Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the

River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...

and the

Aire and Calder Navigation The Aire and Calder Navigation is the canalised section of the Rivers Aire and Calder in West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the ...

. It is located north east of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, north of

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

and south east of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. Castleford is the largest town in the Wakefield district after Wakefield itself. The town is the site of a Roman settlement. Within the historical Castleford Borough are the suburbs of Airedale, Cutsyke,

Ferry Fryston Ferry Fryston is a suburb of the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield. The appropriate ward is called Airedale and Ferry Fryston. In the 18th century Ferry Fryston was ...

, Fryston Village, Glasshoughton, Half Acres, Hightown, Lock Lane, Townville, Wheldale and Whitwood. Castleford is home to the

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

Super League team Castleford Tigers.

History

Castleford's history dates back to Roman times, archaeological evidence points to modern day Castleford being built upon a

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

settlement which was called

Lagentium Lagentium or Legiolum was the Roman name for the fort and surrounding civilian settlement which was built around the year 74 by the Roman Empire. The English town of Castleford, West Yorkshire, is now built on what was the fort. Etymology The na ...

(thought to mean 'The Place of the Swordsmen'). Roman funeral urns have been found in modern-day Castleford, giving further evidence to this theory. A Roman milestone was unearthed in Beancroft Road, now believed to be in Leeds City Museum. Queen's Park in Castleford provides evidence of Roundhouses used by the

Anglo Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

. This was a strategic area due to the views of the entire settlement. The history of the area includes

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

's encampment in nearby Knottingley and Ferrybridge (originally thought to be in Castleford itself) whilst his forces laid siege to Pontefract Castle. Hightown, Castleford, All Saints Church - geograph

Hightown, Castleford, All Saints Church - geograph

In the 19th century, Castleford became a boomtown with the population growing from 1,000 to 14,000 as collieries opened around the town; however, these collieries closed in the 20th century.

Ferrybridge Power Station The Ferrybridge power stations were a series of three coal-fired power stations on the River Aire near Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire, England, in operation from 1927 to 2016 on a site next to the junction of the M62 and A1(M) motorways. The ...

and

Kellingley Colliery Kellingley Colliery was a deep coal mine in North Yorkshire, England, east of Ferrybridge power station. It was owned and operated by UK Coal. The colliery closed on 18 December 2015, marking the end of deep-pit coal mining in Britain. The ...

have also closed (in 2015 and 2016 respectively) and used to employ Castleford residents. The newer warehouses and distribution centres in Glasshoughton have brought in many new jobs to the area. In 2008 '' Grand Designs'' presenter Kevin McCloud and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

led a community regeneration scheme to redevelop Castleford. In February 2017 Castleford Swimming Pool closed. A new modern leisure facility including a swimming pool is proposed for nearby Pontefract Park.

Economy

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...

, the retailer and designer label, has a factory in the town, plans were proposed to close this once a new facility was built in Leeds. However these plans were put on hold in 2016 and the factory is due to remain in the town for the foreseeable future. A large

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...

factory, which produced Toffee Crisp and After Eights for 40 years, closed in 2012 and demolition starting in 2014 to make way for housing. Castleford has previously been home to Dunsford and Wesley Textiles, which at peak business times had three factories in Castleford which have all since ceased production. Castleford had potteries from the early 18th century until 1961, notably the Castleford Pottery (1790-1820) of David Dunderdale, which gave its name to "Castleford-type" stonewares.

Governance

Castleford Civic Centre (24th April 2021) 016

Castleford was established as an urban district, in the administrative county of the

in 1894 under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, with an urban district council. Whitwood and Glasshoughton were added to the district in the 1930s. The urban district was incorporated as a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

in 1955. Following the Local Government Act 1972, the municipal borough was abolished on 1 April 1974, it then became an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan borough in

. Castleford is now controlled by

Wakefield Council Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, also known as Wakefield Council, is the local authority of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council and provides a full range of local government services inc ...

