Battle of Wakefield: The park where 'Grand Old Duke of York' was killed in Yorkshire

Wakefield Green which is now commonly known as Castle Grove or Manygates Park is the area in between Wakefield Bridge, now known as Chantry Bridge, and Sandal Castle where the battle took place between the Yorkists and Lancastrians.

It's easy to stumble over the ridge and furrowed-like field, in what’s now referred to locally as Manygates Park, literally tripping over history embedded into the ground.

We often hear of Pontefract and Sandal Castle when it comes to the Battle of Wakefield but this park was where the battle, a key battle in the War of the Roses, actually took place.

Duke of York Richard was slain in the shadow of nearby Sandal Castle, his monument reads: "Richard Plantagenet fell here December 30 1460.”

It is believed that the ‘Grand Old Duke of York’ nursery rhyme derives from this significant moment in history. Not only does Manygates mark the passage up to Sandal Castle, but for the past century it has been on the cusp of Wakefield’s oldest council estate - Portobello built in 1921.

When the estate was first built it was using a garden estate model with sought-after social housing, complete with long gardens to accommodate this allotment style of living. The estate was revolutionary of its time but similarly to the park with its seemingly ordinary field - both the area and the park are often overlooked.