Friarwood Valley Gardens Liquorice Cultivation Talk

Come and hear a talk on the fascinating history of liquorice growing in Friarwood Valley Gardens by Dr Colin White.

Pontefract has been synonymous with liquorice, a flowering plant of the bean family, for centuries. It was probably brought to the town by monks from Spain and cultivated in the Friarwood Valley by the Dominican Friars, who used it for medicinal purposes. The Friarwood Valley Gardens is a Grade II listed Historic Park and this year celebrates its 75th anniversary as a public park.

The talk by Colin White will cover the history of the cultivation of the liquorice plant in the deep loamy soil of the valley, especially the market gardeners of the 20th century.

Bring your cameras in order to photograph liquorice growing in the rose garden and have a go at reciting the Betjeman poem Licorice Fields at Pontefract.