. Three electoral wards cover the town: Airedale and Ferry Fryston; Altofts and Whitwood; and Castleford Central and Glasshoughton.

Amenities and entertainment

The town contains the ''Junction 32'' multi-store outlet shopping village and the '' Xscape'' leisure complex, both in the Glasshoughton suburb at the south of the town. Within Xscape is the large ''Snozone'', which used to have Britain's largest indoor real snow slope; this was later edged out by ''Chillfactore'' in Manchester. It is also home to Frankie & Benny's and Nando's restaurants. It is also home to a 14-screen ''Cineworld'', which underwent a refit in 2018 and is now home to a 4DX screen and a Screen X. Castleford has an open and an indoor market, a shopping centre on Carlton Street and a retail park; in addition,

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...

, Morrisons,

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

and Co-operative supermarkets are located there. Castleford Forum Museum April 2017

In December 2013, the ''Castleford Forum Museum'', a library and heritage museum, opened in a new building. The town's library had been in temporary accommodation for two years, while the old site was redeveloped. The existing frontage was kept, while the building further back was demolished. A new three-floor building was then constructed. The town centre has

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s, bars and social clubs, although the number of these has declined in recent years with leisure becoming focused on the ''Xscape'' complex. In 2000, three nightclubs were situated in the town centre; today, none remain.

Media

The local newspaper is a weekly called Pontefract and Castleford Express.

Transport

Roads

Castleford is only away from the M62 at Junction 32 via the A656 road. It has other A roads that criss-cross the town and provide access to Junction 31 on the same motorway.

Waterways

The rivers Aire and Calder have a confluence just north-west of the town and also feed the Aire and Calder Navigation. Whilst it is an industrial waterway, it also hosts tourism with moorings on the Castleford Cut of the Navigation.

Railways

Castleford railway station is situated on both the Hallam and Pontefract lines; these lines connect the town directly with

, Barnsley,

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. All trains arrive from the west and leave in that same direction. In January 2021, the station was completely revamped, providing a modern waiting facility, sheltered cycle parking and changes to the car park layout. Train services used to travel eastwards to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, via Burton Salmon, but passenger workings ceased in 1970 with the section retained for freight workings only. Castleford also had a second service to Leeds that left the station eastwards and swung north onto the former Castleford–Garforth line, which saw services calling at Ledston and Kippax, before arriving in

Garforth Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the popula ...

and continuing to Leeds. The Glasshoughton area of the town is served by its own railway station, which is situated one stop beyond Castleford on the Pontefract line.

Buses

In 2016, a new £6 million

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

was opened adjacent to the railway station to allow an integrated travel site for the 12,000 people using the bus station per day. Local services are provided primarily by

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

, but also by Globe Holidays (Barnsley) and Ross Travel. Routes link Castleford with Leeds, Pontefract and Wakefield.

Education

The town's primary schools for young children are Wheldon Infant School, Castleford Park Junior, Smawthorne Henry Moore, Townville Infant School, Airedale Juniors, Oyster Park Primary, Fairburn View Primary, Three Lane Ends Academy, Ackton Pastures and Half Acres. Castleford's secondary schools for children aged 11–16 are Castleford Academy and Airedale Academy. The town has a small further and higher education college on the Castleford Campus of

Wakefield College Wakefield College is a Further Education and Higher Education College in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It has provided education in the city since 1868. On 1 March 2022, the college merged with Selby College to form the 'Heart of Yorkshi ...

in Glasshoughton.

Sport

Rugby League

Castleford is a

town. The local team, Castleford Tigers was formed in 1926, Castleford was one of the twelve founder members of Super League when the new league format was introduced in 1996. The 'Tigers' nickname and logo were introduced in 1992 and the clubs honours include four Challenge Cup and one Super League leaders shield. The club have been based at

Wheldon Road Wheldon Road (known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship purposes) is the home ground of Castleford Tigers Rugby league Club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. It is on Wheldon Road, just outside Castleford town centre. The record att ...

since 1927. Castleford also has two other lower league rugby league teams, Castleford Lock Lane and Castleford Panthers. Rugby league in the town was originally represented by Castleford, unrelated to Castleford RUFC, who did not participate in The schism in English rugby and still exist, nor were they predecessors of the current Castleford Tigers who were founded in 1926. The original Castleford rugby league club played in the Northern Union (Rugby Football League) from 1896–97 to 1905–06, and it had one player named

Isaac Cole Isaac Cole (9 April 1886 – ) was an English rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) foCastleford and representative level rugby league (RL) for England and ...

who won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1906 against Other Nationalities.

