The history of Pontefract, in Yorkshire

Front matter

THE KEE31. THE HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, IN YORKSHIRE; BY GEORGE FOX, SOLD BY JOHN FOX, PONTEFRACT ; ALSO, BY LONGMAN, REES, ORME AND BROWN — G. B. WHITAKER- BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY, LONDON ; JOHN BAINES — ROBINSON & HERNAMAN, LEEDS ; WOLSTENHOLME — WILSON & SONS, YORK ; SHEARDOWN & SONS, DONCASTER; R. NICHOLLS, WAKEFIELD. 1827. J. Fox, Printer, Pontefract. AS mankind was primarily created by the Supreme Being, for the reciprocal comfort and benefit of one another, an incumbent duty is imposed upon every member of society, to contribute, as much as lays in his power, towards the general good. In the beginning of the Cataline War, Sallust not only shews the difference existing between rational and irrational creatures, but thus elegantly writes : — ' Omnis homines, qui sese student præstare cæteris animalibus, summa ope niti decet, ne vitam silentio transeant, veluti pecora, quæ natura prona atque ventri obedientia finxit.' And the inimitable bard of Avon, thus deciphers man ' What is man, If his chief good, and market of his time, Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.

Sure, he, that made us with such large discourse Looking before, and after, gave us not That capability and godlike reason To rust in us unused.' Should, therefore, the following pages, which arc submitted to the public, without much comment or introduction, escape the keen eye of criticism, and meet with the approbation of the gentle reader, the most sanguine expectations of the compiler arc realized. Whatever he hath been able to glean, from the field of antiquarian lore, relative to the town and castle of Pontefract, he hath sedulously endeavoured to compress in such a form, without mutilation, as he trusts will be interesting to the general reader. In the brilliant page of history, Pontefract holds a distinguished place. Its magnificent for tress, has been the strong fortification of Saxon thanes— the embattled residence of feudal chieftains —and the turretted palace of illustrious princes.

At some periods destined to be the scene of treachery and rebellion, and rendered ' infamous for the murder and slaughter of princes;' whilst at other times, it has become celebrated in the glow of history, for en nobling deeds, and for loyal and undaunted cour age, manifested in defence of the cause of royalty. The noble lords of Pontefract, attended by their numerous retinues, lived in the greatest degree of splendour and magnificence, vieing with the estate of monarchs. Enjoying the absolute property of the whole Honor of Pontefract, an extent of territory, equal to many of our modern counties ; they became generals in the field of war, and judges in times of peace. All within the honor held their possessions of them, subject to such condi tions, as they only willed to grant ; whilst at the same time, they owed to them suit and service, and did them homage as their feudal lords.

Section I

I HE town of Pontefract, so famed in the records of English history, stands on a noble rocky eminence, approached to on every side by a considerable ascent ; and affords a prospect to the traveller, at once pleasing and picturesque. From the summit of its site may be dis tinctly seen, the stately turrets of York cathedral ; the towns of Malton, Selby, and Howden ; Brayton-bargh,* and Hambleton-haugh ;f the Wolds ; and the towering hills of Derbyshire, stretching along the horizon in grand succession. The intermediate parts of the landscape, are a combination of all that is rich and beautiful. Sparkling hamlet3 and straggling cottages, which bespeak cleanliness and comfort, abound on every side ; whilst seats of opulent nobles, adorned with open lawns, rise amid embrowned groves, and add fresh beauties to the scenery.

The disfigured fortress, rising majestically on its rugged seat, arrests the traveller's attention ; whilst the imagination luxuriates into a thousand elevated contemplations, and the mind recognizes the progressive stride of time. The landscape is intersected by small streams, which hold their courses to the river Aire, (distant from Pontefract about two miles,) whose sinuous bosom, marked by numerous white sails, grants a pleasing addition to the whole. The eye wanders over the beautifully diversified views with unabated pleasure, and rests in calm repose upon its superlative beauty. ' Let a survey or,' says the ingenious Mr. Thos. Fuller, ' set his centre at Pontefract, or thereabouts, and take the circumference of 20 miles, he there will meet with a tract of ground not exceeded by any, nor equalled for the goodness and plenty of some commodities ; nay, he would term it the garden of England, but that it is so far from the mansion-house, the city * Bargh, is sometimes used in England for a hill; and is derived from the German) word barg/t, a hill. , t Haugh, hay, hai/a or haye, signifies a fence or enclosure formed of rails, wherew-ita sojae forests, parks, &c. were anciently surrounded.

