Brief History of the City of Wakefield
A look at the development of Wakefield from earliest times to the present day

Buildings
A spotlight on some of Wakefield's interesting historic buildings.

Castles
Information on castles around the Wakefield District

Coal: our vanishing heritage
Coal mining has a great impact on the landscape and culture of our many communities. Take a look at some images of local pits.

Coats of Arms
Information about the official coat of arms for the Wakefield District and those of local towns

Featherstone Massacre 1893
The tragic events at Ackton Hall pit as a consequence of the miners' being locked-out.

Historic Maps
Take a look at how the district has changed through our collection of historic maps

Investigating the past
Are you looking to research your family history or a facet of your local community? Then these pages will be a good starting point on what to look for, where and how.

Local History in Adverts
A fascinating look at local shops and services through contemporary adverts

Museums Galleries Castles website
Old photographs of the district. Explore 20,000 historic photographs from the district’s museum service.

Mystery Plays
The Wakefield Mystery plays are a cycle of 32 scriptural plays dating from the early 15th century.

People
A closer look at some famous people who have been born within the district

People's War
WWII People's War. Add your story to an archive of wartime memories

Pontefract Cakes
The story of liquorice and Pontefract

Rhubarb
Welcome to the Rhubarb Triangle

Twixt Aire and Calder - local historic photograph archive
The online archive of almost 10,000 (and still growing) photographs and documents showing all parts of our district from the late 19th century to recent times. Search for your local town or village; follow the heritage trails.

Wakefield Racecourse
There was once a flourishing horse racing course in Wakefield