably a place of inferior'importance
connected with Legeolium, as the Watling-street
passed through the park, near the town, and
vestiges of a Roman camp were distinctly traceable previously
to the recent enclosure of waste lands. During
the time of the Saxons, to whom some historians attribute
the building of the town, Alric, a Saxon chief, erected a
castle here, which having been demolished, or suffered to
fall into decay, was repaired, or more probably rebuilt,
by Hildebert de Lacy, to whom, at the time of the
Conquest, William granted the honour and manor of
Pontefract. In the reign of Edward II., the castle
being then in the possession of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster,
who had revolted against the king, on account of his
partiality to Piers Gaveston, was besieged and taken;
and the earl being soon after made prisoner, by Andrew
de Hercla, at Boroughbridge, was brought to Ponitefract,
where, being condemned by the king, he was
beheaded, and several of the barons who had joined
his party were hanged. Having been canonized, a
chapel was erected on the spot of his decapitation,
and, in honour of his memory, dedicated to St. Thomas.
His descendant, the renowned John of Gaunt, retired to
this castle in the reign of Richard II., and fortified it
against the king, but a reconciliation taking place,
through the medium of Joan, the king's mother, no
further hostilities ensued. Henry de Bolirigbroke, Duke
of Hereford, then an exile in France, exasperated by
the king's attempt to depriye him of the duchy of Lancaster
and honour of Pontefract, to which he had succeeded
by the death of his father, and having received
an invitation from some of the principal nobility, landed
at Ravenspur in this county, and being' joined by the
Lords Willoughby, Ross, D'Arcy, Beaumont, and other
persons of distinction, with an army of sixty thousand
men, a battle ensued, which terminated in the-deposition
and imprisonment of the king, and the exaltation
of the duke to the throne, by the title of Henry IV;
Richard, after his deposition, was for some time coni
fined in this castle, where he was inhumanly put to
death. Henry frequently resided in it, where he held-a
parliament, after the battle of Shrewsbury, and, in 1404,.
signed the truce between England and Scotland. Scroop,-
Archbishop of York, having raised an insurrection, in
which he was joined by the Earl of Northumberland;
for the dethronement of the king, was by treachery made
prisoner, and being brought hither, where Henry at that
time resided, was sentenced to death and executed.
Queen Margaret, during the absence of the king in
Scotland, resided in this castle, and was delivered of hen
fifth son at Brotherton, in the immediate vicinity, having
been taken ill while on a hunting excursion. After the
battle of Agincourt, in the reign of Henry V., the Duke
of Orleans and several French noblemen of the highest
rank, whom that monarch had taken prisoners, were
confined in the castle; and in the year following, the
young king of Scotland, who had been taken prisoner-on
his voyage to France, was confined here till the cqmmencement
of the following reign.
During the war between the houses of. York -and
Lancaster, this castle was the prison of numerous noblemen,
of whom several were put to death within its
walls. Earl Rivers, -who had been kept a prisoner here
by the Duke of Gloucester, whose designs he had mef-s
fectually attempted to oppose, was put to death in the
castle, together with Sir Richard Grey and Sir Thomas
Vaughan. In 1461, Edward IV., with an army of. forty
thousand men, fixed his head-quarters here, whence-he
marched against the Lancastrians; the two armies
met atTowton, where the battle took place, and nearly,
thirty-seven thousand men were left dead on the field;
After the union of the houses of York and Lancaster
in the person of Henry VII., that monarch visited the
castle, in the second year of his reign; it was honoured
also by a visit from Henry VIII., in 1540; from James I,
in 1603 and 1617, on his progress to Scotland; and
from Charles I., in 1625. In the rebellion called' the
Pilgrimage of Grace, the castle was surrendered by
Thomas, Lord D'Arcy, to the troops under the conir
mand of Aske. At the commencement of the parlia-r
mentary war, it was garrisoned for the king, and, in
1644, it was closely invested by Sir Thomas Fairfax,
who had taken possession of the town, for .the-part
liament. The royalists maintained a spirited' defence
