White Swan

The White Swan is an historic building on Castleford. Adjacent to the Black Swan, it was formerly an inn. Prior to retiring as a public house it also went under the names of "Copacobana" and "The Freeston".

Notable events
In October 1872 the landlord, John Pheasant, was taken to court under suspicion of permitting drunkenness at the Wakefield Court House, with five of his regulars, George Atkinson; Thomas Alsop; James Harrison; John Mirfin and George Smith for aiding and abetting, the latter two failing to attend court. The witness testimony came from police officer Sergeant Wilson, who stated he had entered the pub at 22:40 to find Atkinson and Alsop being served another round of pints despite being too drunk to actually pour into their mouths. Atkinson was also reported to have purchased half a pint's worth of whiskey. A Mr. Wainwright was present in court as their defense, who argued that firstly Atkinson and Alsop were refused service due to drunkenness and that Sergeant Wilson was confusing them with the absent Mirfin and Smith. Secondly, he argued that the half-pint of whiskey Atkinson did purchase was for his mother and there was a mutual understanding he had no intention of drinking it. The bench ruled Pheasant at fault and fined him £1, with a further 10s for all five defendants. Pheasant was issued a warning he would have his license revoked if another incident occurred.