Pontefract Castle

Please note, Pontefract Castle is closed today, 14 January 2021, due to the snow.

*Information correct as of 6 January 2021*

Following the recent Government announcement Pontefract Castle grounds and toilets will remain open to the public during the hours as currently advertised and the Liquorice Café will be serving takeaway food and drink.
Our play area, gift shop and activity zone are CLOSED.
To ensure that the environment remains safe and enjoyable for everyone, please follow all signs.
For more information from Wakefield Council, visit: http://bit.ly/CoronaWFD

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Discover a place where kings were feted, and killed. Explore the remnants of ferocious sieges, and Victorian pleasure grounds. Imagine loyal Royalist soldiers, and enterprising liquorice farmers. Visit Pontefract Castle.

Since its construction in 1070 until its destruction nearly six centuries later, this once-fearsome fortress dominated the politics and power balance of the entire Yorkshire region and beyond, earning the nickname, “Key to the North”.

So great was its infamy that Shakespeare included Pontefract Castle in two of his plays, Richard II (who was murdered at the castle) and Richard III.

During the Civil War, the castle endured three bitter sieges. Eventually, the Royalists were forced to concede defeat. Cromwell ordered the castle demolished, and it fell into disrepair.

Afterwards, the site was employed for a variety of unusual uses, including as a Victorian pleasure ground, as well as growing and storing Pontefract’s most famous crop – liquorice!

Today, the castle is a place of family-friendly adventure, with wide open spaces to explore and play, and fascinating ruins to investigate.

Discover the captivating stories of the castle in the History of Pontefract Castle displays. Stand in the remains of the bread ovens, and be transported to a time when the castle was equipped for lavish banquets, hosting some of England's most famous monarchs.

If you haven't been for a while, now is the time to visit. We look forward to welcoming you soon!

Limited parking is available on site and in nearby town centre car parks.