Pontefract Liquorice Festival: The history behind Pontefract's obsession with liquorice

However liquorice was first used for medicinal reasons, with its move towards a sweet treat coming in the mid 16th century.

And then in about 1760 a chemist called George Dunhill is reputed to have mixed the boiled and pulped liquorice root with sugar to create a sugary treat.

The development of liquorice followed the popularity of honey, dried fruit and marzipan for those with a sweet tooth.

Liquorice root had been traditionally grown in the Middle East, but it was brought back either by medieval knights who owned Pontefract Castle, when they returned from the crusades, or by monks, who settled at Pontefract Priory.

In the 19th century more than a dozen companies were producing small Pomfret or Pontefract cakes which were stamped with an image of the castle.

Steph Bennett, an archive sssistant at West Yorkshire Archive Service, told the Yorkshire Post how the distribution of liquorice to herbalists and apothecaries “likely helped the longevity of Pontefract liquorice.”

“It was sweeter than sugar so was regularly used in treatments for coughs, shortness of breath, dropsy, stomach pains, and valuable when mixed with honey for wounds.

“Its sweetness masked the taste of some of the fouler smelling and tasting ingredients.”

And by 1900, Pontefract liquorice travelled the world, with sweets made in one of the many factories in the town being sold across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Bassett’s down the road in Sheffield started making their own liquorice allsorts, while Dunhills was eventually bought by Haribo, which still has a factory in nearby Castleford.

Sunday’s festival will see stalls stretching across Market Place, Salter Row and Corn Market, there will be everything from tasty treats to tempt the taste buds to quirky gifts and homeware.

Coun Michelle Collins, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport, said: “There’s all sorts of fun planned for the festival as we celebrate Pontefract’s unique association with liquorice.

“Come along and enjoy the wide variety of entertainment and browse the colourful stalls, selling a wide variety of produce – many with a liquorice twist.”

And as well as the stall, Pontefract Museum will have a range of free sweet-themed crafts and a tasty trail about the history of liquorice in the town and to share the nostalgia with their display of liquorice packets from years gone by.