Place:Norton (near Doncaster), West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Watchers
NameNorton (near Doncaster)
Alt namesNorton (near Doncaster)source: from redirect
Norton
TypeVillage, Civil parish
Coordinates53.633°N 1.175°W
Located inWest Riding of Yorkshire, England     ( - 1974)
Also located inSouth Yorkshire, England     (1974 - )
Yorkshire, England    
See alsoCampsall, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandancient parish of which it was part
Osgoldcross Wapentake, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandwapentake in which it was located
Doncaster Rural, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandrural district of which it was a part 1894-1974
Campsall, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandcivil parish absorbed into Norton in 1938
Sutton (near Doncaster), West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandcivil parish absorbed into Norton in 1938
Doncaster (metropolitan borough), South Yorkshire, Englandmetropolitan borough of which it has been a part since 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog

Norton (near Doncaster) was originally a township in the ancient parish of Campsall in the Osgoldcross Wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Norton was made a civil parish in 1866 and in 1894 it became part of the Doncaster Rural District. In 1938 the civil parish of Norton absorbed the civil parishes of Campsall and Sutton. Since 1974 it has been in South Yorkshire, specifically within the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough.

The proximity of coal fields to the south caused Norton to grow more than its more northerly ancient parish of Campsall and led to Norton absorbing Campsall in 1938.

Since 1974 Norton is located in South Yorkshire and on the border with North Yorkshire. The northern boundary of the parish is marked by the River Went, while the Great North Road forms the western boundary. It had a population of 4,381 at the UK census of 2001, increasing to 4,625 at the 2011 UK census.

History

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Norton Priory, which stood on the banks of the River Went was demolished following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1588. In 1745, Mary Ramsden of Norton died and left 50 shillings to the poor of Norton and ‘several estates’ to the master and fellows of Catherine Hall, Cambridge. Thus a Cambridge College became the Lord of the Manor of Norton and a handsome manor house was built in the village. In the early 1800s the local population was still devoted to agriculture.

Following the industrial revolution and the expansion of the railways, a station was opened in Norton in 1855 on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’s Knottingley Branch. At the start of the 20th century there were rumours of the development of collieries at nearby Kirk Smeaton and Askern. As Norton was located between the two, a number of rows of red brick terraces were erected speculatively to house the anticipated influx of miners. Subsequently, Askern Colliery was opened in 1910.

Throughout the 20th century small areas of housing have been built throughout the village and many of the original stone cottages with their long gardens have been demolished, and infilled with housing. The Manor House was pulled down in the 1970s.

Research Tips

  • Doncaster Archives includes archives for the whole of the area now in Doncaster Metropolitan Borough
Address: King Edward Road, Balby, Doncaster, DN4 0NA
Telephone: +44(0)1302 859811
Email: doncaster.archives@doncaster.gov.uk
  • British History Online (Victoria County Histories) do not cover the West Riding of Yorkshire
  • GENUKI has a page on all three ridings of Yorkshire and pages for each of the ecclesiastical parishes in the county. Under each parish there is a list of the settlements within it and brief description of each. The list is based on a gazetteer dated 1835 and there may have been a number of alterations to the parish setup since then. However, it is worthwhile information for the pre civil registration era. GENUKI provides references to other organizations who hold genealogical information for the local area. There is no guarantee that the website has been kept up to date and the submitter is very firm about his copyright. This should not stop anyone from reading the material.
  • The FamilyTree Wiki has a series of pages similar to those provided by GENUKI which may have been prepared at a later date from more recent data. The wiki has a link to English Jurisdictions 1851 which gives the registration district and wapentake for each parish, together with statistics from the 1851 census for the area.
  • A Vision of Britain through Time, Yorkshire West Riding, section "Units and Statistics" leads to analyses of population and organization of the county from about 1800 through 1974. There are pages available for all civil parishes, municipal boroughs and other administrative divisions. Descriptions provided are usually based on a gazetteer of 1870-72.
  • The above three maps indicate the boundaries between parishes, etc., but for a more detailed view of a specific area try a map from this selection. The oldest series are very clear at the third magnification offered. Comparing the map details with the GENUKI details for the same area is well worthwhile.
  • Yorkshire has a large number of family history and genealogical societies. A list of the societies will be found on the Yorkshire, England page.
  • In March 2018 Ancestry announced that its file entitled "Yorkshire, England: Church of England Parish Records, 1538-1873" has been expanded to include another 94 parishes (across the three ridings) and expected it to be expanded further during the year. The entries are taken from previously printed parish registers.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Norton, Doncaster. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.