Motorcycle sport

From June 1979 to July 1980, Castleford had its own

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

racing team, The Kings, based at the Castleford Whitwood Stadium. The circuit was 202 yards and the team never entered the league – only challenge matches were staged. In the 1960s, motorcycle scrambling used to take place on the north side of the hill at Queens Park. This was often featured on the BBC's Grandstand sports programme on Saturday afternoons and was commentated upon by Murray Walker.

Football

Glasshoughton Welfare play in the Northern Counties East League, Fryston Colliery Welfare were members of this league until they left in 1991 due to ground grading problems. In the 1920s Castleford Town played in the Midland League alongside clubs such as Doncaster Rovers, Chesterfield, Scunthorpe United, Halifax Town, Leeds United (for 1919–20 season only), Lincoln City and Mansfield Town. This league also contained the reserve sides of Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Nottingham Forest, Grimsby Town and Hull City. In 1920 Castleford reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup, losing 2–3 at Bradford Park Avenue. Castleford played at Wheldon Road – when they shut down the ground was taken over by the rugby league team.

Greyhound racing

Castleford hosted two greyhound tracks both of which are no longer in existence. The first was in Whitwood and held racing from 1939 until 2001. The second track was the slightly larger 1,500 capacity Castleford Sports Stadium located east of Lock Lane sitting on the north bank of the River Aire.

Notable people

People born in Castleford: * Paul J. Anderson (born 1971), rugby footballer * Mark Aston (born 1967), rugby coach * Arthur "Bruss" Atkinson (1906-1963), rugby footballer * Dennis Baddeley (1921-2006), rugby footballer * Mark D. Bailey (born 1960), professor * George W. Banks (c.1909-????), rugby footballer *

John Beaman John Richard Beaman (born 5 October 1951) was formerly one of the ten States of Alderney Members, and he became the Chairman of the influential Policy and Finance Committee in January 2011. Prior to this, he was the Island’s Representative for ...

(born 1951), politician * Ben Blackmore (born 1993), rugby footballer * Peter Broughton (born 1935), cricketer * Sonia Burgess (1947-2010), immigration lawyer * Mark Burns-Williamson (born 1964), politician * Wilf Burrows (1902-1985), footballer * Abi Burton (born 2000), rugby player * Harold "Harry" Burton (died 2009), rugby footballer * Mark Byford (born 1958), deputy director-general of BBC *

Fred Carter Fredrick James Carter (born February 14, 1945), nicknamed "Mad Dog" or "Doggy", is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons (1969– 77) for the Balti ...

, rugby footballer * James "Sticks" Clare (born 1991), rugby footballer *

Daryl Clark Daryl Clark (born 10 February 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League and England at international level. He played for the Castleford Tigers ( Heritage � ...

(born 1993), rugby footballer *

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

(1938-2019), rugby footballer * Matt Crowther (born 1974), rugby footballer * Will Dagger (born 1999), rugby footballer * Jonathan Davies (born 1991), rugby footballer * Les Dyl (1952-2022), rugby footballer * Cecil Eastwood (1894-1968), footballer * Greg Eden (born 1990), rugby footballer * Derek Edwards (c.1943-2020), rugby footballer * Brett Ferres (born 1986), rugby footballer * Richard Foulkes (born 1909), footballer * Tommy Gale (1895-1976), footballer * Sammy Gledhill (1913-1994), footballer * John A. Harman (born 1950), politician *

Jack Hebden Jack T. Hebden (born 1900) was an English professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), right back. Career Born in Castleford, Hebden played for Castleford Town F.C., Castleford Town, Bradford Ci ...

