Market Place Pump - Pontefract, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 41.479 W 001° 18.690
30U E 611492 N 5950502
This water pump stands next to the Buttercross in the market place.
Waymark Code: WM174RT
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/12/2022
Views: 0
The Buttercross is a rectangular stone structure built in 1734 as a shelter for people selling dairy products in Ponterfract open air market.
It stands on the site of a much earlier actual cross which marked the location of the market. Traditionally in Medieval times any town that had been granted a charter to hold a market would mark the spot with a cross. As the town's population grew and the town grew richer a covered structure like this one would often be built to replace the cross. Normally the structure was still called a cross in remembrance of the origin of the market.
A Blue Plaque inside the Buttercross tells us that this structure was bequeathed to the town by Solomon Dupeer and was erected in 1734.
According to the
pumps yorkshire website there has been a water supply here since at least 1571.
"There has been a water supply to
Pontefract Market Place since the
reign of Queen Elizabeth 1.
A conduit is first referred to in 1571.
This pump which replaced it was
mentioned in 1765 and may have
been installed when the present
Buttercross was built in 1734
CITY OF WAKEFIELD PLANNING COMMITTEE 1979"
The pump is a tall wooden structure which has had the spout removed.
Near the bottom is a metal grille behind which is the remains of a tank that was used to hold the water.
A long pump handle is still attached to the side of the pump.