Heritage Open Days: St Thomas of Pontefract

Did you know? Pontefract was the site of reputed miracles in the 14th century.

 

This is just one of the fascinating stories featured in a talk from the Wakefield Museums & Castles programme about the folklore surrounding Pontefract Castle.  For Heritage Open Days, we're sharing a taster of the talk, which aims to establish which castle myths are fact and which are fiction, with this tale of Thomas of Lancaster.

Thomas of Lancaster with St George
Unknown author / Public domain
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/BodleianDouce231Fol1rEdCrouchbackAndStGeorge.jpg

Thomas inherited the Earldom of Lancaster in 1296, when he was just 18.  He had married Alice de Lacy two years earlier and, by agreement of the marriage contract, he went on to inherit her father's titles and lands at Lincoln and Pontefract, which he retained even after he and Alice divorced in 1318.

Family feud

Lancaster was involved in a long running feud with his cousin, King Edward II.  It centred around Lancaster and a number of other barons’ intense dislike of two royal favourites: Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Despenser.  His dislike for the two was rooted in his jealousy at how closely they seemed to control Edward, and in the closeness of their relationship, which was seen to be unnatural.

Lancaster acted as “judge” in the trial and subsequent execution of Gaveston in 1312.  He went on to lead a rebellion against Despenser in 1321.  This time, however, he was defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge, where he was captured, taken to Pontefract Castle and tried.  Incidentally, he was tried in the Royal Apartments at the castle, having been held in “Thomas’s Tower” (now known as the Constable Tower), which ironically had supposedly been constructed for the sole purpose of holding Despenser!  The King, who by this point had developed an intense dislike for Lancaster, sat on the tribunal himself alongside two members of the Despenser family. 

Foreground: The Royal Apartments, scene of Thomas’s Trial

Back right: The Constable Tower, site of the Thomas’s Tower.

Lancaster was not able to give evidence in his defence, and was sentenced to be hung, drawn and beheaded. This was later commuted to a simple beheading owing to his royal blood.  The act was to be carried out on a hill behind the castle on 22nd March 1322.

Miracle man

Lancaster's rebellion against an unpopular king won him popularity with the people.  His objection to the King's controversial close relationship with a single advisor saw him gain support from his men and other barons.

Thus, when miracles were reported at the site of his execution - including that of a cleric curing his blindness by rubbing sand from the spot into his eyes - people were quick to call for Thomas' canonisation. One of his knights even financed a chapel on what is now known as St Thomas' Hill. He was venerated locally until the Reformation in the 16^th century.

1888 map of Pontefract, showing St Thomas’s Hill, St Thomas’s Mill, and the site of St Thomas’s Chapel

Long forgotten

Despite a petition from the Commons to Edward III calling for his canonisation, Thomas was never granted official sainthood. Today, Pontefract’s 'saint', who was celebrated for acts that would now be considered hate crimes or treason, is largely forgotten. There are now houses on the site of the former chapel and even the tower that Thomas built was later remodelled and renamed.  But if ever you are looking for an unusual fact about Pontefract, you can say it was the site of supposed miracles in the 14^th century and claimed its own saint.

Visit our Heritage Open Days: Hidden Histories of Wakefield Museums & Castles page for more from our weird and wonderful collections and sites.

Heritage Open Days: Behind the scenes at the museum store

The Wakefield Museums & Castles collection contains more than 111,000 objects that tell the story of our district from the distant past to the present day. Today, we can only display a small proportion of the collection at any one time. But even if they're not on show, all the objects are kept safe for future use. To celebrate Heritage Open Days 2020, we thought we'd give you a sneak peek behind the scenes at the museum store, sharing some highlights of the collection and how we care for them.

A century of collecting

Our collection has been in development for over a century and continues to grow today. The first museum in Pontefract was established by volunteers at Pontefract Castle in the 19th century. In Wakefield, Holmfield House in Clarence Park opened its doors as the city's first museum and art gallery in 1923. And by the 1930s, objects were also being collected in Castleford, originally by the local library. 

