LETTER: Pontefract Park offers photo opportunity

We have some photos from council archives and those of the Pontefract Heritage Group, but would like more covering the early and middle 20th century and late 19th century.

If you have photographs of the Park at this time Friends of Pontefract Park would appreciate copies of them to include in the exhibition. Please contact Tony Dawe at [email protected] address.

The Park is one of Pontefract’s major assets, part of Pontefract’s history and the largest park in the Wakefield Metropolitan Borough.

The parkland was originally held by Lord de Lacy as a Deer Park in the 11th and 12th centuries, became part of the Duchy of Lancaster and was given as common land to Pontefract in the 18th century in a Charitable Trust. This Trust was set up to maintain the Park for the benefit of the citizens of Pontefract and still exists today.

The Trustees are senior WMDC personnel and three of them attend the Park Steering Group meetings, one being the chair. Members of Friends of Pontefract Park also attend these meetings, as do local councillors and representatives of the Race Course Co.

Our Park has an important place in local history and today a place of outdoor enjoyment for young and old, sportsman or not.

Please become a friend to Pontefract Park and help us make it worthy of being called Pontefract Park and an notable destination for visitors coming to Pontefract and the Five Towns Area.

Tony Dawe, Friends of Pontefract Park