Pontefract cake map of the 1648 Siege of Pontefract (reproduced in Chartres) the liquorice is indicated as being grown in "garths" either side of Micklegate, the street which runs between Pontefract's Market Place and the castle. In the 18th century liquorice was used as a medicine both for humans and for horses. The Pontefract cake "was almost certainly a black cake, the portable lozenge used to make 'liquorish water', stamped with the castle lodge emblem of Pontefract to signify quality. This trade mark had been employed on Pontefract cakes since 1612, when the initials 'GS' were used, and are thought to be
Pontefract Hermitage Pontefract Hermitage Pontefract Hermitage is a medieval hermitage situated below the old Southgate entrance to the General Infirmary in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is a grade I listed structure. The retreat consists of two chambers carved out of sandstone, side by side but on different levels. From the lower chamber a 63 step spiral staircase descends to a well. The later upper chamber, known as the Oratory, measures by with a domed ceiling up to 8 feet high. The Oratory contains an altar, a fireplace, a bench and low stool and a bed shelf. The entrance to the hermitage