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DARRINGTON
PARISH COUNCIL
This village plan was
put together, under the editorial control of the Parish Council; it encapsulates the hopes
and aspirations of the people of Darrington
Geographical
Information Located in the heart
of the Industrial West Riding of Yorkshire, Darrington is a village of some 2000 or so
residents. It lies on the southern edge of the Vale of York 3 miles south of Pontefract,
12 miles north of Doncaster. The surrounding strata is predominantly Limestone and
Sandstone with good arable topsoil, consequently the land has been farmed throughout
history. At one time bisected by the Great North Road, a fly-over erected in the
1970’s has now seen the colloquially termed ‘Bottom Enders ‘and ‘Top
Enders’ re united into one community, and this community extends into the surrounding
villages of Wentbridge, Carleton, Grove Hall and West Park,
parts of which fall inside the Darrington Parish boundary. Surrounded on all sides
by open fields Darrington remains a picturesque, well regarded village much respected in the local area. Ancient
History The village of
Darrington is truly ancient; a Roman Road is known to have passed through the Parish.
There was a Church, Manor House, Farmsteads and Dwelling Houses here before the Norman
Conquest. The Doomsday book shows that Darrington was the largest manor in the district
with an annual value of 100 shillings.
Darrington,
Wentbridge, Carleton and Grove Hall, have all played their part in English history. The Great North road bisected the village and at
the height of the coaching days during the 18th century 70 to 80 coaches a day
would hurtle through the village on their way to one of the coaching houses at Doncaster
or Ferrybridge, some stopping off for refreshment at the Crown or Ship Inn which sat at the Darrington crossing. The
steep decent into and out of Wentbridge and the isolation of the stretch of road on either
side made the area a favourite for Highwaymen; Nevison
and Turpin are both known to have worked the area. The village was
by-passed by the industrial revolution, the only industry it has ever known has been
associated with agriculture. At the turn of the 1 9th/20th century
11 farms existed within the parish boundary. Darrington’s 13th
century St Luke’s church is one of the
top 100 listed buildings in England, some of the glass dates back to the 15th
century.
Wentbridge boasts a fine
Victorian Church built in 1878 in the Gothic Revival style. Weekly services are
held at St Lukes Church Darrington, St Johns Church Wentbridge and St Peters Church Kirk
Smeaton (which is also in the Went Valley Parish) with Reverend Adrian Judd, Reverend
Michael Taylor or Reverend Hazel Crabtree presiding, assisted by Reader Lisa Hobman. All live locally and
help to promote a lively church life, giving their support to a number of associated
groups: Mother
and Toddlers – Held once a week during term time: Contact Vicky Marks 793990 Art
Class – Three classes per week: Contact Mrs Julie Graham 791099. Thursday
Club – Held alternate weeks: Contact Mrs Gwen Stephens 600559. The
Monday Refreshment and Social Interaction Group – Contact Reverend Hazel Crabtree
792368. The
Post Office – Has three half day sessions per week, Monday and Tuesday 9am to
12.30pm and Thursday noon to 16.30: Contact Mrs Denise Crowther 673128. (Knottingley Post
Office). The
Darrington Ladies Group – Meet monthly: Contact Mrs Edith Holmes 793189. Darrington
Whist Club – Meets weekly. Contact Peter Smith 791384 Darrington
Bridge Club – Meets Weekly: Contact Mrs Maurine Gummerson 795048. Police
Surgery – Held on Monday mornings on an Ad-Hoc basis: Contact Parish Councillor
Peter Atkinson 704532. Village
Field Trust – Meetings held on an ad-hoc basis: Contact John Hoyle 704619 Parish
Council – Public meetings are held monthly: Contact Parish Clerk Richard Fogden
702097. Parochial
Church Council – Meetings held monthly. Darrington
Clangers – Hand bell ringing team: Contact Mrs Sylvia Judd 704744. Gardening
Club – Contact Parish Councillor Andy Tagger 704681. Church
Choir / Benefice Choir : Contact Choir Master Mr Michael Leach 704989. Although Darrington does not host the
Uniform group of Scouts, they are affiliated with Carleton Uniform groups: Contact Mrs
Christine Wadley 676908. There are a number of
listed buildings in the parish, the major one being Darrington Hall.
Darrington Hall The original
Darrington hall was a large rambling manorial hall which served as a recuperation hospital
after the First World War. Successive owners have demolished wings on both sides leaving a
very attractive large private house, which is steeped in history. Grove
Hall Recent
History Up to the 1960’s Darrington remained a sparsely populated rural backwater reliant on farming and associated trades for its survival; the 1970’s saw expansion on a large scale, an area of parkland by the Old Vicarage was developed; the houses which were erected were high quality buildings with large gardens. The old trees that were in the park are still there today thanks to sympathetic planning which ensured their preservation. Though a relatively modern development this area retains an opulent rural character. Further developments throughout the village at this time seem to have taken the old park as a standard and all were built with land, one of the main features of the village is the predominance of large well kept gardens. This is reflected in the annual Village Garden Competition organised by the Parish Council. Unfortunately the
1970’s saw destruction as well as development. J S Fletcher, in his book
“Darrington A Yorkshire Parish“ describes the central part of the village which
encompasses the Church, Old School, Dove Cote and Tythe Barn as “unique in England,
all being in one tight group in the heart of the village”. In a move which would seem
incredible today the medieval Tythe Barn, (one of very few left in the country), was
allowed to be destroyed.