under a heavy cannonade, which continued several days,
and held out till the arrival of Sir Marmaduke Langdale,
with a detachment of two thousand men, who after
a severe conflict with the parliamentarians in Chequer
field, in which he was assisted by sallies from the castle,
at length obliged them to raise the siege. On the departure
of Sir Marmaduke, the parliamentarians again
obtained possession of the town, and throwing up iğ:
trenchments for a blockade, renewed their efforts to
reduce the castle. The garrison under Governor Lowther
fought with obstinate intrepidity, and did considerable
execution by frequent sallies, but being in want
of provisions, and, owing to the blockade of the town,
unable to obtain supplies, they capitulated on honoutr
able terms, and surrendered the castle" to the parliamentary
forces. After it had . been for a short
time in their possession, it was retaken by Col. MOTrice,
and a small band of determined royalists, digP
guised as peasants carrying in provisions, who entered
it without being suspected, and having a reinforcement
at hand, secured Col. Cotterell, the governor, and
his men in the dungeons, and kept possession of it till
it was afterwards invested by Cromwell in person. The
garrison, however, maintained their post, and it was
not till after the execution of the king that they surrendered
this fortress, which the parliament soon afterwards
ordered to be dismantled, and the materials to be
sold. Of this castle, so memorable for its connexion
with the most interesting periods of English history, and
which consisted of numerous massive towers, connected
by walls of prodigious strength, and fortified by its
situation on the summit of an isolated rock, only a
small circular tower remains.
The town is pleasantly situated on dry and elevated
ground, near the confluence of the rivers Aire and
Calder: the streets are spacious and clean: the houses,
mostly of brick, are commodious and well built: the
town is paved, and lighted with oil, under an act of parliament
for its general improvement, and abundantly
supplied with excellent water from springs. Two subscription
reading rooms have been established. The
theatre, a small neat building, erected by subscription,
is opened at Easter, and at the time of the races. The
races, which commence in the first week of September,
and continue three days, are well attended, and are
annually growing into repute; the course, which is in
the park, is one of the finest in the country, and the
rising ground on the south-west side affords a commanding
view of the whole: a grand stand was built
,in 1802, and is well adapted to the -accommodation
of the  visitors. At a short distance from the town a
neat monument was erected, in 1818, in commemoration
of the battle of Waterloo. In the environs,
which are pleasant, and abound with interesting
and diversified scenery, are several noblemen's seats.
The gardens and nursery grounds produce abundance
of excellent fruit and vegetables for the supply
of the neighbouring markets, and are famous for the
superior quality of the liquorice, which is cultivated
extensively; and the making of it into cakes forms
the only article of manufacture carried on to any extent.
The town has an excellent local trade, arising from
the populousness and respectability of the surrounding
neighbourhood. The market, which is well supplied
with corn and provisions of every kind, is on Saturday:
the-market-place is a spacious area; in the centre of it
was formerly a cross, dedicated to St. Oswald, around
which, for a certain space, extended the privilege of
freedom from arrest, which was for a considerable time
kept unpaved, as a memorial of that right: the cross was
removed in 1734, and a neat market-house, ornamented
with pillars of the Doric order, erected in pursuance
of the will of Mr. Solomon Dupier, by his widow. The
fairs are, St. Andrew's, on the first Saturday in Decem-
ber; the twenty days' fair, on the first Saturday after the
twentieth from Christmas; Candlemas fair, on the first
Saturday after the 13th of February; St. Giles,' on the
first Saturday after the 12th of September; April 8th,
and May 4th, for cattle and sheep, with the moveable
fairs on the Saturdays preceding Palm-Sunday, Low
Sunday, and Trinity Sunday: there are also fairs every
fortnight, on the Saturday next after those of York.
The Aire and Calder canal affords a conveyance by water
from the ports of Hull and Goole, to Ferrybridge, from
which place there is a direct land-carriage to Pontefract.
The town, which had enjoyed various and extensive privileges
under the charters of the lords of the honour and manor, was
first incorporated by royal charter in the reign of Richard III.,
which was confirmed by James I., in the 4th year of his reign:
the government is vested in a mayor and twelve aldermen,
assisted by a recorder, town clerk, and subordinate
officers. The mayor is elected by ballot of
the burgesses, from the body of aldermen, and appoints
the recorder and town clerk, subject to approval by
the king. The mayor and aldermen are justices of
the peace within the borough, and hold quarter sessions
in the town hall, where all the business of the
corporation is transacted; a court of record for the
borough, every three weeks, for the recovery of debts
to any amount; and a court baron for the honour, of
which the power was extended, in the 17th of George
III., to the recovery of debts not exceeding & 5; the
general quarter sessions for the West riding of the
county are held here at Easter. The town hall is a
neat building, erected at the joint expense of the county
and the corporation; the lower part, surrounded by an
open corridor, is used as a prison, and above is the
hall, which is conveniently arranged for the borough
courts, and occasionally used as an assembly-room: the
front of the building is ornamented with pilasters of the
Doric order, surmounted by a cornice. The court-house,
erected at the expense of the county, is a handsome
structure of freestone, in the Grecian style of architect
ture, and of the Ionic order, and is in every respect
adapted to the business of the county. The borough,
exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd and 26th of
Edward I., from which period it was discontinued till
the privilege was revived by James L, in 1621, since
which time it has regularly returned two members to
parliament: the right of election is vested in the resident
householders; the mayor is the returning officer.
The living is a discharged vicarage, with the curacy
of St. Giles', in the archdeaconry and diocese of York,
rated in the king's books at & 13. 6. 8., endowed with
£200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and
in the patronage of the King, as Duke of Lancaster.
The church, dedicated to All Saints, formerly the parish
church, was nearly demolished in the parliamentary
war, and is in ruins; and the church of St. Giles was, by
an act of parliament passed in the 29th of George III,
rendered parochial: it is a neat edifice, of which the old
tower was taken down and rebuilt, in 1707. at the charge
of Sir John Bland, of Kippax Park, Bart. The collegiate
chapel, dedicated to St. Clement, within the pre
cincts qf the castle, and the free chapel of St. Thomas,
erected on the spot where the Earl of Lancaster was
beheaded, have long since disappeared. There are places
of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents,
Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists, and Roman Catholics.
The free grammar school was founded and end-
owed in the second year of the reign of Edward VI., and
the endowment was augmented in the reign of Elizabeth;
but the institution having fallen into decay, was
refounded, on petition of the inhabitants, in the 32nd
Of George III., and is open to all boys of the town.
An exhibition of £ 10 per annum, with rooms, and one of
£5 per annum, to two scholars from this school, were
founded in University College, Oxford, by John Frieston,
of Altofts, who also founded two scholarships in
Emanuel College, Cambridge, for boys from Normanton
school, and in failure of such, for boys from the schools
of Pontefract, Leeds, Rotherham, and Wakefield. There
are fourteen boys on the foundation, who are nominated
by the mayor, recorder, aldermen, and the vicar:
the master and usher are appointed by the Chancellor
of the duchy of Lancaster. A. charity school, which had
an endowment of £95 per annum, including a share in
Lady Elizabeth Hastings' charity, and was further supported
by subscription, for the ciothing and instruction
of children, of both sexes, has been incorporated with a
National school, recently built, on an extensive scale,
for children of both sexes; and there are Sunday
schools in connexion with the established church and
the dissenting congregations. The college and hospital
of St. Nicholas was originally founded by an abbot of
the monastery of St. Oswald, in the county of York, for a
reader and thirteen poor persons, and endowed with an
income of £23. 13. 4., payable out of the revenue of
the duchy of Lancaster; it was vested in the corporation
of the borough by James I., and was rebuilt, or materially
repaired, by a legacy of & 100, bequeathed for that