(born 1900), footballer * Jonny Hepworth (born 1989), rugby footballer * Keith Hepworth (born c.1942), rugby footballer * Gary Hetherington (born 1954), rugby footballer * Thomas Holmes (born 1996), rugby footballer * John Illingworth (1904-1964), footballer * Gill Isles (born 1972), TV producer * Neil James (1961-2014), rugby footballer * Kryan Johnson (born 1994), rugby footballer * John Kear (born 1954), rugby coach *

Stan Kielty Stanley "Stan" Kielty (20 July 1925 – 31 December 2008) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and Coach (sport), coached in the 1960s. He played at representative level for England national rugby league team, ...

(1925-2008), rugby footballer * Brad Knowles (born 1993), rugby footballer *

Shaun Le Roux Shaun Le Roux (born September 27, 1986 in Cape Town) is a professional squash player who represents South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the ...

(born 1986), squash player * Christopher "Cliff" Lethbridge (born 1963), cricketer * Joyce Lishman (1947-2021), professor * Walter "Ginger" Lynch (1896-c.1923), footballer * Dominic Maloney (born 1987), rugby footballer * Lester Marshall (1902-1956), footballer * Nathan Massey (born 1989), rugby footballer * Peter Meakin (born 1942), journalist * Roger Millward (1947-2016), rugby footballer * Henry Moore (1898-1986), artist *

Viv Nicholson Vivian "Viv" Nicholson (nee Asprey; 3 April 1936 – 11 April 2015) was a British woman who became famous when she told the media that she would "spend, spend, spend" after her husband Keith won £152,319 () on the football pools in 1961. Nicho ...

(1936-2015), expatriate * Julian Norton (born 1972), veterinary surgeon * Steve Norton (born 1951), rugby player * Danny Orr (born 1978), rugby coach * Stephen Payne (born 1975), footballer * Daryl Peach (born 1972), pool player *

Mervyn Pike Irene Mervyn Parnicott Pike, Baroness Pike, (16 September 1918 – 11 January 2004) was a British Conservative politician. The name by which she came to be known, Mervyn, had been the name of her father's best friend, who was to have been her ...

(1918-2004), politician * Harry Poole (1935-1977), rugby footballer * Gary "Slogger" Price (born 1961), rugby footballer * Colin Roberts (1933-2017), footballer * Donald Robinson (1932-2017), rugby footballer * Ash Robson (born 1995), rugby footballer * Nicky Saxton (born 1984), rugby footballer * Waen Shepherd (born 1971), composer * Chris Smith (born 1975), rugby footballer * Harry W. Smith (1886-1955), cricketer * Tony "Casper" Smith (born 1970), rugby player * Reginald Soar (1893-1971), flying ace * Anthony Starks (1873-1952), rugby footballer * Gary Stephens (born 1952), rugby footballer * Harry Street (1927-2002), rugby footballer * Gay Taylor (1896-1970), writer * John "Jack" Taylor (1877-1951), rugby player *

Bob Tomlinson Robert Tomlinson was an English professional Association football, footballer who played as an outside forward in the Football League for York City F.C., York City, and in non-League football for Castleford Town F.C., Castleford Town and Harroga ...

, footballer * Andrew Townsley (born 1952), cricketer * David Treasure (born 1950), rugby footballer * Calum Turner (born 1997), rugby footballer * John "Willie" Ward (1873-1939), rugby footballer * John "Johnny" Ward (1940/41-2019), rugby footballer * Liam Watts (born 1990), rugby footballer * Noel Wilders (born 1975), boxer * Kyle Wood (born 1989), rugby footballer *

Val Wood Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Sov ...

, author * Martyn Woolford (born 1985), footballer

References

External links

{{Authority control Towns in West Yorkshire Unparished areas in West Yorkshire Geography of the City of Wakefield