P. of London. And those, says he, who care not to go thither because of its great distance, would not desire, (were they but settled there,) to come from thence, such is the delight and pleasure therein.'* In the description of Pontefract, the incomparable antiquarian, Leland, thus writes ; — ' Pontfract is a fayre large market towne, and good occupying in hit. Ther is averie faire castel set on a rokke of stone ; an abbay of blake monks, a paroche chirche, a colledge of prestes, a place of grey freres, a faire chapell. Without the towne on the hil, where the good duke f of Lancaster was behidded, ys a faire chirche, t From Pontfract to St .Oswauls, § averie faire and wet builded howse of chanons, iii mile be much woddy grownde. At St. Oswauls is a mervelus faire conduct of water, and castelid hard againe the front of the howse.

The soile therabout riche of woode, pasture and corne-' Camden also thus notices it in his Britannia : — ' Agro sedet per amæno, glycyrrhizæ et siseris feraci, ædificiis excultum nitidis, cas trumque ostendit non minus specie-sum quam tutum.' Its streets, which run in the form of the letter Y, are broad and clean, its structures elegant, uniform and neat, and having no manufactory within its limits, the air is remarkably pure and salubrious. It is possessed of many good shops ; a cheerful neatness seems generally to prevail; and for the politeness and affability of its inhabitants, it may vie with many in the north. The soil around it is deep and fruitful, and is famed for the production of the finest liquorice, not inferior to the Spanish, || and Skirets,H in the greatest abundance. About a mile from the town, northwards, is an extreme cold bathing well, called St. Ives.

The gardens which surround the town on every side are beautiful ; and, ' how should they be otherwise when Priapus and Flora reign here in conjunction.' *- Collier's Historical Diet. ii. vide Yorkshire. t Mr. Burton in his transcript hath written earl in the margin. Mr. Stowe did the same, but altered it to duke. t Leland It. 91. $ Although St Botolph was the name formerly given to the Chapel at Knotting ley ; yet, the distance from Pontefract, the woody place near the town called the war ren, which was half a mile long and four quarantens broad, Dom. Boc. pp. 134, the new-hall divided into many partitions or dwellings, and supposed to be store-houses for the garrison of Pontefract, and the townwell, indicate this to be the village of Knot tingley. Mag. Brit. || Liquorice, (glyeyrrhiza vulgaris,) although not a native of this country, is here planted in large gardens, and flourishes greatly.

It is only fit for use at its third year's growth, and from its roots are manufactured the celebrated Pontefract Cakes. Of this plant, thus writes Barnaby Harrington in his itinerary : Latius in rupem laser est sita dulcis arentem, Veste nova*eris floribus aucta novis. Here liquorice grows upon the mellow banks Decking the spring with tier delicious plants. Veni Pomfret, uberem venam, Vergis lasepertiis plenam. Thence to Pomfret, freshly flowered, And with rods of liquorice stored. Camden's Brit. vi. 238. " If situation hath a power to please, If air salubrious can give us ease, If spacious streets and handsome houses join'd, Can satisfaction raise within the mind ; If noble ruins mouldering fast with rust, Where ancient monarchs mingle with the dust; If gardens all around can please the eyes, Embellished o'er with Flora's painted dyes; If peace and plenty, which doth here abide, (Laying all pique and prejudice aside;) If charms as these are worthy of my song, Come here, ye grave, ye gay, ye old, and young, Come here, and view the subject of my theme, Confess that Pomfret 's worthy your esteem.' Lund.

The market, which is held on the Saturday, is plentifully supplied ■with every commodity.

