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Wakefield Museums and Castles
Liquorice farming
The first mention of liquorice being grown in Pontefract dates to the 1500s. It is thought to have come to the town even earlier, with monks in the 1090s or 1200s.
People grew it in plots of land behind their houses, known as “garths”.
At first, liquorice was used as medicine, for horses as well as humans! To make it easy to buy and store, the liquorice was made into liquorice pastilles. These were then dissolved in water.
The Dunhill family grew liquorice at Pontefract Castle for more than a century.
George Dunhill was an apothecary. He trialled adding sugar to his liquorice medicines. This led to the invention of Pontefract Cakes in the late 1700s.
The early cakes were stamped with the seal of Pontefract Castle as a mark of their quality.
A 'Dunhill's original Potnefract Cakes' tin in the Wakefield Museums and Castles collection
The invention of Pontefract Cakes kickstarted the confectionary industry in Pontefract. The industry continues to this day with Haribo.
Most importantly, you can also buy Pontefract Cakes and other liquorice goodies in our Gift Shop!
Between May and September, liquorice can also be seen growing in our Medieval Herb Garden.
Find out more on a tour
If you would like to find out more, then come and visit us at Pontefract Castle!
We run two types of guided tour every weekend:
- Our Dungeon Tours explore the eerie underground dungeon. They are at 10:45am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Our Castle Explorer Tours tell stories of the castle's past around the grounds. They are at 2pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.