Pontefract Revisited

Kirkebi Anglo Saxon church

When I first visited Pontefract, back in 1999, it was to undertake a survey of the stonework at All Saints church and, although I visited the historic town centre, to note the principal building stones used, it was another 15 years before I revisited to take a good look at Pontefract Castle, the old sandstone quarry on its north flank and a part of the town where moulding sand was once extensively mined from the Yellow Sands Formation.

All Saints church in Pontefract

A couple of years later, having joined the Sheffield U3A Geology Group, I decided to visit Pontefract Castle again to specifically go on one of the short tours of its magazine - excavated into the Newstead Rock that underpins the castle – and to assess its suitability as part of a potential future field trip to Pontefract with the group.

Vuggy dolomitic limestone at Pontefract Monkhill railway station

Although the geology encountered in the magazine proved to be very interesting and I discovered some good outcrops of vuggy Magnesian limestone at Pontefract Monkhill railway station, which added to the points of interest that I had previously identified, my trip coincided with the demise of the contractor who had been undertaking an extensive programme of restoration to the castle.

Consolidation works to the rock face beneath the north curtain wall

The resultant delays to the works and disruption to this very popular tourist attraction set back my ideas to lead the group around Pontefract; however, my suggestion that the old quarry faces below the north curtain wall could be conserved for its geological value – as at Sandal Castle – was well received and, with special group visits to the magazine possible, I still think this would make a great field trip.

Newstead Rock in the quarry face beneath the north curtain wall

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and, after I had proposed this at the January 2018 indoor meeting of the geology group, only to discover that the year's field trip itinerary had been already set, I subsequently discovered that my last set of photographs had gone missing.

Stone restoration at Pontefract Castle

Not to be deterred, I decided to visit Pontefract Castle again on the late May Bank Holiday this year, to coincide with their Siege Weekend. Although much of the castle was still a building site, I saw very many interesting examples of stone restoration – in the castle grounds itself and along the walls of Castle Garth – that confirmed my thoughts for its suitability as a field trip location.

Stone restoration along Castle Garth