In the fourth year of the reign of James I. an order was passed, dated the sixth of October, for the better regulation of the sale of goods in shops, as appears by the following : Pillade ") A sessions of peace at the visitation of frank-pledge, and in Pontif. 3 the court leet of our lord James by the grace of God, of Scotland, France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. at the aforesaid town, on the sixth day of October, in the fourth year of the reign of our said king James of England, France, and Ireland, and the fortieth year of his reign over Scotland, at the same time ; was tried at our court and among other things enacted as followeth : for the necessary maintaining and upholding of the estate of this corporation, and the better to enable the poor townsmen and other inhabitants thereof, that they be not oppressed by foreigners, who not being burgesses or freemen of this town, do by taking of shops and other rooms here, without license of Mr. Mayor and his brethren, engross almost the whole trade of the town into their hands, although they neither inhabit in the town, nor pay any scott or lott there. wherefore it is ordered and enacted, by the mayor, comburgesses, and burgesses of the town, by the assent of Mr. Recorder, that no foreigner not being a freeman, inhabiting and keeping house and family here, shall at any time hereafter, buy or sell directly or indi rectly in any shop in this town, without the license of the mayor and burgesses under their corporation seal ; unless it be upon the fair or market day, and that not to be granted, but such as he freemen of the town, and this upon pain of every day's offence, 10s. and also, that such foreigners as have or shall take any shops or other rooms here for the selling of corn, shall contribute towards the relief of the poor, and other duties of the town, according to such reasonable rates, and portions, as shall be assessed by the mayor and aldermen for the time being, upon pain to lose for every defect, 5s. and to have their shops restraint, and chambers shut, till they pay the same.

In testimony whereof, the common seal of the said corporation of Pontefract, is hereunto set and affixed the day and year above written. After the passing of this order, the grain was openly exposed for sale, and continued so until the year 1740, 'to the great prej udice, damage, and impoverishment of the poor in this town and parts adja cent,' when at a general meeting held in the mote-hall, on the 26th of May in that year, it was ordered ' that no grain shall hereafter be opened and exposed for sale in the market, until after ten o'clock in the forenoon, at which time the market bell will be rung, on pain of being prosecuted.'* Its fairs t are, St. Andrew's held on the first Saturday in Decem ber ; twenty days' fair the first Saturday after the twentieth day from Christmas ; Candlemas on the first Saturday after the 13th. of February ; and St. Giles's on the first Saturday after the 12th of September ; April 8th. and May 4th. for cattle, sheep, &c. ; with the moveable fairs, Palm-Sunday, Low Sunday, May 4th, and Trinity-Sunday, which are held on the Saturday preceding each of these days respectively.

The fortnight fairs are held on the Saturday next after York fortnight fairs. The show for horses, formerly called Palm-Sunday show, now begins on the 5th. of February. Its situation is in the parish of Pontefract, in the wapontake of Osgoldcross, and in the liberty and honor of Pontefract ; and is distant from Aberford, eleven miles ; from Wakefield, nine ; from Leeds, thirteen ; from Doncaster, fourteen ; from Rotherham, twenty ; and from Ferrybridge, two and a half miles, and sixty yards ;l and is twenty four miles s.w. of York, and one hundred and seventy-three N.w. of London. The population by the census of 1801 appeared to be 3097, viz. 1394 males, and 1703 females, and the town contained 741 houses, of which 48 were uninhabited; but in 1821 the population had increased 4447, viz. 1890 males and 2557 females ; and, it was possessed of 930 houses.

Barnaby Harrington, in his itinerary, thus humourously notices this place : * Old Town's Books, pp. 180. f Edward the tirst, in the 22d. year of his reign, on the 6th of June, granted to Henry Lascy, earl of Lincoln, and constable of Chester, a market every week at his manor of Puntefract; and a fair for five days, viz. on the vigil of Palm-Sunday, Palm- Sunday, and three following days. t The measured distance from Pontefract to Ferrybridge, by two separate ways, is thus noted : from Pontefract cross, down the horsefair, broadlane, and by the wash, to Ferrybridge is 4(386 yards : and from the cross down the horsefair, by the castle, mill daoi and St. Thomas' hill, is 44CU yards. Veni Pomfret,* ubi miram Arcem, anglist regibus diram ; Laseris ortu celebrandam, Variis gestis memorandam ; Nee in Pomfret, repens certior, Quam pauperculus inertior.

N. I. M. D. As the heathens had their good genii, so likewise their evil ones are traditionally handed down to us, by those many idle stories of local ghosts which the common people do still believe haunt cities, towns, and family seats, famous for their antiquities and decays ; — of this sort are the apparitions at Verulam, Silchester, Reculver and Rochester ; the demon of Tedworth, the black dog of Winchester, the padfoot of Pontefrete, and the barguest of York, &c.t About a mile distant from the town, northwards, is the park, on an eligible part of which is built a grand stand, and the ridge above the course affords the finest prospect for an immense concourse of spectators. The races, which are annually held here in September, are generally attended by great numbers of the fashionable world, and are a period of general of festivity and merry -making.§ * Hie repetunt ortum tristissima funera regum, Quæ lachrymas oculis excutiere meis.

