Talk:Pontefract

dates

could we say which century or range of centuries the castle dates from? not all readers will known when "norman times" were. -- Tarquin

"Broken Bridge"

I don't think the name does come from the Latin for "broken bridge", though that's what I assumed when I first heard it. As the article says later on, it used to be known as Pomfret. What is the evidence for this statement? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.0.174 (talk) 15:18, 30 October 2005

Ekwall's Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names (1936–60) cites:

• Fracti-pontis (genitive) 1069 (1141) Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica
• Pontefracto (dative) 1100–2 Early Yorkshire Charters 1418
• Pontfreit 1177 Pipe Rolls

(I don't know what to make of the double dating.)

Ekwall also says the local pronunciation is pumfrit. Obviously either Pontem Fractum (Latin) or Pont Freit (French), meaning Broken Bridge, is the original and Pomfret the worn-down descendant thereof. —Tamfang 21:27, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

Lacy

Nothing on the Lacy family, who probably built the castle and certainly were the first holders of the honour of Pontefract? See W. E. Wightman, The Lacy Family in England and Normandy 1066-1194 (Clarendon Press, 1966). I'll try to find time to do this. -----Michael K. Smith 19:12, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

POV

The phrase "In recent years much of the town has grown considerably poorer" demonstrates a personal point of view and is unquantifiable. Jonobass 13:37, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

It seems incredibly that there is no reference to Pontefract's role at the heart of the Yorkshire mining industry. Prince of Wales colliery, Pontefract, was one of the centres of militancy during the 1984-85 strike. There were also several other pits in the immediate vicinity, with Pontefract providing a commercial centre for those communities. The reason thew town has grown poorer is because of the economic collapse following the closure of the pits from 1985 onwards. Rather than deleting this POV reference maybe it should be expanded Billieco (talk) 21:04, 22 February 2009 (UTC)Billie

True?

"...sporting one of the most concentrated numbers of public houses in the UK"

• Is this true? Is there any evidence from a source to back this claim up? I think this should be removed if it is not actually true and backed up by a source, I couldn't find a source on the internet, if someone wouldn't mind looking for a source as well it would be helpful. Otherwise it should be removed from the page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.143.91.48 (talk) 11:54, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Edward Upward?

Actually, I came to this page because I was intrigued to read that the English writer Edward Upward, friend of Stephen pender and Christopher Isherwood, died in Ponty earlier this month. This is recorded on Wikipedia. Does anyone know what his connection was with Pontefract? Billieco (talk) 21:11, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

According to the Telegraph "In his last years he had been living in a care home at Pontefract, close to the home of his daughter, who survives him." Keith D (talk) 22:07, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Schools

Would it be worth noting that there used to be 4 schools. 2 Girls' and two Boys'. One of the girls schools is now NEW College (mention in the piece). The other Girls' school site is where Morrisons (and it's car park) and the new (?) swimming baths are.

The two boys schools became comprehensives and are the ones we have now.

I'm currently looking for a good reference! Dannman (talk) 15:46, 28 April 2010 (UTC)