Rachel List: We're All In This Together

At the end of 2020, we were privileged to install a new exhibition at Pontefract Museum, the first ever solo show by local lockdown artist, Rachel List. Sadly, Covid-19 restrictions meant we weren't able to welcome visitors to the exhibition in person at the time so we brought Rachel’s colourful and poignant work to you online instead.

Now two years on from the first lockdown you are at last be able to enjoy Rachel's exhibition in person at the museum. Newly updated, it features some of her most-loved mural designs and a newly commissioned work. As well as admiring her paintings, you can also watch Rachel star in two short films, one on her work during Covid and another on what lockdowns have meant for her. See the show at Pontefract Museum until 29th October 2022.

When lockdown began, like many of us, Pontefract artist, Rachel could no longer go out to work. She normally spends her days painting murals in people’s homes, which was not allowed under the restrictions. But even though she was unable to do her day job, Rachel still had an urge to make art.

‘For me work is not just work, I’ve got that drive to create.' 

Rachel List

So she took her brushes with her on her daily exercise and started painting her murals outside instead, livening up walls around Pontefract while most of us were still sleeping. Her bright, colourful works brilliantly capture the spirit of that first lockdown when we clapped for the NHS.

‘A lot of us had been furloughed and were sitting at home feeling pretty useless … and it just seemed important to show support.’

As a museum service we also want to collect objects that capture and tell the stories of Covid and lockdown in our communities. But of course we can't collect a huge mural on a pub wall. So we are immensely grateful to Rachel for recreating some of her work in a more manageable format for the exhibition. These paintings will also become a permanent part of the museum collection, preserved to tell the story of Pontefract’s lockdown for future generations.

‘It’s all about how something good can come out of a bad thing. There will be a rainbow after the storm.’
Rachel List

 

Films produced by Voices and Video - www.voicesandvideo.co.uk

To see Rachel's murals in their original locations and enjoy more of her work, why not explore our StoryMap:

Do you have a favourite Rachel List mural? Join in the conversation on social media using the hashtag #RachelList:

Twitter @WFMuseums, @Rachellist9

Facebook @PontefractMuseum 

Instagram @wakefieldmuseums, @rachthepachel

Play your cards right

The 'Twixmas' period is the perfect time for having fun with family, when many of us dig out the packs of cards and challenge each other to a game. So we thought we'd have a root in our Toys and Games collection for some ideas to pass the winter evenings. From traditional trick-taking and trumps, to more obscure offerings, we found some real aces.

We are all familiar with the humble playing card thanks to a long tradition dating back to the 14^th century when playing cards first arrived in Europe. They most probably came to the West via India and Egypt from China, where they were likely invented along with the pioneering of paper and printing. Originally lavishly hand illustrated, playing cards were the preserve of the rich until advances in printing technology made them cheaper and more readily available to the masses. The backs of cards were left blank until the 19^th century. They were first decorated to avoid cheating by marking cards but manufacturers soon saw the advertising potential. Playing cards are often now produced as promotion items like this pack advertising Wakefield based brewery, Beverleys.

Playing cards advertising Beverleys Beers, John Waddington Ltd, c. 1950s - 1970s

The four suits we are so familiar with in Britain today originate from France. The global popularity of whist and bridge meant the Anglo-French suitmarks became the international standard, although national variations remain.

Trump indicator used in whist. Whoever played the highest scoring clubs card would have won the trick in this round. 

The tabs on this whist marker lift up to indicate the score. The large tabs are for points scored in the round and the smaller tabs for number of rounds won. This is an exquisite example of a Shibayama marker exported from Japan- it is lacquered and inlaid with precious stones like mother of pearl.

Bridge set in Bakelite case, Seaforth, 1930s - 1950s

There are countless games to be played with a standard 52 card deck, whether single player or for teams or large groups. But we have also found a variety of other card decks in the collection, some educational and some a little more frivolous.