The tragic state ofenglish kings stood here, IVIrich to their urns pays tribute with a tear. t Kegibus anglorum dedit arx tua dira ruinam. Hoc titulo fatum cerne S . . . tuum. Here stood the fatal theatre askings, lUtichfor revenge mounts up with airy wings. t Drake's Eboracum p. 58. Leland de Script. Tan. B. B. 156. § At what period the races were first instituted is uncertain. Tetlow in his historical account ot the borough, printed in 1769, says * there were races in the meadows near the town, but they are now disused.' About the year 1801, the innkeepers, joined by a considerable number of the inhabitants of the town, set on foot annual races. Numbers of sporting gentlemen, residing in the neighbourhood, encouraged the scheme, and it was then carried into execution, A new line of road, formed by public subscription, and extending from Leeds through this place to Barnsdale, where it communicates with the great north road, was opened in the year 1822 ; and, the royal union coach commenced running the 23d, of March in the same year, having discontinued its route by way of Ferrybridge.

The first subscription raised to defray the expenditure of the formation of this road amounted to the sum of 10,141 J. 5*. which being found inefficient, a further sum was advanced amongst the original subscribers amounting to 3270/. making a total amount of 13,41H. 17*. 6d. Of men of genius, Pontefract can boast of but few being natives of the place. John Bramhall, who took an active part in the contentions of that unhappy monarch, Charles the first ; and who after the fatal fight at Marston-moor, fled with many others to the continent, was born here about the year 1593. He held two public disputations at North allerton in 1623, with three Jesuits, whom he so shamefully worsted by the evidence of truth, wisely and learnedly urged, that archbishop Mathews, who was then primate of York, hearing of his triumph, created him his chaplain, in which station he continued until the archbishop's death,* at which time he was made prebendary of York and subdean of Ripon.f He afterwards retired to his parsonage and be came beloved and admired by nobles and gentry, as well as by his parish ioners ; yet here he lay like a precious stone in the dirt, till Sir Thomas Wentworth, lord president of York, took notice of him.

He behaved himself so piously that he was not only created bishop of Deny, but at length thought worthy to be the archbishop of Armagh, to which see he was translated on 18th. January, 1660.§ He died in the year 1663, at the advanced age of 70 years. Of his works the most celebrated was ' The catching of a Leviathan, 1658 ;' in which he contended greatly against Hobbes's notion on liberty and necessity. John Lund, who ranked as an author, and wrote many pieces in prose and verse, containing sentiments of satire not unworthy of a nobler poet, was also a native of Pontefract. Amongst his productions was ' The Mirror,' published in the year 1771, to which he prefixed the motto ' poeta nascitur non fit,' appertaining to his condition in life, he being a barber and of mean parentage. In the same year he pro duced a collection of poems in imitation of Prior, amongst which appeared the ' Newcastle Rider' in poetry, as well as a dramatized piece of the same, which was then performed at the theatre with great applause. ' The Dunniad; a collection of pieces on the contested election for the borough, 1768 ; and the poem of ' Liberty,' which was dedicated to the *Camden'« Mag.

Brit, vi. 354. f Idem. Udem. late J. Smith, Esq. of Heath, near Wakefield, were also the productions of his pen. In his poem called the Mirror, he thus speaks of himself : ' Before the world when I these lines display, The snarling critics will be apt to say; Why where the devil was he born or bred > "What learning hath he got within his head I Knows he the beauties of the classic page, Or, dares he with logicians engage ? Brief's my reply— of these I none can boast, Since in grammatic education crost ; I'm deaf— I'm poor— a tonsor is my trade, My motto tells you, J was born not made.y During the Saxon sovereignty, this place was styled Chirchebi,* and derived its name, most probably, from the erection of its church, a custom prevalent among the Saxons. The term kirk is at this day applied to churches in Scotland, and the word bye, Saxon term for habitation, being coupled with it, would signify the town or hamlet adjoining.

Camden informs us, on the authority of the Dodsworth MSS. that one Askes was the first Saxon proprietor of the place, and that it descended by due succession to one Alric, from whom William the Conqueror took it.J Alric had issue Swayne, who had Adam Fitz swayne, who had two daughters, one married to Galfredi Neville, and the other to Thomas Burge.§ Leland states ' that the castel, towne, and landes about Brokenbrigg longid afore the conquest to one Richard Asschenald,|| a Saxon thane,' from whom came Ailrick and Aske ; yet the daughters of Adam Fitz swaine, who were his descendants, had no portion of Brokenbrigg.^ Thomas de Castleford,a benedictine monk of Pontefract, flourished about the year 1326, and wrote a history of the place, %X ' from which * Magna Britannia. t The family of the Askes, continued in this country until the time of Charles the first.