Pontefract's first museum opened at the castle on 29th April 1892 with 256 objects.

Visitors enjoying an exhibition at Holmfield House, 1930s

In 2020, our social history and archaeology collections are a treasure trove of fascinating stories that form the basis of our main museum galleries, our special exhibitions, and many displays in our communities across the district. We regularly update our displays to showcase as many different objects as possible. Those that are not currently on display are looked after at the museum store.

From the very small...

This tiny pig shaped Stanhope viewer contains six early 20th century images of Castleford and measures just 16 x 21 x 10mm!

Demonstration of viewing the images in the pig Stanhope viewer

... to the very large! 

Dennis Big Four fire engine

The engine was used by the City of Wakefield fire bridge, 1935-1954, before being acquired by the museum in 1968.

And the very old...

Ancient Egyptian clay mould for jewellery manufacture, c. 1200-1400 BC

... to the very new.

Child's Peppa Pig bowl and cup set, 2018

All shapes and sizes

In the collections store, we organise objects according to a variety of criteria, including size, shape, material or theme. This makes the best use of our space, allows us to meet the varied conservation needs of different kinds of objects, and helps us to find things more easily. Our objects are packed using inert materials that won't cause their condition to deteriorate and will help protect them from dust and dirt, changes to the environment, or damage by movement and vibration.

Here's a whistle stop tour!

These archive boxes contain our photographic and ephemera (paper based) collections, organised by theme.

Ephemera is kept flat in conservation grade polyester sleeves and supported by acid free cardboard.

A selection of typewriters in one of our small social history aisles

Most small social history objects are wrapped in acid free tissue and boxed.

These drawers contain some of our large plastics collection. Plastic requires specialised care and, unlike other objects, these need air circulation and so are not stored in sealed boxes. We store plastics according to their type (e.g. PVC) and they are supported on inert Plastazote. 

Storing suitable objects on wall mounted wire mesh allows us to save shelf space for bulkier items.

More than you can shake a walking stick at

The right tool for the job

Our large social history racking includes our furniture collection.

Our archaeology aisles contain many thousands of finds from local excavations.

Larger archaeology such as stonework is kept on wooden pallets on stronger shelving, which can support heavy objects. 

Like these cannon balls!

Hive of activity

As well as our weird and wonderful objects, there's often a few members of the collections team to be found at the store - our natural habitat! This is where we add new objects to the collection and prepare for exhibitions, amongst many other tasks.

Every object is given a unique identification number on our collections database. After a new acquisition has been accepted into the collection, we create a record that tells us what it is and what it looks like, how and when we acquired it, and what's special or interesting about it. During the object's lifetime in the collection, its record is updated to document when it is exhibited or used, any change in its condition or any conservation work, or if we find out any new information about it. 

Once we have catalogued the object, it will be marked with its unique number. We use materials that won't damage the object and write the label somewhere where we can find it but that won't be visible on display. All labelling is semi-permanent - we don't want the number to come off so that we can't match it to its record but we also don't want to permanently change the object's appearance.

Cataloguing kit

After labelling, the object goes for photography. Good images help us to identify objects in future and keep a track of their condition. It also means that we can share our collections online - whether in our searchable databases, on our social media, or here on this blog!

A new acquisition ready for its close up!

Finally, the object is carefully packed and put away, making sure to record the location on its catalogue record so that we can find it in future, for example if we want to include it in an exhibition.

When we're choosing objects for exhibitions, we need to check their condition to make sure that it won't cause them any damage. Sometimes, we need to send items for conservation before we can display them. 

We often use the space at store to practise our exhibition layouts and test what will fit in our cases and which arrangements look best. 

We hope you've enjoyed this special Heritage Open Days glimpse into our store. For more behind the scenes content and collections stories, stay tuned to the blog and our social media. 

And if this has whet your appetite, you'll find some of our collections available to browse online.

Visit our Heritage Open Days: Hidden Histories of Wakefield Museums & Castles page for more from our weird and wonderful collections and sites.