|
|
Darfield... A Village to be Proud of
 ‘Darfield is a proud village and a village of which to be proud’ – is one statement recently seen about this South Yorkshire village.
Looking back into the history of Darfield, situated in the centre of Barnsley, Sheffield and Rotherham, it is easy to see why this statement is so true. Long classified as a coal mining village, Darfield and its people have seen their share of traumas and troubles over the years but have lived to tell the tale.
There is believed to have been a settlement of some kind in Darfield for hundreds of years and indeed dating back to Roman times. Many Roman coins have been found in Darfield – records show that in 1691 a farm labourer unearthed a pot containing nearly 500 gold Roman coins while he was in the middle of ploughing a field.
In 1950, while digging foundations for a house, a labourer dug up another pot – this one contained 500 Mark Anthony silver coins which dated back to the 3rd Century AD. These finds are recorded locally in the South Yorkshire Archaeology Unit and other official records have declared traces of Roman earthworks in the lower reaches of Darfield.
|
 How Darfield got its name is attributed to the Anglo Saxons. The word ‘feld’ refers to a large area of pasture land while the term ‘dere’ describes the deer which roamed the former forests. Combine these together to make Derefeld and this was later to become Darfield.
In the Domesday Book the village is referred to as Derewelle. For centuries the village appeared to be a quiet place with its inhabitants making their living on the land. The census of 1851 showed that the population of 600 was evenly split, 300 men and 300 women, and a further breakdown of figures showed there were 100 children, six landowners and a mix of farm labourers, domestic servants, quarrymen and railway workers.
However in the 1860s major changes were to come for Darfield and its people with the sinking of mine shafts into the Barnsley Bed seam of coal which had already proved profitable for many other pits in the local area.
While this was happening, the nearby Houghton Main Colliery Company was developing a major colliery on the village’s north eastern border. Darfield in the 20th Century was all set to increase its population to 4,000 and coalmining was to become the major employer.
By the early years of the 1900s around 60% of the male population was working in nearby mines. As more people moved into the village, the growth of Darfield could be seen in three stages.
 The ‘old Darfield’ on top of the hill by the parish church remained, while housing for the incoming miners at Darfield and Mitchell Main collieries was built on the village’s low-lying land. Most of these homes were ‘two-up, two down’ small brick houses built in rows with primitive sanitary arrangements often shared by three or four families. Infant deaths were very high and working conditions of the miners often led to early deaths. This part of the village was known as Low Valley, an area where life expectancy was very low.
Other housing for the miners who worked at Houghton Main and Dearne Valley collieries was built on the hillside between the other two areas. This tended to slightly bigger, less dense housing with better sanitary provision and the area became known as Snape Hill.
 Naturally over the years the three districts merged into one and various shops opened including Barnsley Co-operative Society which first came to Darfield in 1880.
The age of coal saw many wealthy owners who built splendid houses including Bretton Hall, Cannon Hall, Nostell Priory etc in the Barnsley and Wakefield areas. They lived in splendour while the workers lived in poverty and squalor.
Working conditions in the mines were grim and dangerous to say the least, wages were poor and people were killed and injured in tragic accidents. In 1838 at Husker Pit, not far from Darfield there was a tragedy which saw 26 children drowned. After that a public inquiry ruled that women and children under 10 would no longer work in the mines.
 In 1857 at Lundhill Colliery an underground explosion killed 189 men and boys, today an obelisk still stands in Darfield churchyard as a monument to the disaster.
The role Darfield played in the mining industry was to provide labour for the four pits on its borders, along with several other pits within easy travelling distance of the village. At one time some 65% of men and boys from Darfield worked in the mining industry. Houghton Main colliery was to become the biggest employer, situated just two miles out of the village.
As well as the Lundhill Obelisk, the massive All Saints churchyard surrounding the village parish church contains other memorials among the 700 headstones. These mark the Houghton Main cage disaster when 10 men and boys were killed as the colliery cage plunged to the pit bottom in 1886 and also stand in memory to Ebenezer Elliot, arguably Darfield’s most famous resident.
 Born in nearby Rotherham in 1781, Ebenezer was the son of an iron founder. Later he set up himself as an iron dealer and became very successful. Outside of his work he became very involved in politics, social life and poetry and wrote many works about the Corn Laws which he had grave effects on the poor.
In time Ebenezer gained the title ‘the poet of the poor’ but unfortunately, with ailing health, did not live to the success he had helped to achieve. He died at his cottage at Houghton Common in 1849.
He stated in his will, that seeing as burials were not being allowed in Rotherham Churchyard, he wished his remains to be laid to rest either on his own land or in Darfield churchyard. His grave can still be seen today at Darfield.
 Today the village still bears the signs of its mining history. In the 1920s a scheme was established to enable the Miners Welfare Scheme to help to finance local capital schemes – the result being that two parks were made in Darfield.
One park was a play area including crown green bowling and tennis. A pavilion was built to provide a quiet area where babies could be walked.
During the 1930s and 40s one of the major sources of local entertainment was the Darfield Empire, the local picture house which showed films every night apart from Sunday and a special performance for children on Saturday morning known as the ‘1d rush’.
In time Darfield saw a marked improvement in its local economy with the provision of better houses and village facilities and shops.
Over the years flooding from the River Dearne had become a problem in the lower lying areas and steps were taken to remedy the situation. One of the natural disasters to hit Darfield came in 1959 when severe flooding occurred and a three-span bridge over the River Dearne was undermined by the high waters and the bridge was declared unsafe, leading to the building of a new bridge to replace it.
Travellers along the A635 through Darfield can still see the position of the old railway bridges which at one time were a major link between London and Scotland. The station was closed in the 1960s and the bridges demolished some years ago.
Today the mining industry in Darfield is long gone – and local people have had to move into other employment. The effect of pit closures initially had a great effect on purchasing power within the village and some shops and services closed and left the village. Planners and local politicians were forced to look closely at the area and infrastructure to encourage industry to move back.
Darfield today is still a popular residential area with a community centre, a range of shops and services and various clubs and associations.
Published Winter 2007. All information correct at time of print.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
