Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Pontefract
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Economy== {{multiple images| | perrow = 1/2| | total_width = 220px | header = Pontefract Market Place | image1 = Market Place, Pontefract (21st June 2020) 001.jpg | image3 = Market Hall - geograph.org.uk - 429678.jpg | caption3 = [[Pontefract Market Hall|Pontefract market hall]] | caption1 = Market Place }} Pontefract has been a [[market town]] since the [[Middle Ages]]; market days are Wednesday and Saturday, with a small market on Fridays. The covered market is open all week except Sundays. It is said by some that Pontefract once held a record for being the town with the highest number of pubs per square mile in the UK,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pontefractherittagegroup.wordpress.com/pontefract/ |title=Pontefract |last=Wollerton |first=Alison |website=Pontefract Heritage Group |access-date=7 July 2020 |quote=It has been said that Pontefract once held a world record for having the highest number of pubs per square mile.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://partynicemag.blogspot.com/2010/04/partynice-guide-to-pontefract.html |title=The Partynice Guide to Pontefract |last=Krasaukas |first=Vincent |website=Partynice Magazine |access-date=7 July 2020 |quote=it is believed that the town now has the highest concentration of pubs in the whole of the UK.}}</ref> but this is likely an urban legend, and the title is held by another town.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.libertygames.co.uk/content/britains-pub-capital/ |title=Britain's Pub Capitals |website=Liberty Games |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> [[File:Haribo Sweets Factory - Sessions House Yard - geograph.org.uk - 576986.jpg|thumb|right|[[Haribo]] Factory]] The town has a [[Liquorice (confectionery)|liquorice-sweet]] industry; further, the famous [[Pontefract cake]]s are produced, though the liquorice plant is no longer grown there. The town's two liquorice factories are owned by [[Haribo]] and [[Valeo Confectionery]] (formerly Tangerine). A Liquorice festival is held annually. [[Poet laureate]] [[Sir John Betjeman]] wrote a poem entitled "The Licorice Fields at Pontefract". In 2012, local farmer Robert Copley announced that he would be re-introducing a liquorice crop to Pontefract.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rebecca Smithers|date=30 July 2012|title=Liquorice to grow again in Pontefract|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/jul/30/liquorice-pontefract|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2015|title=The Home of Liquorice|url=http://www.farmercopleys.co.uk/the-home-of-liquorice/|work=Farmer Copleys|access-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028020854/http://www.farmercopleys.co.uk/the-home-of-liquorice/|archive-date=28 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Close by is the site of the former coal-fired [[Ferrybridge power stations|Ferrybridge power station]], although the local [[Coal mining|coal mines]] largely closed in the 1990s, which contributed to high unemployment in the local area. The final colliery, [[Prince of Wales Colliery]], closed in August 2002.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wainwright |first1=Martin |title=Britain's oldest mine closes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2002/aug/31/6 |access-date=13 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=31 August 2002}}</ref> It has since been redeveloped into a large housing estate named after the colliery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prince of Wales, Pontefract {{!}} A Project by Harworth Group plc|url=https://harworthgroup.com/projects/prince-of-wales/|access-date=27 December 2021|website=Harworth}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)