Counties of England, Jacques & Sons 

Counties of England is a geographical variation on Happy Families. Players compete to complete a county by collecting all the appropriate town cards. The winner collected the most counties. Of course, the real victor is whoever collects Yorkshire!

Beat Your Neighbour is a catch and collect game- the aim is to claim all your opponents’ cards. Without looking at their hand, each player turns over a card in turn. If someone plays a Put card, the next player has to surrender that number of cards. If they do not turn over a Put card themselves, the previous player claims the pile. There are many varieties of Beat Your Neighbours card, each with different themed illustrations.

Snip Snap, Stanfield Holdings, 1970s

Snip-Snap is a matching game with a difference. It was designed to help the British adapt to the new decimal currency system introduced in 1971. Players won cards by being the first to spot pairs. They would shout ‘Snip’ for a matching pair of decimal coins or ‘Snap’ for two identical old currency cards. When a pre-decimal card is matched with its new currency equivalent, players must declare, ‘Snip-Snap!’ whilst being careful not to call an incorrect pair and be forced to forfeit a card to each of their opponents.

Pit, John Waddington Ltd

Pit is a trading game mimicking a corn exchange. The cards represent different crops (9 cards for each of the 7 grains) and players vie to be the first to complete a full set. Players trade cards with each other, declaring the number of cards they wish to swap but not revealing the commodity. The traders all shout out their offers at once resulting in a high energy, high volume competition. Each complete set has a different points value and the victorious trader is the first to reach 500 points.

Muggins, R&S, early 20th century

There are no winners as such in this game - rather the objective is not to be the Muggins, the last player left holding any cards. There are four packs of cards numbered 1-25 that are shuffled and shared out by the dealer. The aim is to reunite the cards into their four groups. Each player takes it in turns to discard as many cards as they can but cards must be played in numerical order, either ascending from 1 or descending from 25. If you don't have the next number in the sequence, you must instead accept a card into your hand from each of your opponents.

Muggins promises 'roars of laughter'. As a nation, we have been enjoying card games for centuries. Which is your favourite?  Let us know what you've been playing these holidays in the comments and over on social media.

If you'd like more inspiration for games to enjoy this Christmas, check out Old Fashioned Fun and don't forget you can browse our Toys and Games collection online. 

Drawing Pontefract

We are very pleased to share this special guest blog post by graphic designer, Georgina Westley about her recent exciting commission for Pontefract Museum.

www.georginawestley.co.uk

Back in 2019 I was commissioned to create a piece of travel poster art for the town of Pontefract. This artwork was to be part of an exhibition celebrating the local artist Charles Pears, who hailed from Pontefract. Charles (born 1873) was a British painter, illustrator and poster artist, who during his illustrious career created artwork for London Underground and British Railways.

Charles Pears’ artwork of Paignton features in one of the books I use for inspiration and education.

The exhibition was planned to start in May 2020 but due to the Covid19 pandemic this exhibition has been postponed and the museum hope it will now take place in May 2021 (tbc). So to fill a little gap, those curating the show thought it might be interesting to give you a bit of an insight into who I am, why I was commissioned and how I go about creating this style of artwork.

My name is Georgina Westley (born 1976) and I have been working as a graphic designer for many years, but it was about 7 years ago that I created my first travel poster. At the time I had been enjoying playing about with linocuts (mostly aeroplanes) and my sister-in-law Beth asked if I could create her some artwork of Emley Moor mast. I felt that a linocut print would look too heavy and I’d always admired the travel poster artwork of the 1920s/30s era so I decided to give it a go.

My sister-in-law Beth with her framed artwork. What started as a quiet gift can now be found in many homes around the country.

Beth was really happy with it and passed on lots of positive feedback from her friends, who wanted to know if they could buy one. Around that time, my husband was made redundant, which - whilst horrid at the time - was the push I needed to get my artwork out there, seek new places to draw and begin selling online. I now have over 80 prints in my collection and an inexhaustible list of places and hobbies to get started on.

