Pontefract Museum

About the museum

Pontefract Museum occupies an Art Nouveau building in the centre of the town, designed by George Pennington and opened in 1904 as a Carnegie library. When a new library was built in 1975, the old building was converted into a museum, and it opened to the public in March 1975. The building is Grade II listed and still has its tiled entrance hall and mosaic floor.

The collections focus on Pontefract and its surroundings and include archaeology, archives, fine and decorative art, photographs and social history. Archaeological finds from Pontefract Castle and St John’s Priory sit alongside the Ackworth Hoard, nearly 600 gold and silver coins from the English Civil War found buried in a garden.

The museum also tells the story of Pontefract’s liquorice industry, with vintage tins and packaging from local firms, and of the 1872 ballot box used in Britain’s first secret ballot. Other displays cover Yorkshire kitchens, the Georgian cookery writer Elizabeth Moxon and the coloured glass made by Bagley and Co in nearby Knottingley.

The museum is run by Wakefield Council’s museums and castles service. Entry is free.

Highlights

• Ackworth Hoard of almost 600 Civil War coins
• Ballot box from the first secret ballot of 1872
• Pontefract Cakes and liquorice industry displays
• Panoramic 1640 painting of Pontefract Castle on loan from The Hepworth Wakefield
• Bagley coloured glass in the Glass Room

Permanent exhibitions

• Civil War treasures and archaeology – Finds from Pontefract Castle and St John’s Priory, medieval carved stonework and the Ackworth Hoard of almost 600 Civil War coins.
• Liquorice and Pontefract Cakes – Vintage tins and packaging from local liquorice firms, telling how the plant has been grown in the town since medieval times.
• The 1872 ballot box – The ballot box from Britain’s first secret ballot, shown with the liquorice stamp used to seal it.

Founded

1975

Operated by

Wakefield Council

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free and no booking or ticket is needed. Exhibitions are free; most events are free or low-cost.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Step-free access and a hearing loop are available. An accessible toilet with baby changing is in the corridor between the entrance foyer and the Glass Room and needs no RADAR key; there is no Changing Places toilet (the nearest is at Junction 32 Outlet Shopping Village, about 2 miles away). The nearest accessible parking is Stuart Road car park, 0.3 miles away, with 15 disabled spaces. Staff are trained in Makaton, sighted guiding and autism awareness. The Reference Room and Glass Room are tighter to move around in.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

Free family activities and trails are available, with dressing-up, a rocking horse, a market stall and creative activities. There is no pushchair storage, but pushchairs are welcome throughout the museum. The relaxed opening on Tuesday afternoons offers fidget and sensory objects, a pop-up quiet tent and borrowable ear defenders.

Getting there & parking

Leave the M62 at junction 32.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available

There is no café; food outlets are nearby, and food and drink are not allowed in the galleries. Pontefract Castle, about a ten-minute walk away, has picnic benches.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit