City and Borough of Wakefield: Cathedral City in the Rhubarb Triangle
Wakefield is the quiet achiever of West Yorkshire. While Leeds and Bradford attract more attention, Wakefield has a medieval cathedral, a thriving food culture, and the Hepworth Gallery — a David Chipperfield-designed building opened in 2011 on the banks of the River Calder that houses a major collection of Barbara Hepworth's sculptures (she was born in Wakefield in 1903) alongside contemporary exhibitions. The gallery transformed the city's cultural profile overnight.
The Rhubarb Triangle — the area between Wakefield, Morley, and Rothwell — is one of the odder agricultural designations in England. Forced rhubarb, grown in heated sheds in total darkness, has been produced here since the nineteenth century when the combination of cheap coal, suitable soil, and railway access to London created a profitable niche. The tradition holds EU Protected Designation of Origin status. In January and February, the harvesting sheds are lit only by candlelight to avoid triggering photosynthesis.
Coal mining shaped the wider district heavily. The villages and small towns south and east of the city — Featherstone, Castleford, Pontefract, Normanton, Knottingley — were pit communities, and the closure of the mines through the 1980s and 1990s left scars that are still visible in employment patterns and health outcomes. Pontefract is known for liquorice (Pontefract cakes) and its ruined castle. Castleford produced Henry Moore and has the Xscape leisure complex. The district population is around 350,000.
Show more
Wakefield is the quiet achiever of West Yorkshire. While Leeds and Bradford attract more attention, Wakefield has a medieval cathedral, a thriving food culture, and the Hepworth Gallery — a David Chipperfield-designed building opened in 2011 on the banks of the River Calder that houses a major collection of Barbara Hepworth's sculptures (she was born in Wakefield in 1903) alongside contemporary exhibitions. The gallery transformed the city's cultural profile overnight.
The Rhubarb Triangle — the area between Wakefield, Morley, and Rothwell — is one of the odder agricultural designations in England. Forced rhubarb, grown in heated sheds in total darkness, has been produced here since the nineteenth century when the combination of cheap coal, suitable soil, and railway access to London created a profitable niche. The tradition holds EU Protected Designation of Origin status. In January and February, the harvesting sheds are lit only by candlelight to avoid triggering photosynthesis.
Coal mining shaped the wider district heavily. The villages and small towns south and east of the city — Featherstone, Castleford, Pontefract, Normanton, Knottingley — were pit communities, and the closure of the mines through the 1980s and 1990s left scars that are still visible in employment patterns and health outcomes. Pontefract is known for liquorice (Pontefract cakes) and its ruined castle. Castleford produced Henry Moore and has the Xscape leisure complex. The district population is around 350,000.
Country selected
Region selected
Optional — select or proceed
