Home of the Hepworth gallery, a sculpture park in open country and the National Coal Mining Museum, Wakefield is a Yorkshire city for art lovers.
Wakefield is a historic cathedral city in West Yorkshire, once a busy market and wool town, and later a centre of coal mining. It was the birthplace of the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, one of the most important artists of the twentieth century.
Today it is one of the best places in Britain to see modern sculpture, with a major gallery by the river and a huge sculpture park in the countryside nearby. It is also at the heart of the famous Rhubarb Triangle. This guide covers six things to see and do.
1. The Hepworth Wakefield
The Hepworth Wakefield is one of the largest galleries outside London, in a striking modern building beside the River Calder. It opened in 2011, and it was designed by the architect David Chipperfield. It is named after Barbara Hepworth, who was born in Wakefield in 1903.
The gallery has a large collection of Hepworth’s work, including the plaster models and tools she used to make her famous sculptures. It shows how she worked, from first ideas to finished pieces. It is fascinating for anyone interested in art.
The gallery also has collections of modern British art and holds major exhibitions of contemporary art. It has won national awards. Entry to the collection is free.
Next to the gallery is a lovely garden, designed by a leading garden designer, which is free to visit. The gallery has a café. It is a short walk from Wakefield Kirkgate station.
2. Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, about ten minutes south west of Wakefield, is one of the finest open air galleries in the world. It covers around five hundred acres of rolling parkland, woods and lakes. Sculptures by some of the world’s most famous artists stand across the landscape.
The park has works by Henry Moore, who was born in nearby Castleford, and by Barbara Hepworth, as well as many other artists. Walking through the landscape and discovering sculptures in fields, woods and gardens is a wonderful experience. There are also indoor galleries with changing exhibitions.
The park is set in the grounds of the Bretton Hall estate, with a lake, a historic deer park and gardens. It is lovely in every season, and it is popular with families and walkers. Some sculptures are made to be touched and climbed on.
Entry to the park is free, with a charge for parking. There are cafés, restaurants and a shop. Allow at least half a day.
3. The National Coal Mining Museum for England
The National Coal Mining Museum for England, at Caphouse Colliery between Wakefield and Huddersfield, tells the story of coal mining in England. Coal was the fuel that powered the Industrial Revolution, and mining shaped the lives of millions of people. The museum honours their work.
The highlight is the underground tour, where you go about a hundred and forty metres down in the cage to explore the old mine workings. The tours are led by former miners, who share their own experiences. It is a powerful and memorable experience.
Above ground, the museum has exhibitions about the history of mining, the lives of mining families and the strikes of the 1980s. There are pit ponies to meet. The pithead buildings are preserved.
Entry to the museum is free, and the underground tour is also free, but it is popular, so arrive early to book a place. Wear warm clothes, as it is cool underground. Children must be old enough to join the tour.
4. Wakefield Cathedral and the Chantry Chapel
Wakefield Cathedral has the tallest spire in Yorkshire, rising above the city centre. The church dates back to the Middle Ages, and it became a cathedral in 1888. It has fine stained glass and carved woodwork.
The cathedral is at the heart of the city, and it holds services, concerts and events. It is free to visit. It is a peaceful place in the busy city centre.
The Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, on the old bridge over the River Calder, is one of only four surviving bridge chapels in England. It was built in the fourteenth century, where travellers could pray for a safe journey. It is a rare and beautiful survival.
Sandal Castle, on a hill south of the city, is the ruin of a medieval castle near the site of the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, during the Wars of the Roses. The Duke of York was killed in the battle. Some say the nursery rhyme about the Grand Old Duke of York remembers him.
5. Nostell
Nostell, about six miles south east of Wakefield, is a grand Palladian house looked after by the National Trust. It was built in the eighteenth century for the Winn family, on the site of a medieval priory. Its interiors were designed by Robert Adam.
The house has one of the finest collections of furniture by Thomas Chippendale, who worked here as a young man. Among its treasures is a rare wooden clock made by John Harrison, the clockmaker who solved the problem of measuring longitude at sea. He grew up on the estate.
The house also has a doll’s house made for the family, with furniture thought to have been designed by Chippendale. The rooms are full of paintings and fine furniture. It is one of the most impressive houses in Yorkshire.
The parkland around the house has lakes, woodland walks and an adventure playground. There is a café. It is best reached by car.
6. The Rhubarb Triangle and Pontefract
Wakefield is at the heart of the Rhubarb Triangle, an area between Wakefield, Leeds and Morley that was once famous for growing most of the world’s winter forced rhubarb. Yorkshire forced rhubarb has protected status, like champagne. It is grown in dark sheds and harvested by candlelight.
In winter, some farms offer tours of the forcing sheds, where the rhubarb grows so fast in the warm dark that you can sometimes hear it creak. It is a unique experience. Wakefield holds a food festival celebrating rhubarb each February.
Pontefract, about ten miles east, is famous for its liquorice, which has been grown there since the Middle Ages, and for Pontefract cakes, small round liquorice sweets. Its ruined castle was one of the most important in the north, and where King Richard II is thought to have died. The racecourse is one of the oldest in England.
Wakefield Trinity is one of the oldest rugby league clubs. The Theatre Royal Wakefield is a beautiful Victorian theatre. A car makes it easy to explore the area.
Getting there and getting around
Wakefield has two stations. Wakefield Westgate, on the East Coast Main Line, has direct trains to London King’s Cross in around two hours, and to Leeds in around fifteen minutes. Wakefield Kirkgate is close to the Hepworth.
Leeds Bradford Airport is about forty minutes by road, and Manchester Airport about an hour. The M1 and M62 meet close to the city. A car booked ahead is the easiest way to travel between Wakefield and the airports, and to reach the Sculpture Park, the Mining Museum and Nostell.
Ride with ZeroLanes. From your door, the station or the airport to anywhere in Wakefield, at a price fixed before you confirm. Travelling between cities? Get a fixed price for the journey, or keep a car and driver for the day with hourly hire.