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

 The Parish Boundary

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 18^th 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 9^th/20^th century 11 farms existed within the parish boundary.

 Darrington’s 13^th century St Luke’s  church is one of the top 100 listed buildings in England, some of the glass dates back to the 15^th 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.

 Though the site in which the old barn stood has now been turned into a tranquil seating area inside the remaining stone walls of the barn, this kind of destruction must never be allowed to happen again. Many buildings of historical interest remain in the village and any future developments must take into account the need to preserve the remarkable and precious history of the village.

In more recent years further ‘in fill’ development has taken place, to such an extent that there remain few areas of green space; the Village Field Trust maintains a sports field and play area which hosts the popular village Bonfire and annual Feast and Fayre;

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.

 The Parish Council are committed to preserving green areas in the centre of the village and are actively trying to increase the land available for public use. It is council policy that green spaces within the village are to be preserved.

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.