Though a campaign was
mounted to save the ancient building, it eventually failed and an important piece of
English History was destroyed.
The school has a green
playing area but if the village continues to expand, the school may have to use the
existing playing field to build more classrooms.
We are not opposed to
sympathetic development of existing buildings; a number of examples may be seen throughout
Darrington.
The old School has
been tastefully converted into private dwellings.
The Old Dove Cote has
been transformed into a private house, now one of the most picturesque buildings in the
village.
The Old Chapel has
recently been converted to private housing. This type of
development should be encouraged, where old buildings which make up the essential
character of the village are preserved by sympathetic restoration or conversion. No building should be
replaced, without fully investigating the potential for restoration or conversion. The village has
expanded over the last 50 yrs and the building style has diversified. Traditional old
stone and brick buildings of the past are now mixed amongst more modern houses; to date,
the essential rural quality has been preserved by the predominance of solid stone walls
and mature trees, and this must continue to be encouraged.
Virtually the whole of the main (Estcourt) road is
bounded by magnificent old stone walls and many other walls border the older areas
throughout the village.
In only one area of
Estcourt Road has the old wall been removed; this was in order to accommodate the Spread
Eagle car park development, the old wall was destroyed and a modern one erected in its
place; this new wall is out of character and the same mistake should not be replicated
elsewhere. In the same development beautiful mature trees were cut down to allow denser
building, It would have been preferable to
have retained one or two in order to break up the stark vista of a new housing
development. West
Park homes On the southern
outskirts of the parish is West Park Homes, a modern development of residential park homes
set in a tranquil, rural location but close to the main road network.
Darrington still has 3
working farms in the village and others within the parish boundary.
One of these farms is
home to the Riding stables.
Though many
surrounding villages have lost the essential infrastructure which keeps a village alive
Darrington retains a vibrant social web with one of the most successful schools in the
area.
Although the Post
Office Licence has recently been lost from the village shop, with the help of local
residents a part time service has been established in the Reading Rooms; the shop
continues to serve the general needs of the village.
Unfortunately the
Reading Room has no disabled access and the lane where it is located is so narrow as to
make the provision of such access difficult if not impossible. The location is not ideal,
the building itself is not in the best of condition and although it is well used at
present by various local groups, the potential for more village activities is limited by
this unsuitable building. It is one of the aspirations of the Parish Council to provide
better facilities within the village.
The reading room is
available for private and public functions; Contact Mr David Evans 690877. There
are 3 public houses in the village;
The Darrington Hotel provides affordable
food and accommodation, and has a well equipped children’s play area.
Recently
refurbished, the Kyte Hotel also provides good food and accommodation.
The Spread Eagle is the ‘village
pub’ with a regular clientele, serving good food and real ale. To
the east side of the village is the Mid-Yorkshire Golf
Club.
This is a top class club
with an extensive club house and function suite
Police
Liaison The Parish Council
maintain an excellent relationship with local police officers, the local force is always
represented at the annual Feast and Fayre and the crime prevention team regularly drop in
to one of the Reading Room coffee mornings where residents get their chance to raise
concerns.
Our
Village Today 2 recent projects.
New hanging baskets.
New street lighting. Conservation
Preserving the essential
rural quality of our village is our priority; to achieve this, building infill should be
limited to areas where it does not encroach upon the few remaining public open spaces. All
open spaces should be preserved; any planning authority should consider the impact upon
this stated policy. A trip through the village will quickly identify the best features of
the village which are the fine old buildings, robust stone walls, mature trees and well
kept large gardens. It is of the utmost importance that this environment is preserved! Specifically, no
building should be demolished whenever preservation or conversion is possible. Stone walls
should be preserved intact and repaired when damaged. As a condition of any
future developments, all walling should match its surroundings in material and style and
no mature healthy tree should be removed. The Parish already has
a number of footpaths and a major cycle route which are well used and these should be
maintained; there are a number of ancient byways which have been allowed to become
overgrown and consequently disused. We intend to re-establish these footpaths wherever
possible and maintain the network of public footpaths in and around the village.
One very important
concern today is the increase in local
traffic; a recent survey showed that around 40% of the vehicles passing through our
village were exceeding the speed limit. We will challenge any
planning decisions which may result in an increase to the volume or weight of traffic
passing through our village.
Future
Projects Aspirations A number of projects
have been identified as realistic aspirations for improving our village these include the
provision of a Village Hall for community activities. The present meeting place, the
Reading Room is in a poor state of repair and it is unsuitable for its purpose having no
disabled access; we believe that it is feasible to provide an alternative with disabled
access and facilities to accommodate a wider range of activities than possible at present. We believe that it is
desirable to establish greater outdoor community activities and that the provision of a
village Bowling Green is a realistic possibility. Depending upon the
availability of suitable land it may be possible to establish tennis courts, allotments
and other outdoor facilities. |