I love my job, so I was really honoured when Pontefract Museum got in touch to commission me to create a modern day travel poster to commemorate Charles Pears. My brother and his family live in Yorkshire - in fact they used to live in Pontefract - so even though I’m a *whispers* southerner, I am familiar with many of the beautiful towns and villages of Yorkshire.

The museum staff went on a recce for me and took a great selection of photos of the main square and I chose the photo below to form the basis of the artwork.

Great photo to work from but those empty market stalls will have to go.

I think it’s good to be able to see the original photo as it helps you see what I have left out, what I have put in, the colours I have changed, the exaggerated shadows, and where I have forced the perspective to make it as dynamic as possible. You will also notice the big fluffy cloud that I drew to lead the eye and mimic the angle of the church. However, my brother commented that due to the cooling towers at Ferrybridge there was often a big white cloud framing the town, so that was a nice bit of serendipity.

The finished artwork

Working with Pontefract Museum was thoroughly enjoyable. They gave me such a good brief in the first place, I was able to pretty much hit the mark on the first proof. The only changes made after this stage was a lightening up of the cobbles to make it feel more positive, a few pesky pigeons and the addition of flags to introduce a bit of colour. I hope at least some of you noticed the liquorice colours I chose for those flags.

Framed and ready to hang

I am looking forward to visiting the Charles Pears exhibition when it hopefully resumes and am hoping to come and give a little talk as part of the event so keep an eye out for that if you fancy hearing more. But for now, let me leave you with a few other pieces of artwork from Yorkshire - I’ve cropped them to make it a little harder.

The shapes and shades of Yorkshire. Do you know where these are?

For more information on my work, to buy prints or to contact me please visit:

www.georginawestley.co.uk

Many thanks to Georgina for her post and the wonderful poster design. If you would like to find out more about Charles Pears and see some examples of his work, check out our online exhibition on Art UK Curations - we've brought together some of our favourite pieces from collections around the UK.

#WFMuseumStaffPick: Wakefield Trinity and me

As part of our regular Staff Picks social media feature, our Visitor Assistant Debbie tells us about her chosen object and her passion for Wakefield Trinity.

I’m a big lover of the great game of rugby league- especially Wakefield Trinity. We once were a great club and have plenty of history surrounding us. Wakefield Trinity was established way back in 1873 by a group of men from the Holy Trinity Church. They played on various pitches, including Heath Common, before moving to Belle Vue in 1879, where they still play to this day. Their colours are red white and blue and the nickname they have is ‘Dreadnoughts’. Rumour has it, it is because ‘they dread nowt’.

Club colour badge in Wakefield Trinity colours for wearing in a button hole or hat

Cap awarded to Trinity forward, Joe Longbottom, for the 1879-80 season

The 'water splash' final boots

Everyone knows about the Challenge Cup ‘water splash’ final in 1968. Some say that it should have never been played due to the torrential weather conditions but, according to officials, telling nearly 90,000 spectators that it was cancelled would have caused mayhem. In the last minute of the game,  Don Fox missed a conversion right in front of the posts, which would have won Trinity the game. Instead, Wakefield lost to Leeds 11-10. Despite the loss and the missed conversion, Don Fox got man of the match and claimed the Lance Todd Trophy.

Although I wasn’t around at this time, it is great that we have a display in the museum, where some things relating to that game are on show. Many people who look in the case might just see some old rugby boots but these rugby boots are actually the ones that Don Fox wore in the water splash final. These are the actual boots that kicked and missed the conversion. To me personally, I feel so proud to have these in our display as Don Fox was a great asset to our club and to Great Britain. I can’t help but imagine myself being there and actually witnessing that moment. What must he be feeling? Every rugby league fan knows or has heard about the 1968 ‘water splash’ Challenge Cup final. And this will keep Wakefield and Don Fox in the history books.

Wakefield Museum is very grateful to Don Fox's family for kindly loaning us the boots for our displays.

