Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 14,927,

Geography

Darton lies on the River Dearne, directly to the east of Kexbrough, and is situated about west of Mapplewell, north of Barnsley, south-west of Wakefield, south-east of Huddersfield, south of Leeds, and north of Sheffield. It is served by the A637 road and is bisected by the M1 motorway (junction 38 being a mile to the north). Its location is approximately , at an elevation of around above mean sea level.

History

The name Darton is believed to be an amalgamation of "Dearne" and the Anglo-Saxon word "ton" (meaning 'town'). Hence, in ancient times it was known as the town on the Dearne. However, other sources dispute this explanation and claim that the name originates from a description given to a deer enclosure or something similar. In 1086 the hamlet of Dertone was in the wapentake of Staincross.

The hamlet grew to become a village so the Parish of Darton was founded in 1150, when the first church was built. The reason for this is because the West-South Yorkshire boundary ran between the village and its main source of employment, Woolley Colliery.

On 15 June 2007, Darton hit the national headlines after 48 hours of torrential rain caused the River Dearne to burst its banks leading to heavy flooding in the village.

  • John Braine — author

See also

  • Listed buildings in Darton

References

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  • Darton village
  • Darton Primary School
  • Darton College
  • Darton Cricket Club