Once Upon a Story-Trail
Once Upon a Story-Trail was a series of accessible story-walks set across seven locations in Wakefield District. The guided walks all took place during the Heritage Open Days, September 2025. This project was supported by Wakefield Council Culture Grants and the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of Our Heritage Our Stories. With thanks to National Lottery players.
Maps for each walk are still available in that town’s closest library (you can see the maps here too). You can still enjoy the story-route. Explore the stories by going for a wander and use your smart device to watch the videos below.
In Alphabetical Order…
Castleford
(1) Club Trips
(2) The Roman Fort
(3) A Merging of Myths
(4) A Restless Roman
It is said that the ghost of a Roman gladiator marches up and down Sagar Street in Castleford… Perhaps he was a soldier? Perhaps he marches still, his endless patrol, watching as the world turns into something at once unrecognisable and yet, so very much the same.
When you wander down the street be sure to look out for him, that restless soul…
Hemsworth
(1) Mysterious Tunnels
(2) The High Hall
(3) The Changing Landscape
(4) The Hippodrome and Cyril Bruce of Hemsworth
Ossett and Gawthorpe
(1) The Hannah Pickard Fountain
(2) Pulling Pints, Tempering Them and (3) the Rag Mill
(4) Keeping the Not-Too-Distant Past Alive
At this point look back and you will notice the red telephone box. Do you remember using this haven from the rain? Rushing inside to the relative peace and using your last 10p to call home for a lift? Or to call a friend? The frustration when the coin doesn’t catch… the joy when it does… ringing enough for them to answer, then hanging up to get your 10p back, safe in the knowledge that they’ll call the payphone number.
(5) King Osbehrt
(6) The Red Lion
Pontefract
(1) The Buttercross
(2) A Castle Demolished by the People, for the People…
(3) The Priory
(4) Nevison’s Leap
Continuing to gaze up past the Priory (or should that be the Friary?), you would come to Nevison’s Leap. So named for an epic leap made by the famous highwayman, Swift Nick Nevison. He was pursued by would-be-captors and so-called law-enforcers of the day when he came to this sheer drop. Undeterred, Nevison spurred his horse on and made the jump, escaping to rob the rich another day!
Sandal
(1) Making Ends Meet
(2) The Grand Old Duke of York
(3) John ‘Swift Nick’ Nevison Meets His End
I recorded this story whilst giving a live performance as part of the Dearne Community Arts Festival. Nevison is of interest to many places in Yorkshire, though there is a particular interest in both Wakefield and Barnsley. Nevison was born in Barnsley, but he was caught in the location of the Three Houses Inn, on Barnsley Road in Sandal. And let’s not forget Nevison’s Leap in Pontefract!
It is certainly right and fitting that we remember bold Nevison today.
South Elmsall
(1) The Dolphinarium
(2) The Bomb Drop and Second Pond
Wakefield
(1) Treasure in Unlikely Places
(2) Going Around the Mulberry Bush
(3) Pigeons and Peregrines
Project Background
The project actually began in the summer of 2025, when the libraries’ team got involved. They were brilliant and put me in touch with groups of older adults who regularly meet in the libraries. Then I was invited to go and visit each group, to chat with them about their memories.
This part of the project was so wonderful. I heard lots of stories and memories that really would be lost without these incredible people. Not everyone wanted to be named, and only a few people were happy for me to record the audio from our conversations. With their permission, I am sharing those fabulous conversations below here.
The Gladiator On Sagar Street
Reflection from Chrystal Ward
Club Trips in Cas
Memories from Sandra Shackleton and Jane Carter
The White Lady of Fryston Wood
Memories from Jane Carter
The Barnbow Explosion (a story of Leeds remembered in Cas)
Reflection from Sandra Shackleton
The Queen on The Train to Cas
Reflection from Sandra Shackleton
Fresh Liquorice in Ponte
Memories from Geoff Bullock
Halfpenny Lane
Memories from Geoff Bullock, Rebecca Spence and Bryan Rose
A Bit About Buttercrosses
Memories from Geoff Bullock
The Marl Pit
Memories from Geoff Bullock
