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The Village of Notton
 The picturesque village of Notton, situated halfway between Wakefield and Barnsley, was described as in 1838 trade directory as a scattered, romantic village.
Whether the term `romantic’ still applies today is probably up for debate but in today’s terminology it would suffice to say the village is a small and pretty Yorkshire village. Not far from Newmillerdam, it is situated five miles from each of its larger neighbours of Wakefield and Barnsley and is today a popular place to live for people of all ages.
Looking back at the village’s historical records makes interesting reading: in 1822 it had a population of just 322 and recorded a maltster, two blacksmiths, a wheelwright and a butcher among its number. By 1838 the population was practically the same (317) and it had some 300 acres of woodland within its boundary, a farm named Applehaigh and the Lord of the Manor was Godfrey Wentworth of Woolley Park.
Earlier records have proved difficult to find but it was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, although Notton was spelt differently as either Nortune or Nortone. The place name Notton refers to a sheep farm and `tun’ means enclosure.
By the mid-1800s it certainly seems to have been growing as a centre. By that time it was part of the hamlet of Staincross and in the Darton parish. In 1852 it had a brick and tilemaker, a joiner, a gardener and an auctioneer among its inhabitants as well as several farmers.
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 Occupying an elevated position above a small stream, the village records of 1877 make mention of the Midland Railway having a Royston and Notton station and states that the crops being grown locally included wheat, oats and barley. The population was also on the decline, down considerably to 218.
By 1888 however Notton had obviously began to grow in stature with a proud mention of Notton Green Post Office – little did the residents of the late 1800s realise that the village post office was to play such a part in the history of Notton well over 100 years in the future. More about this later!
The receiver at Notton Green Post Office was Mrs Sarah Woodcock and records stated that the children of Notton had begun to attend school in nearby Woolley and Royston. At the nearby railway station, the stationmaster was Joseph Bowring.
By 1904 Joseph Paley was the sub-postmaster and postal orders could both be issued and paid at Notton Green – obviously a great accolade for a small post office! Moving on to 1908 and it seems that Mary Paley was now the sub-postmistress, although we have no record of what happened to her husband. His wife however obviously held the post for some time as she is still mentioned in 1922 records.
More recent times prove that the village of Notton is very much a close-knit community and the present day folk of this picturesque centre are a feisty lot, always fighting for what they believe is right. In early 2002 the village post office seemed destined to suffer the same fate as many local post offices have and seemed set to close, leaving the people of Notton to travel to either Sandal or Royston for stamps and groceries.
The post office and village shop, used by many residents in Notton were destined to close early in 2002 if a buyer couldn’t be found. However anxious residents refused to sit back and watch their local amenity disappear – and hatched a plan to raise money to buy and run the post office themselves.
 Both the Notton Residents’ Association and parish council backed the plan, a management committee was formed to fight the plans and find a buyer by the end of February that year. Residents were concerned about the impact on elderly people living in Notton and refused to lose their newspaper delivery service, fresh food like bread and milk and post office services.
At first residents even considered moving the post office into the small village hall.
By March that year however villagers were celebrating after clubbing together and raising £31,000. At the time Hugh McCallum, chairman of the fighting committee said: “The rescue of our shop and post office is entirely down to the generosity of a few people from the village. They have put up £31,000 and we need to get a loan of £120,000 but one of the villagers has kindly agreed to act as guarantor for that.
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“We are also confident of gaining a grant for £15,000 and have offers of work from over 30 people, keen to work in the shop for free.’’
Support for the plan was forthcoming from Vital Villages, a government organisation set up under the Countryside Agency umberella to help villages retain closure-threatened post offices.
Eventually villagers raised some £55,000 between them and secured a grant and mortgage to keep the village amenity open. A postmaster and a manager were employed but the rest of the work was split into volunteer shifts.
Such was the success of the village campaign that Notton Post Office went on to reach the national finals of the Post Office of the Year competition.
Today Notton Village Shop (and post office) in Apple Haigh Lane is still going strong – but a black cloud is approaching over the horizon. New plans to cut the number of local post offices again are due to be announced in the next few weeks and the people of Notton are once again holding their breath.
Will it be a case of déjà vu or history repeating itself? Will Notton once again come under the microscope? Only time will tell.
Over the years however the people of Notton have fought their corner on various occasions including uniting against plans for new housing, in the belief that proposed development would erode village life and create traffic problems. They also campaigned in 1992 to stop a proposed pig fatterning unit being built close to their homes.
Earlier in 1983 villagers raised £23,000 towards the cost of a new village hall. With help from grants and Sports Council funding they successful raised the necessary £57,000 to make the new hall a reality.
Today Notton is still very much a village community with various events organised throughout the year. Over the years village galas, bonfire and firework displays have brought the community together and retained the sense of village life. With many societies, sports and leisure clubs, it has much to commend it!
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