The Yorkshire Cup and my favourite game

In the season of 1934 Wakefield Trinity made it to the final of the Yorkshire Cup along with Leeds. This match ended in a 5-5 draw, meaning a replay, which again resulted in a draw. They then had to have a third game and Leeds finally took the cup. This is the only occasion to have had three attempts to settle the Yorkshire Cup.

I got into supporting Wakefield Trinity by being invited down to Belle Vue by a couple of their players at the time. I did go watch my brother play rugby sometimes but it was in open fields and I remember always being so cold. Being in the stands with thousands of supporters, it felt so different and the excitement and buzz got me hooked.

My favourite ever season was 1991/1992. That season we made it to yet another Yorkshire Cup final- Wakefield Trinity v Sheffield Eagles at Elland Road in Leeds. I remember being stood in the middle of nearly 8000 fans and the singing, the shouting, the cheering was electric. The half time score was 11-0 to Wakefield. Elland Road was buzzing. Sheffield got back in the game in the second half but Wakefield kept their cool and scored some fantastic tries. It ended with Wakefield getting the victory, winning 29-16.

For me, when the final whistle blew, I just couldn’t believe it. We’d done it! I had finally seen my club winning a cup (and probably my last.)My favourite ever team and some of my favourite ever players, including Geoff Bagnall, Andy Mason and local Stanley lad, Nigel Wright, who got man of the match. It was an amazing day followed by a massive celebration back at Belle Vue.

After all these years, we are still the current holders of the Yorkshire Cup. It got scrapped soon after because of fixture congestion. They were introducing it again this season within the lower leagues, but with the current situation, no games have yet been played.

Super League

In 1996 the rugby league world was going through changes. The season changed from winter rugby to summer rugby and the British clubs were given a large sum of money to form the Super League. A lot of clubs were asked to merge, including Wakefield, Castleford and Featherstone. If it had been successful, we would have been called Calder. 

Unfortunately, it proved to be very unpopular with a lot of clubs, which led to protesting on pitches and signing petitions. The merger idea was scrapped and Wakefield Trinity didn’t make it into Super League. It wasn’t until 1998 that Wakefield beat Featherstone 24-22 in a controversial Grand Final and entered the Super League. With the start of our first ever Super League season came the added name Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. This is what we would now be called until it was dropped in 2016.

Another great game I remember came in 2006 with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats playing Castleford Tigers in a relegation battle at Belle Vue. It was a game full of tension and emotion. The final score resulted in Castleford being relegated with Wakefield winning to stay in Super League 29-17. This game will always be called ‘The Battle of Belle Vue’.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats home and away shirts, 2006

The rugby league family

I know quite a lot of our visitors and staff like a bit of rugby and some are fans of other clubs. At the end of the day, this rugby league world we are in is just one big family! This has been proven by the horrific accident that happened earlier this year at Belle Vue. Mose Masoe (aged 30) was in a collision that left him paralysed from the chest down. It was sadly career ending and life changing but the rugby league family came together and raised nearly £110000. Mose was told he may never walk again but his fight and determination have got him walking with the parallel bars. What an inspiration! Pinderfields hospital have played a major part in Mose’s journey to recovery and he has praised them in the media. I also wish him a speedy and healthy recovery.

I am proud to be part of this rugby world.
I am proud to be a supporter.
I am proud of our NHS.
And YES, I’m proud to be a Wakefield Trinity fan!

For more Staff Picks and highlights from our collection, follow us on social media and keep an eye on the hashtags:

#WFMuseumStaffPick

#WFMuseumAtoZ

Making a Racket

On what should’ve been Wimbledon finals weekend, we thought it was the perfect time to serve up some aces from our Playmakers collection of locally made sports products. Did you know that many a Wimbledon legend’s racket was made in Horbury? Find out about our proud tradition of sports manufacturing and how local innovation made its mark on the courts of SW19.

