Wakefield Museums and Castles

Liquorice grows well in Pontefract's sandy soil. It is planted in deep trenches for the long roots to grow down into.

Growers harvest the roots once they are long enough. They squeeze out the liquorice to use in sweets or medicine.

Valley Gardens used to be one of the main areas in Pontefract for growing liquorice. These scales were used there to weigh the roots as they were harvested. The farmers and workers were paid by weight. 

By 1900 Pontefract had at least 12 sweet factories.

The local farmers couldn't keep up with demand. The factories began to use liquorice imported from Turkey or Spain. Another common local word for liquorice is 'Spanish'.

Today a lot of liquorice is imported into the UK from China.