purpose by Mr. Thomas Sayle, of Pontefract: the endowment,
by subsequent donations, has been increased
to £36 per annum: the premises comprise two separate
houses, with a common room to each, and separate
lodging-rooms for thirteen aged persons, who receive one
shilling each per week, with a supply of coal. Knolles,
or the Trinity, almshouse, was founded in the reign of
Richard II., by Sir Robert Knolles, and endowed with
an annual sum, payable from the revenue of the duchy
of Lancaster, the moiety of an estate in Whitechapel,
London, devised, by Mr. John Mercer, and other property,
producing an income of more- than £108 per
annum; the premises comprise a large common room,
and sixteen lodging-rooms for seven aged men and nine
women, between whom the revenue of the hospital is
divided in equal weekly payments. Perfect's hospital
was built at the joint expense of the corporation and the
town, and endowed by Mr. William Perfect with land,
which, with other donations, produces ail income of £40
per annum; the premises comprise three separate dwellings,
each for an aged man and his wife, who receive each
five shillings per week. The Bede house, of which the
origin is unknown, is maintained by the overseers, for the
residence of the parish poor. Thwaite's hospital, comprising
two cottages with gardens, was bequeathed for the
residence of four aged unmarried women, by Mr. Richard
Thwaites, in 1620; the inmates divide among them the
rents of the gardens, producing, together with subsequent
benefactions, about £7 per annum. Cowper's hospital
was founded, in 1668, by Mr. Robert Cowper,who
.bequeathed two cottages, which have been rebuilt at the
expense of the parish, and contain a kitchen and four
sleeping-rooms, for four aged widows, who receive
twenty shillings each per annum, and the .interest of
£100, .bequeathed to them by Mr. Matthew Swimrey,
in 1765. Two hospitals, or almshouses, built respectively
by Mr. Matthew and Mr. Robert Franks, in 1737
and containing each apartments for two aged widows
have an endowment of £11. 10., and £17. 10., per annum,
which sums are divided among them, in equal
shares weekly. Watkinson's hospital was founded
in 1765, by Edward Watkinson, M.D., who endowed
it with personal estates producing £87. 14. 6.: the
premises contain apartments for four aged men and
four aged women, from the parishes of Pontefract and
Ackworth, among whom the income, after paying the
necessary repairs, is equally divided. George Talbot,
Earl of Shrewsbury, gave in trust to the mayor and corporation
£200 per annum, to be distributed in loans
to poor tradesmen; and there are numerous charitable
bequests for distribution among the poor. Among the
numerous monastic institutions formerly existing here,
was a Cluniac priory, founded in the reign of William
Rufus, by Robert de Lacy, and dedicated to St. John
the Evangelist, the revenue of which, at the dissolution,
was £472. 16. 1.: there are not any remains. During
the erection of this priory, the monks inhabited a building
which afterwards became the hospital of St. Nicholas.,
before noticed. A convent of Carmelites was founded, hi
1257, by Edmund Lacey, Earl of Lincoln, of -which not
even the site can be traced. A convent of Dominican, or
Black friars, was founded, in 1266, by Symon Pyper, in a
place now called Friar-Wood, which at. the dissolution
consisted of a prior, seven brethren, and a novice. There
was also an hospital for Lazars, dedicated to St. Mary
Magdalene, of uncertain foundation, to which, in 1286,
Archbishop Romain was a benefactor; the site i$
supposed to be occupied by Frank's hospital; and an
hospital for a chaplain and eight poor brethren was
founded, in the reign of Edward III., by William la
Tabourere, which is supposed to be identified with
the Bede-house. On the 25th of March, 1822, as two
labourers were trenching the land for liquorice, in a
field, called Paper Mill Field, near St. Thomas' Hill, one
of them struck his spade against a stone coffin, which
weighed about a ton and a half, and, on examination,
was found to contain the skeleton of a man, with the
head between the legs, in good preservation, supposed
to be .the decapitated remains of Thomas, Earl ,of
Lancaster, who suffered on the 22nd of March, 1322,
exactly five hundred years previously: the coffin and
its contents were removed into the grounds of Frystone
Hall, where they now remain. Dr. Bramhall,
who after the Restoration was made Primate of Ireland,
was a native of this place. Thomas de Castlefprd,
a monkish historian, was a brother of the Dominican
convent; and Dr. Johnson, a physician and eminent
antiquary, resided in the town. Pontefract gives the
title of earl to the family of Fermor, who are styled
Earls of Pomfret.