Breaking into the game

In 1870 a saddler’s apprentice from Horbury risked all his life savings to buy his own business. It was a gamble that would pay off handsomely. After 10 years in saddlery, William Sykes turned his leather working skills to making footballs in the start of a venture that would see Sykes become chairman of a major international company, and turn Horbury into a centre of high tech, high quality sports manufacturing, home in its heyday to possibly the largest sports equipment factory in the world.

William Sykes Ltd soon expanded from football into other sports, beginning with cricket and tennis. In 1896, having outgrown his original premises, Sykes proudly opened the Yorkshire Athletic Manufactory. By 1903 the new factory’s production lines included 21 different models of racket.

Handicap racket, William Sykes Ltd, c. 1880-1920. The wooden grip, small racket head size and convex wedge are characteristic of rackets from the turn of the century.

The star of the tennis range was the company’s premium racket, the EDB, named for and produced to the instructions of Ernest Douglas Black. Known as Edmund, Black had competed in Great Britain’s first ever Davis Cup tie, playing the competition founder, Dwight Davis of the USA, in Boston in 1900. The EDB was one of the earliest in a long line of Sykes products to be endorsed by elite sports people. Further tennis stars would follow suit in future.

EDB Special racket, William Sykes Ltd

Expansion 

Business continued to thrive after William Sykes Snr’s death in 1910, his two sons overseeing further expansion. In 1926 the company acquired the London-based tennis firm, Jefferies, extending their racket range further.

Raleigh Super racket, late 1920s. This racket from shortly after the acquisition of Jefferies is marked with both companies’ names.

Advertising poster for the William Sykes Ltd racket range. The company is now located in Horbury & London.

By 1933, as attendance at Wimbledon exceeded 200,000 and TV cameras were allowed at the All England Club for the first time, Sykes were able to meet rising demand from tennis fans with production now running to 50,000 rackets a year. With business booming, it was necessary to move into bigger premises again. Production at Albion Mill began in 1936 with an ever increasing range. In fact, Sykes supplied everything you needed for a match, from the balls to the net and posts.

Rallying the troops

Only shortly after the publication of the summer 1939 catalogue, the outbreak of the Second World War in September disrupted Sykes’ production as the company turned almost all of its capacity to the war effort, its leather and woodworking expertise in particular proving vital. The 1000 strong workforce at Horbury produced a dizzying array of equipment from bayonets and ammunition boxes to sand goggles and skis. Among the many and varied products supplied to the War Office were snow shoes, made using the same steam bending technique as the wooden frame of a tennis racket.

An example of a snow shoe

Sykes’ competitors, Slazenger, were also affected by the war, with their London based factories suffering serious bomb damage. In 1942 the two former rivals joined forces. The merger of Sykes and Slazenger married the massive manufacturing capacity at Horbury with Slazenger’s brand power, not least its long standing association with the Wimbledon championships. Although the first products made after the merger kept the Sykes logo, the Slazenger name soon took over. Shortly after the war, Slazenger moved all of its production to Yorkshire. Its long established and prestigious Challenge and Demon rackets were among the many ranges now made in Horbury. Indeed, the only Slazenger products not made at the factory were tennis balls, and these were produced down the road at Barnsley.

Slazenger made Demon brand rackets from 1880 – 1966.

Slazenger Challenge, c. 1975

Innovation and domination

In 1959 Slazenger was bought by Dunlop. Throughout the 1960s, the vast majority of professional tennis players opted for Dunlop Slazenger rackets to propel them to top of their game.

The June 1962 edition of the Dunlop Gazette staff magazine included an in-depth look at the Horbury factory.

By the 1970s though, sales of wooden rackets were in decline, with players favouring new, lightweight materials like aluminium and carbon fibre. In response, Dunlop turned to its new state of the art Research and Development Centre, opened in Horbury in 1978. Its team of expert engineers were tasked with revolutionising the tennis racket and re-establishing Dunlop as the go-to brand for amateurs and Wimbledon champions alike.