Their seat was at Aske, in the parish of Easby, in Richmondshire. One Whyomere bearing the arms of Aske, was a kinsman to Alan, first earl of Britain, in the conqueror's reien, and had the grant of the manor of Aske. He married Annabel, daughter of Sir John Neville, of Hornby and Hooton, knight; and had issue, Conan, Werner, Warine, Roger, and Hugh. Another branch married the daughter and heiress of De la Haye, of Aughton on the Derwernt, and by this they became lords of Ellerton and Aughton, and patrons of Ellerton Abbey, near Howden. They were also the lords of Marrick, in the North-Riding of Yorkshire, and founders of a cloister there. Robert Aske, Esq. was high sheriff of the county of York, 19 Eliz. t Camden's Mag. Brittannia, by Gough, iii. p. 238 b. 26. C. B. 695. § It is difficult to reconcile the above account of the Saxon proprietors with the silence of Domesday Book.

The manor of Tateshall is said to have belonged to the king in the time of Edward, and as the burgh is noticed in connection with Tateshall, without any Saxon proprietor being mentioned, it is natural to infer that it equally belonged to the king. The king might indeed grant his right in the burgh, or what is now called the fee-farm rent, to the above family ; which they might continue to enjoy without ever obtaining it as a freehold inheritance. In this case, though they would be considered as lords of Kirkbye in a popular sense, yet they would not be noticed in Domesday Book as not being proprietors. Stowes Annals, p. 116. II Gough's Camden's Brit. iii. folio 285. f Hollingshed's Chron. i sol. 40. tt Thomæ Castlefordi (Leland de viris illustrissimU. Oxon. 1709, p. 355, atque Bale et Pitts,) histoliam Pontefracti gesta sui cænobii.

Leland learned many new and curious particulars, which he had pro posed to interweave in his civil history'.* He says the Normans called it Pontfract from the following miracle :— William, archbishop of York, and son to king Stephen's sister, being on his return from Rome, was met here by a vast concourse of people, of whom so many crowded on the bridge, which laid over the wash, a small stream flowing on the eastern side of the church of All-hallows, that it broke down, and num bers were precipitated into the water ; yet through the fervency of the saint's prayers, none met a watery grave.f Brompton and Stubbs, how ever, say the circumstance happened on the bridge over the Ouse at York, and Gent describes a representation of the miracle, to be painted on a window near to the place where it happened.

What tends to strengthen this fact, is, that this place was styled Pontfract anterior to this period, as appears from the charters of Robert de Pontfract to the monks of St. John the evangelist ; thus, ' De domino suo de Kirkbye, et deo sancti Johanni, et monachis meis de Pontfract.' These charters were signed by Thomas archbishop of York, the first saint of that name; and Robert de Pontfract died in the seventh year of Henry the first, A.D. 1107, and 53 years must have elapsed previously to the translation of William to the see.J The great historian, Hume, supposes it to have been called Pont frete or Pontfreit, from the fertility of its soil, and the excellent pro duce of its orchards. From pomum ferre he makes Pomfrete, which might not be improbable, could this orthography only be established.

Leland says it is a French name brought in by the Lascies, on account of it being similar to Pontfrete in Normandy, §their native place, and' that it was by them substituted for the old word Brokenbrigg. Camden also corroborates this last statement in these words : ' Saxonicis temporibus Kirkbye vocabatur, sed normanni a fracto ponte, gallice Pontfract nominarunt ;'H and Leland saith, ' That it is the towne called Legeolium, afterwards Brokenbrigge, for the mines of such a bridg yet ys scene scant half a mile east owt of old Pontfract, but I cannot justlie say, that this bridg stode ful on Watheling streate.'lf Other historians assert that it was situated below the church and bondgate mill, and derived its name from the decay of an old bridge over the wash or bourn, in the road from Pontefract to Knottingley, called the Redwall Went, by which stream the current of waters flowing from the springs above, supplied the upper and lower bondgate * Leland de Script.— Tanner BB. 156. t Gough's Camd.

