Darfield, South Yorkshire

Darfield
Darfield

 Darfield shown within South Yorkshire
Population 8,066 
OS grid reference SK5198
Metropolitan borough Barnsley
Metropolitan county South Yorkshire
Region Yorkshire and the Humber
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Barnsley
Postcode district S73
Dialling code 01226
Police South Yorkshire
Fire South Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament Barnsley East
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Darfield is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It lies 5 miles (8.0 km) east of the town of Barnsley. It had a population of 8,066 at the 2001 UK Census.[1]

Contents

History

Many Roman coins have been unearthed in Darfield, and there is evidence to suggest that the village contained Roman habitations in its history.

In Saxon, the name "Feld" describes 'a large area of pasture land' , while the term "Dere" refers to the deer which inhabited the forest. When combined, this gives the name Derefeld which later became Darfield.

There are records of an 8th-century church in Darfield, but when the Domesday Book was written in 1086 there was no mention of it.

Darfield remained an insignificant agricultural village for many centuries to come, until 1862. In that year, two mining companies sank shafts in the Barnsley district to exploit the rich seam of coal running through the area. Darfield Main colliery and Mitchells Main were local mines, the population of the village quickly increased and it became a labour pool for the surrounding coalmines. By 1901, over 4,000 people lived there compared to just 600 inhabitants in 1851

Until June 1963, Darfield had a railway station on the former Midland Railway's Sheffield Midland - Cudworth - Leeds City line. The line itself closed in 1988 due to severe subsidence.

Services

Shops

Darfield has a few shops, such as a Florist, Baker's, Newsagents, Hairdresser's, Garage/MOT station, Post Office, Chemist and two small Co-op supermarkets.

Food

There are seven food outlets in the village. These are The Station Pub which is now being transformed into an indian restaurant, Thaal Indian Restaurant, a small takeaway Cafe, 2 Fish and Chip Shops, a Chinese takeaway and Milano's Pizzeria.

Education

Schools

Museum

The museum property was donated to the village by the late Maurice Dobson, after whom the museum is named. The museum is split into four parts, the main museum, an outlet area where locals can sell their craft items, a cafe-gallery and a meeting place. There is also an outdoor patio where some larger items are exhibited.

Other

A small public library is run in the village.

Churches and Chapels

There is a Church of England parish church and two Methodist Chapels.

Sports

Darfield has a Cricket Club which plays at Darfield Cricket Ground and a Junior Football Team.

Transport

Stagecoach Yorkshire operate bus services every 15 minutes to Barnsley during the daytime as well as 2 buses per hour to Wombwell. Darfield is also served by the express bus service X19 which operates direct to Doncaster and Robin Hood Airport. Also, both Wombwell and Goldthorpe railway stations are within easy reach of Darfield where connections can be made to Sheffield, Meadowhall, Wakefield and Leeds.

Notable residents

See also

List of Yorkshire Pits

References

  1. ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Urban Areas : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population Retrieved 2009-08-26
  2. ^ "Upperwood Primary School", Barnsley.gov.uk, 2003
  3. ^ "Inquiry urged over four-star spending at primary school", James Reed, Yorkshire Post, 26 March 2007
  4. ^ "The Foulstone School - Inspection report", Ofsted, 11 June 2007
  5. ^ "Ian McMillan", Peter Forbes, British Council, 2002
  6. ^ "Ian McMillan - The South Bank Show", ITV, 15 July 2007

External links