Their pioneering solution was an injection moulded racket using a material known as Grafil, a hard-wearing compound of graphite and nylon. Melted Grafil was injected into racket moulds around a metal core. The core had a lower melting point than Grafil and, once the outside frame was cooled and set, the metal was heated and melted out of the mould to leave behind a hollow frame.

The result was a racket that was both robust and lightweight - 50% stronger and 12% more powerful than traditional wooden frames. The Dunlop Max 200G was ground breaking. No surprise then that it received several prestigious engineering awards and attracted such giants of the game as Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. Graf played with the 200G when she won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1987. In total she won 22 major singles titles and she is the only player to have achieved a calendar Golden Slam, winning all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal in the same year. Her triumphs kept the 200G in the news into the 1990s.

Dunlop Max 200G

In 1983, John McEnroe switched to the 200G. The racket’s association with his star quality saw sales rocket from 20,000 to 200,000. By 1988 there were no wooden rackets in use at Wimbledon.

I used to think that I might’ve been stringing one of John McEnroe’s rackets. I was so proud of that. It made Wimbledon exciting for me. When he used to smash his rackets, I would think of how much trouble had gone into making it!
Lynne Holroyd, former Slazenger employee

End of an era

After more than a century at the cutting edge of sports manufacturing, the Horbury factory finally closed its doors in 1986. Tennis racket production continued at new premises in Wakefield until 1992 when production moved abroad. Today, the Slazenger Sports Club is the surviving legacy of the company. Founded in 1950, the Sports and Social club became the hub of the Slazenger community. Mrs Slazenger officially opened the pavilion and sports ground, with the tennis courts being christened by none other than Fred Perry.

Fred Perry playing at the Slazenger Sports and Social Club and signing autographs, 1950

Pontefract Allsorts: How liquorice got its roots in Pontefract

Liquorice - whether you love or hate the taste, there's no denying the plant has long been synonymous with Pontefract. But how did a middle Eastern herb become embedded in our town's history? Where did liquorice originate from? We've had a root through our liquorice collection and dug up some treasures. 

Liquorice was probably first brought to Pontefract either by medieval knights returning to the castle from the Crusades, or by the Dominican monks who settled at the neighbouring priory. Pontefract proved to be fertile ground for liquorice, the plant's long roots thriving in the deep loamy local soil. 

Liquorice fields in the Nevison area

Liquorice growing and harvesting in the Friarwood area

A spoonful of sugar

Prized at first for its medicinal properties, liquorice began to be grown across the area. The sap was extracted from the root and used to treat coughs and stomach complaints. By the 1700s, there were liquorice garths springing up all around and even the castle yard was being cultivated. Local chemists, the Dunhill family, rented the land there and used the castle cellars to store their harvested roots. 

It is George Dunhill who is credited with first adding sugar to liquorice to transform the medicine into the sweet delicacy we still know today. He is believed to have pioneered the production and marketing of the now iconic Pontefract Cake as a commercial confectionery.

Handstamp for marking Pontefract Cakes, Dunhills Ltd, early 20th century

A worker stamping Pontefract Cakes at W. R. Wilkinson & Co. Ltd, 1950s

And so Pontefract became inextricably linked with liquorice. By the 1900s, treats made in one of Pontefract's many factories were enjoyed by those with a sweet tooth all around the world. At the industry's height there were 13 factories in the town. The rival companies all produced a wide array of different liquorice variations: 

Ewbanks

From 1887 Ewbanks' production was based at the Eagle Liquorice Works in Friarwood. The factory was surrounded by orchards. During the Second World War, Eagle Works suffered bad bomb damage and some production moved to other local companies.

 

Ewbanks advert from 1927

Reads: Make them laugh or cry - Liquorice Funny faces, 1/2D each. Ewbanks Ltd Pontefract.