Brit, iii 286. t Burton's lives of the Saints. Mag. Brit. vi.p. 393, 645. Mag. Brit, vi. p. 464, 18i » Vide MSS. Pedigree of T. Wilson, in Biblioths Leeds. | Camden's Mag. Britannia, folio 711, f Gough's Camd. Brit, iii, 285. or bourn gate mills,* and which when swollen with rains, rendered Oftentimes the road quite impassable, before it was carried in the drains to Knottingley, or to serve the mills. But this stream retains not its name above a bowshot, as by an inquisition, taken during the reign of Edward the second, the doubt seems to be cleared up concern ing Pontefract bridge ; for it appears that one John Bubwith held the I7th part of a knight's fee,t nigh the old bridge ; juxta veterem pontem de Pontfract, and at this day a place called Buhwith-house ter minates the stream.t Kyrkeby oppidum quod recentes vocant Pontemfractum.

Oppidum de Kyrkbye olim adjacebat Ponti, quem incolae, quia jam præ senio ru inas agebat, vulgari lingua Brokenbrige vocabant. Distat hie pons nostris temporibus ad quingentos passus ab oppido. Sed jam ita usu inolevit, ut ex Brokenbrige invalente lingua gallica per nortmannos, in anglia Pontfrete vocetur.|| The opinion of a respectable antiquarian, that the name Pontfract was given originally to Castleford, and that on the decay of the place,§ the inhabitants fled here, and granted to their new abode the same name, is erroneous and unsatisfactory. It is also incorrectly stated, that a bridge was built at Castleford at so early a period, for although we find it noted, that when the navigation was formed there, the old Roman road appeared some feet below the surface of the ground, shelving towards the bed of the river ; yet the following historical fact evidently proves that no bridge was built anterior to the conquest.

William the Conqueror, in the year 1070, receiving intelli gence that the castle of York was besieged, and, that a general revolt had taken place amongst the English in the north, aided by the Scots and Danes ; levied a formidable army, at the head of which he marched towards the rebels, vowing in his wrath, that ' by the splendor of God's face,' he would not leave a Northumbrian alive to stir up future insurrections. — In a word, William so executed his design, and with such unrelenting cruelty, that the whole country between York ancs Durham was made a dreary desert, and remained so for the space of nine years.lf * The upper rrtill was situated within a short distance from the north east corner of the castle, and is now occupied as a manufactory for sacking; the lower one is situate about 600 yards below the castle, near the Knottingley road.

This was internally de molished, in 1766, and the materials sold. The meadow in which it stands was formerly a large sheet of water. T A barony consisted of thirteen knightsr fees and a third part of another, and yielded a yearly revenue of 400 marks, or 2661. 13s. 4rf. Spelman.--l)u Cange.— Gloss, in- Voc. Baro Baronia. A knight's fee, in the time of Henry III. was \bl. a year inheritance, which was then held to be a convenient revenue to maintain a knight. Cam. Brit. De grees of State. t Gent's Historia Compendiosa Romana ii. 27. 5 Camden's Mag. Brit, by Gough, folio 238, a. |[ Leland's Collect, iv. 45 et seq. Mon. Ang. Ex chronico, Torcvallensi aut. incert. sed scrip, temp. Richardi primi. f R. Hoveden, col. ii, 258. C Whilst on his bloody and desolating march, William came to Ponte fract, then styled Kirkbye, when he discovered that the rebels had destroyed the bridge over the Aire at Fenybridge, and the waters being much swollen, he despaired of obtaining a passage for a con siderable time.

Impatiently did he wait here three weeks, when one of his Norman knights, called Lisours, (probably the same person afterwards called Lascy,) discovered a ford by which William and his forces passed the river. It is most probable that this ford was at Castleford, for the very name implies that the stream was fordable here. Drake states it positively to have arisen from the old Legeolium of Antoninus ;* and, Leland says, ' as far as I can gather this is the town anciently called Legeolium,' where the roman garrison was kept; which, according to Hoveden the historian, was situated at Casterfordjf now called Castleford.t At this village, about two miles distant from Pontefract,§ was fought a bloody engagement between the Danes and Saxons under Edred, in the year 950. Polydore Virgil, an Urbinet Italian, and canon of St. Paul's in the days of Henry VIII, supposes Pontefract to be the Camulodunum of the Romans ; yet Hollingshed states this to be an error, and places Camulodunum as far distant as Colchester. * Anton.