Wakefield's past: image bank - Wakefield Museums and Castles

Black and white photograph of a street leading up to Wakefield Cathedral in the early twentieth century

Wakefield's past: image bank

Explore how the city of Wakefield has changed over the 1800s and 1900s through a range of photographs.

Browse a selection of highlights, and download our full resource packs for more:

These resources are for KS2 upwards.

A postcard of Westgate, looking towards the Cathedral (around 1910)

Black and white photograph of a street leading up to Wakefield Cathedral in the early twentieth century

A photograph showing the demolition of buildings on Marygate, revealing the basement doorway to the old Manor Prison (1901)

Black and white photograph showing the timber frame of a mostly demolished building, with people working to dismantle the roof

Wakefield Cathedral from the eastern end (1886)

Black and white photograph of Wakefield Cathedral from the east end, a large impressive Catholic church. There are two people working in the grounds next to it.

Hobson’s sweet shop on Little Westgate (1920)

Three female shopworkers stood outside Hobson's sweet shop, with a large shop window full of goods and a sign that reads 'Wholesale and retail - Hobson'

The Bull Ring (1920s)

Outside the Griffin Hotel tram No. 10 waits to set off to Leeds. A similar tram trundles across the Bull Ring in front of six motor taxis. The police recorded this traffic congestion in the 1920s.

A 1920s style traffic jam at the old Bull Ring, with two trams and two motor taxis going in different directions, and 4 more taxis parked up

Hagenbach’s and Ziegler’s on Northgate (1921)

Many German families set up food shops in West Yorkshire from the 1880s onwards.

Here in Northgate in 1921 Hagenbach's, the bakers, stood next to Ziegler's, the pork butchers.

Other local pork butchers of German origin included Paul Andrassy, Charles Hoffman, William Oesterlein and William Weegmann.

Hagenbach's patisserie and confectioner at 28 Northgate, on the corner, and Ziegler's butchers next door. There is a Hagenbach van alongside Hagenbach's and another van outside Ziegler's.

The Six Chimneys (around 1910)

The Six Chimneys housed two shops around 1910, T. Thompson's furniture shop and P. Bell, basket maker.

Tudor building with three peaked roofs and the namesake six chimneys, with busy shopfronts on the ground floor.