City in West Yorkshire, England
Wakefield
Wakefield's rhubarb is picked by candlelight in dark sheds, and the city that grows it also gave the world Barbara Hepworth and a Wars of the Roses bloodbath.
Key information
- County
- West Yorkshire
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- Forced rhubarb, Wakefield Cathedral's spire, The Hepworth Wakefield, the Battle of Wakefield (1460)
- What locals are called
- Wakefieldians
- Famous people
- Barbara Hepworth, George Gissing, David Storey
About Wakefield
The city that picks its crop in the dark
Wakefield sits at the heart of the Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle, and its signature crop is grown in sheds with the lights off. Forced rhubarb starts life in fields, then the roots are moved into dark, warm sheds, where the stalks race upwards in search of light. The result is pale pink, tender and sweeter than the thick red garden kind. The harvest is traditionally done by candlelight, because ordinary light would spoil the effect. Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb won protected designation of origin status in 2010, putting it in the same club as Champagne and Parma ham. Every February the city celebrates with the Wakefield Festival of Rhubarb, a food-and-drink weekend that turns a winter vegetable into a reason for a party.
A spire, a bridge chapel and a very medieval skyline
Wakefield Cathedral has the tallest spire in Yorkshire, rising to about 247 feet. The building was a parish church, All Saints, until 1888, when the new diocese of Wakefield gave the town a cathedral and, with it, city status. Down by the River Calder stands one of the rarest sights in England: the Chantry Chapel of St Mary on the Bridge. Built in the 14th century, it sits on the medieval bridge itself, and travellers once stopped there to pray before crossing. Its stonework was heavily restored in the 19th century. Around them is a Georgian and Victorian city centre, a reminder that Wakefield was once the county town of the West Riding and a major market for wool and grain.
The day a duke lost his head at Sandal
On 30 December 1460, one of the bloodiest moments of the Wars of the Roses played out beside Sandal Castle. Richard, Duke of York, who had a claim to the throne, rode out from the castle and was defeated by Lancastrian forces. He was killed in the fighting. His head was displayed on Micklegate Bar in York, reportedly wearing a paper crown. His son went on to become Edward IV, and the Yorkist cause won the throne a few months later. Today Sandal Castle is a grassy ruin on a hill above the city, and the view from the mound makes it easy to see why a lord would choose this spot.
From mystery plays to modern sculpture
Wakefield has a long stage and gallery pedigree. The medieval Wakefield Mystery Plays, linked to the Towneley manuscript, include the Second Shepherds' Play, a comic nativity story that scholars still rate among the finest of its age. Its unknown author is called the Wakefield Master. The modern equivalent is The Hepworth Wakefield, a gallery on the Calder waterfront designed by David Chipperfield and opened in 2011. It is named after Barbara Hepworth, the sculptor born in the city in 1903, and holds a big collection of her work. A short drive away, Yorkshire Sculpture Park puts large-scale art in open parkland, so this part of West Yorkshire has an unusually strong claim to being Britain's sculpture country.
Rugby league country
Wakefield is a rugby league town through and through. Wakefield Trinity, founded in 1873, are one of the sport's old names and have been at Belle Vue for generations. The Challenge Cup wins of the 1960s are still spoken of with pride. For much of the 20th century Wakefield and its neighbours were also coalfield communities, and the sport grew up alongside the pits. Winter Saturdays on the terraces, a pie and an argument about the referee are still part of the local calendar. The city also has a quieter, grimmer reputation: HMP Wakefield, a high-security prison, has held some of the country's most notorious offenders for decades.
Writers and artists who came from here
Barbara Hepworth grew up in Wakefield and went on to become one of the great modernist sculptors of the 20th century, with her work in galleries around the world. George Gissing, born in the city in 1857, wrote New Grub Street, a sharp novel about the miseries of professional writing that is still read today. David Storey, born in Wakefield in 1933, played professional rugby league before writing This Sporting Life, which drew on his experience and became a celebrated novel and film.