John Prophet (MP died c. 1399) John Prophet (MP died c. 1399) John Prophet (died c. 1399), of Hereford, was a medieval merchant and mayor, whose real identity is uncertain. John Prophet was a clothier in Hereford. Circa 1377 he was one of twenty-five citizens appointed by Richard II as Custodians of the city with full powers as Commissioners of Array to marshall the town's defences. From 1385 onwards he was regularly employed to witness deeds. He was entitled to amortize messuages by royal licence to sponsor a chapel chantry for the Holy Rood in All Saints Church in the centre of the city to pray
Pontefract cake with a stamp, to form their traditional look (the workers who did this were known as "cakers" and were able to produce upwards of 30,000 per day), but now they are usually machinery formed. The embossed stamp was originally a stylised image of Pontefract Castle with a raven on the top bar, which is thought to have been in use for almost 400 years. When the first secret ballot in the United Kingdom was held in Pontefract on 15 August 1872, the ballot box used was sealed using a Pontefract cake stamp from Frank Dunhill’s factory, which shows the image