Hillaby's

John Hillaby established his Lion Liquorice Works, a four storey steam-powered factory, in 1850. The company grew its own crops and by 1893 had become the largest producer in the world. In 1925 they achieved a further claim to fame, producing the liquorice boot eaten by Charlie Chaplin in the film, Goldrush.

 

Hillaby's delivery van outside the factory, 1930s

The van has the 'Hillaby's Pontefract Cakes' logo on its side, and a uniformed worker is loading large boxes of Hillaby's Promfret Cakes into the van. In the background there is a horse-drawn cart being led away from the van. Has this just delivered the cakes fresh from the factory behind?

J. H. Addingley & Sons

Baghill Refinery was a three storey building boasting steam-powered machinery, offices, a warehouse and packing room, and mechanics and joinery shops.

 

Addingley's sweet tin from the early 20th Century

The tin is painted with the red Addingley's logo and a picture of a crown with the word 'Imperial'. It reads 'Liquorice Confectionary, Baghill Refinery, Pontefract, England'. There are also some yellow flowers.

W. R. Wilkinson & Co.

Originally started in 1884 at a malt kiln in Southgate, Wilkinson's expanded several times. First, to the Britannia Works on Skinner Lane and then again in 1925 to a 'garden factory' in Monkhill. Here, employees enjoyed workers' housing, tennis courts and allotments, as well as outings to the seaside.

Workers packing sweets at the Wilkinson's factory, mid-20th century

All of the workers are women, dressed in long overcoats and white caps covering their tied-up hair. One of the workers, a young woman, is looking towards the photographer and smiling. All of the workers are weighing out the sweets before packing them into identical boxes. Each has a lot of boxes in front of her!

Wilkinson's specimen carton, early 20th century

The carton shows a drawing of the Wilkinson's Liquorice factory, a large rectangular building with big rectangular windows. In front of the factory, a male and a female worker are playing tennis on a perfect grass tennis pitch. There are also flower beds and benches, where other workers are reading the newspaper and having a chat. The sides of the carton read 'Wilkinson's Liquorice All-Sorts' and 'Manufcatured by Wilkinson & Co Ltd, Pontefract, England'

Robinson & Wordsworth

Founded in 1871, the company was based at Victoria Works. In 1893, the recently expanded factory welcomed the curator of Kew Museum, who visited to research liquorice cultivation. Robinson & Wordsworth also had a display at the Kew Botanic Gardens.

 

 A Robinson &Wordsworth's sweet tin from the early 20th century
The tin is pale green, with the words 'Robinson & Wordsworth's, wholesome & reliable, liquorice confectionary, Pontefract' on it. In the middle is a cartoon of a castle with the words 'castle brand', referring to Pontefract Castle.

'Spanish'

Eventually, Pontefract's prolific business began to exhaust the local crops. With supplies struggling to keep up with demand, the firms instead imported liquorice from Turkey and Spain. Liquorice is still affectionately known as Spanish by locals. By the end of the 19th century, most of Pontefract's liquorice fields were gone, although it continued to grow at Stump Cross until the mid 20th century. 

Liquorice growing near Stump Cross Lane in 1960s

Wooden spade for harvesting liquorice root

Liquorice legacy

Over time, Pontefract's confectioners began to close, merge with one another, or be acquired by their larger rivals. Today, there are two producers remaining in the town. The German giant, Haribo, arrived in Pontefract in the 1970s when they first acquired a stake in Dunhills Ltd, the original pioneer of the Pontefract Cake. Tangerine Confectionery's roots in the town can be traced back to W. R. Wilkinson & Co.

Pontefract Museum's liquorice displays, including scales used by liquorice growers in the early 20th century

Wakefield Museums & Castles are very privileged to care for our large liquorice collection. We proudly display a selection of highlights at Pontefract Museum but there is even more to enjoy on our online catalogue - why not have a root around today yourself? Or get your teeth into our liquorice inspired jigsaw: 

35Dunhills Pontefract Cakes