Castleford is the third town in a row on our tour of the City of Wakefield that is far more significance historically than it has today. In Castleford’s case that history really began when the Roman’s built an army settlement there called Lagentium; no visible traces have survived, but various archaeological Roman finds have been made in and around the town. Later, Castleford was the site of an Anglo-Saxon village, after which it seems to have remained unremarkable until – like so many settlements in the West Riding – it grew in size during the nineteenth century due to coal mining in the area. And like so many of its fellow mining towns, despite the presence of textile manufacturers and potteries, the closure of the mines brought serious socioeconomic decline from which Castleford only now seems to be starting to recover. Recent years have brought considerable regeneration, although the town centre still has its fair share of semi-derelict buildings and boarded up shops. As of 2022, it remained the sort of place where several town centre shops, pubs and cafes still only accept cash.
Nevertheless, there is plenty of interest to see here, not least the railway station. Built in 1871 to replace an early one located 440 yards away, what makes it interesting is that although it was built as a through station, the line from Castleford east to York is no longer used by passenger services, and so all passenger trains reverse out when leaving the station. The original station buildings have largely been demolished; the station was redeveloped in 2020, and gained a rather unattractive, block waiting room with a single toilet and ticket machines. Redevelopment continues: the first two months of 2023 have seen work undertaken to restore the disused Platform 2, with an expensive and ungainly foot bridge (complete with lifts) built to connect it to Platform 1. Through services are expected to remain largely absent (except when and if the line is used as a diversion between Castleford , but the additional platform will allow more trains to serve the town, and will also allow the route be used as a diversion between Leeds and York when work on the main line is carried out.
From the station, we begin the walk by turning right along Powell Street and following it to its end, as it bends left passing Castleford War Memorial on the left and Trinity Methodist Church on the right. At the end of the road (where a pub called the Lamplighters can be seen on the right-hand corner) we turn left and follow the road until it ends at a junction; the former Albion Picture Palace is directly opposite. Currently boarded up, this cinema opened in 1927 and survived until 1987 when it was repurposed as a nightclub. From the defunct cinema, take a short detour to the right along Church Street to visit the Parish Church of All Saints, a striking Grade II-listed church that dates from 1866.
Church of All Saints.
Returning to the Picture Palace as was, we turn left and follow Albion Street, continuing straight ahead at a roundabout and passing through a subway under a railway line. The Commercial Hotel is on the other side of the subway on the right hand side of the street, which now becomes High Street. Continue to follow this, shortly passing a second All Saints Church and the Black Bull public house on the right, and Castleford Cricket Club on the left. Continue to follow the road, which is now Lumley Street, and just after crossing a bridge over a former railway line, turn left between two gateposts and then sharp left to gain a path leading down to the bed of the railway line. This was once part of the Methley Joint Railway, which was opened by the Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway Company in 1865, closed to passenger traffic in 1964, and was shut completely in 1981. Like so many disused railways, it has been converted into a public footpath, in this case named the Castleford Greenway.
Turn sharp left and follow the Greenway, passing back under the Lumley Street Road Bridge and then shortly afterwards Lumley Hill Road Bridge. The path then crosses a footbridge over railway line on which Castleford station is situated to the east and after this we continue to follow the path to a crossroads just before it reaches Green Row Bridge, a viaduct that once carried the Methley Joint Railway over the River Calder. Walk to the bridge for a view of the river; otherwise turn right and follow a path that runs parallel to the riverside. The path soon runs closer to the river and passes beneath Methley Bridge, then runs through the grounds of Methley Bridge Chandlery. The river is of course part of the Aire and Calder Navigation, discussed in some detail when we visited Knottingley, further downstream. As we continue beside the river, look out for a watery channel rich in plant life on the right, which is the former course of the Calder before it was straightened when the Navigation was constructed. The path soon reaches a new housing estate and runs between the river and the houses to the confluence of the Calder and the Aire and the riverside path – which we continue along – now follows the bank of the latter. When the path eventually ends at Savile Road, turn left and follow the road past the former Queen’s Mill, which now houses a café, a bar and the Castleford Heritage Trust.
After passing the mill, look out for the Lion public house on the right, then turn left and cross the Millennium Bridge over the Aire.
The Millennium Bridge, Queen's Mill and Castleford Weir.
Despite its name, this 426-foot long pedestrian bridge didn’t open until 2008, but makes a striking addition to the riverside and provides splendid views of both the back of Queen’s Mill and the large weir that was built to provide it with water power. On reaching the other side of the river, turn left and follow the riverbank to Castleford Flood Lock, where a stretch of canal leaves the Aire to bypass the weir we have just seen. Turn right and walk beside the waterway to Barnsdale Road, then turn right again, passing the Griffin Inn on the left, and follow the road to Boundary (or Castleford) Bridge. This Grade II-listed bridge was built from 1805-1808 and its stone arches can best be seen from the Millennium Bridge. Cross the bridge and continue straight ahead at a roundabout, and then turn right along Carlton Street. Follow this through the town centre, passing Castleford Forum Library and Museum on the right and Castleford Market on the left.
After passing the market, we turn left past the market and follow a path to Jessop Street, turn right into a car park. Head to the far end to find a path under a railway bridge to Vickers Street, which we now follow passing the Castlefields public house on the left. Shortly, turn right along Lower Oxford Street and follow this to a crossroads, then turn right along Beancroft Road, bearing left to follow a subway back under the railway track to the Station public house. As its name suggests, this pub is adjacent to the railway station and thus marks the end of our tour of Castleford.
From Castleford, we have one more station to visit on the Pontefract Line, just a few minutes train journey along the route towards Pontefract. And unusually, this particular railway station was an entirely new one that opened in the early twenty-first century…
Oh those reprobates, only accepting cash, how selfish. Just imagine not wanting to hand over a slice of every transaction to the banksters, they must all be backwards or something, as you implied, stuck in the past.