Coordinates: 53°42′58″N 1°21′22″W / 53.716°N 1.356°W / 53.716; -1.356

Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45,000-50,000. To the north the River Calder joins the River Aire and the Aire and Calder Navigation canal. To the west and south is the M62 motorway. The town is home to the rugby league Super League team Castleford Tigers.

Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Castleford and its surroundings have provided archaeological evidence of Roman activity.

Castleford is built on the site of a Roman army settlement that was named Lagentium or Legioleum. Funeral urns dating from the time of the Romans have been found there. The town's modern name is derived from the fort, Castle (referring to the fort) and Ford (a low crossing point through a river).

John Philip "Jake" Thackray (27 February 1938 – 24 December 2002), was an English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist. Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, his work ranged from satirical to bawdy to sentimental to pastoral, with a strong emphasis on storytelling, making him difficult to pigeonhole.

Jake Thackray sang in a lugubrious baritone voice, accompanying himself on a nylon-strung guitar in a style that was part classical, part jazz. His witty lyrics and clipped delivery, combined with his strong Yorkshire accent and the northern setting of many of his songs, led to him being described as the "North Country Noël Coward", a comparison Thackray resisted, although he acknowledged his lyrics were in the English tradition of Coward and Flanders and Swann "who are wordy, funny writers". However, his tunes derived from the French chansonnier tradition: he claimed Georges Brassens as his greatest inspiration, and he was also influenced by Jacques Brel and Charles Trenet. He also admired Randy Newman. He was admired by, and influenced, many performers including Jarvis Cocker,Mike Harding,Momus,Ralph McTell,Morrissey,Alex Turner,Jasper Carrott and Nick Drake.^{[citation needed]}