Cistercian Abbeys -- July 29, 2025

Many, many Yorkshire memories.

Rievaulx Abbey, pages: 74, 102, 106 - 108, 160, 180, 260, 306-309.

Rievaulx Abbey, wiki.

Cistercian abbeys, from another blog, posted March 11, 2010. Licorice and Rievaulx Abbey.

During my multiple visits to Yorkshire between 2002 and 2004, a close friend introduced me to the abbeys in the shire. We visited them all, and visited them more than once. I think Rievaulx Abbey was one of my favorites.

Today, while tutoring a student, somehow the subject of licorice came up. We were curious about the origin of licorice. I guessed licorice originated somewhere in Africa or possibly southwest Asia. Wow, was I wrong. It originated in southern Europe.

But this, from Wikipedia, almost made me fall off my chair:

Pontefract, an old medieval town in West Yorkshire, England, was the first place where liquorice mixed with sugar began to be used as a sweet in the same way it is in the modern day. Pontefract Cakes were originally made there. In Yorkshire and Lancashire it is colloquially known as Spanish, supposedly because Spanish monks grew liquorice root at Rievaulx Abbey near Thirsk.

Maybe more later, but this is enough memories of Yorkshire for me for the moment.

Yorkshire, Pontefract, Licorice -- From ChatGPT -- Not Formatted -- July 29, 2025

Pontefract: 30 minutes southeast of Leeds.

How did we ever miss Ponefract???

Ah, Pontefract, licorice, abbeys, and Yorkshire — now that’s a rich mix of English heritage, botanical oddities, and medieval intrigue. Let’s unpack this in layers:

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📍 

Pontefract, Yorkshire, England

• Pontefract is a historic market town in West Yorkshire, England, located near the River Aire and within the district of Wakefield.

• It was once a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and is most famous for:

  • Pontefract Castle — now a ruin, but once among the strongest castles in England (where Richard II allegedly died).

  • A center for liquorice production (more on that in a moment).

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Pontefract & Licorice (Liquorice)

• Pontefract has a centuries-old connection to the licorice root plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra.

• Licorice was originally grown in monastery gardens — notably at Pontefract Priory, a Cluniac monastery founded in the 1090s.

• Monks used it for medicinal purposes, particularly as a remedy for coughs, stomach issues, and inflammation.

• Over time, licorice cultivation spread, and Pontefract became synonymous with the production of licorice sweets, especially:

  • Pontefract Cakes – small, round, stamped black licorice discs, originally a medicinal lozenge.

    • The stamp traditionally featured a castle or a stylized fleur-de-lis.

    • Often produced by companies like Wilkinsons and Haribo (which still makes them today).

• What’s unique: Pontefract is one of the few places in England where licorice was historically grown outdoors, due to its relatively mild climate and rich soil.

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Abbeys and Monastic Roots

• Pontefract Priory (now gone) was the religious anchor that first cultivated licorice for herbal remedies.

• Not far from Pontefract, in the larger Yorkshire region, you’ll find other dramatic abbey ruins with a licorice or herbal tradition:

  • Fountains Abbey – a magnificent Cistercian ruin near Ripon.

  • Rievaulx Abbey – another Cistercian monastery nestled in a North Yorkshire valley.

  • Kirkstall Abbey – near Leeds; this one is often linked to monastic herbal gardens.

• These abbeys had large gardens growing everything from thyme and rosemary to medicinal plants like comfrey and licorice.

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🗺️ Yorkshire: The Larger Context

• Yorkshire is the largest historic county in England, divided into North, South, East, and West Ridings (West Riding includes Pontefract).

• It’s known for:

  • Medieval heritage (castles, abbeys, battlefields)

  • Rugged landscapes (Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors)

  • Food culture — including licorice, Wensleydale cheese, and Yorkshire pudding

  • The Wars of the Roses — Pontefract was an important military location.

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⚗️ Fun Historical Connection

• King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries (including Pontefract Priory) in the 1530s, which ended monastic licorice cultivation… but the trade in licorice as a sweet took off during the 18th and 19th centuries, especially when sugar became cheaper.

• Pontefract’s shift from monastic medicine to commercial candy is a neat arc of economic history.

Major Mark Hoggan -- 2007

Oksol Bruce A Col AIA/SG 

From:bruce.oksol@lackland.af.mil

To:mark.hoggan-02@fairchild.af.mil

Cc:oksol@yahoo.com

Tue, Jun 5, 2007 at 4:56 PM

Mark,

Thank you for the update.  I did not get back to Menwith Hill, which is

one of my biggest disappointments this year, but perhaps for the best.

I have great memories, and perhaps going back, the reality would not

have lived up to expectations.

Having said that, I would like to return someday -- to Yorkshire, not

the installation -- as a civilian.

My official retirement day is 1 July 07, having served at that time, 30

years, 7 days (one retires the first day of the following month of the

mandatory 30-year retirement date).

Mike was fortunate to have had such a long time in Yorkshire, but I'm

glad to see he's a volunteer to a northern tier location; it has to be

tough for the USAF to get folks to those locations.  I'm from Williston,

two hours west of Minot, and even though it's my (ancestral) home I

really could not enjoy living there (permanently).

Are you at risk of deploying to the Mideast? Bring me up to date on your

chidren.

Things are quiet here -- my last month in the USAF.  Hard to believe how

fast it went by, and I still feel very young.  I feel blessed to still

be in good health.

I had a nice retirement / family reunion in southern California last

week; it was easier for me to be out there with family, than to have

family (on both sides) try to fly to San Antonio for retirement

ceremony. 

I will copy this to my home e-mail address so I have yours.

Keep in touch.

Bruce

-----Original Message-----

From: Hoggan, Mark E Maj 92 MDOS/SGOPF

Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 3:31 PM

To: Oksol Bruce A Col AIA/SG

Subject: update

Col Oksol,

How are things with you? I wasn't sure if you have already started your

summer events yet.  I just wanted to let you know I heard from Mike

Shipman- apparently he is PCSing to Minot- closer to family. He thought

about retiring, but looks like he's staying in for another tour.  Did

you ever get back to Menwith per chance?

Hope all is well with you and your family.

Mark