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:

---

📍 

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).

---

🍬 

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.

---

🕍 

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.

---

🗺️ 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.

---

⚗️ 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.