All Saints Church, Pontefract

The grounds of this church were my secret weapon when it came to getting shots of the Tour de Yorkshire, but more of that later - first the history.

This is All Saints Church in Pontefract. Parts of it are in ruins, but a later church has been built within the shell of the ruins.

There has been a church here or close by since Anglo Saxon times, and it even featured in the Domesday Book survey in the year 1086. The present church was built around the 1300s, but only a few parts of that church now remain.

At the time of the English Civil War, it was frequently attacked by one side and then the other. It is said that it was hit over 60 times by cannon shells. During recent renovations one was found still embedded in one of the walls.

The church within a church was build in 1967.

A more detailed history can be found at http://www.allsaintspontefract.co.uk/page.asp?pageID=8

And now for the Tour de Yorkshire - I arrived in Pontefract about 1 1/2 hours before the ride, and made my way to this part of the town because I knew the riders would pass the church. A quick look for likely locations, and the graveyard was ideal, because it is about 5ft higher than the road that goes past. Having sorted that, I went to explore the exterior of the church, and up the hill to see the castle and it's panoramic views. It was from there that I took this shot. I got back to the churchyard around 15 mins before the riders were due, and sat on a bench relaxing until the police motorcyclists came to close the roads. I then moved to my pre-chosen location, and only had to wait around 5 minutes before the riders came past. The extra height of the graveyard made it easy to shoot over the heads of other spectators. So, to see the race I didn't need to spend a long period of time hanging around!

This shot is taken looking down from the castle.

Ian

[Pyrrhula]

A beautiful view and capture of this great church and nice city behind it Fav.

[Lynne Hart]

Interesting history to this ancient church. Lovely shot.

[M C]

Fascinating history! And beautiful church. Typically British (or Anglo-Saxon, rather), and an ideal spot for the race! Win-win. :-)

[Beth]

Great view of this interesting church. I enjoyed reading about it. Fav

[Richard Sayer]

So nice to know that this historical building has been given a new lease of life and I enjoyed reading about it - thanks Ian.

[gloria jones]

Great perspective, architectural details in this shot and interesting history

[Tony]

A most interesting account of your day and superb capture of that amazing church.

[Fisher Family]

@pyrrhula @lhart @mimiducky @vernabeth @vignouse @seattlite @tonydebont

Wow, on the trending and popular pages - I didn't expect that of this shot. Thank you all for your generous comments and favs - it's always good to hear from you!

I'm quite pleased that my desire to get shots of the Tour de Yorkshire led me to Pontefract - I had forgotten just how much interesting history there was to see and shoot there.

Ian

[Catherine P]

Superb! Wonderful building and great pov

[bkb in the city]

Wonderful shot of such a magnificent looking building

[Kim Crisp]

Great POV

[Fisher Family]

@cmp @bkbinthecity @kimcrisp

Thank you for your comments - nice to hear from you!

Ian