Church Street in Darfield

A detail of a gatepost at the Darfield Crown Green Bowls Club

From the time I arrived at All Saints church in Darfield to the time that the bell ringing demonstration finished, very nearly 4 hours had passed and, having thanked the volunteers attending this Heritage Open Days event and noted the grave of Robert Millthorp in the churchyard, I set off on my way home.

The grave of Robert Millthorp

Having arrived in Darfield from Barnsley on the X19 and, having already briefly explored School Street before arriving at the church, I decided to further explore the old part of the village and then catch a 218/219 bus from Nanny Marr Road.

Darfield Church Hall

After passing the former early C20 picture house, which is now the church hall, my first thought was to sit down and have a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord in the beer garden at the Cross Keys public house.

The Cross Keys public house

Having quenched my thirst and established the times of my bus, I then set off along Church Street and immediately came across the Grade II Listed late C18 Thornhill House, but I didn’t take a photograph of it. 

Garland House

Continuing along Church Street, another attractive Grade II Listed late C18 house, Garland House, is now used as a surgery and on the opposite side of the road, there is the Darfield Cenotaph – set in Miners Welfare Square, which dates to 1923.

Darfield Cenotaph

The subscribers stipulated that the cenotaph, designed by a Mr. C. Watkin of Darfield, should be built with Darfield stone (Mexborough Rock). It takes the form of a monolith with a sword of sacrifice on the face, which is surmounted by semi-spherical carving and representations of laurel wreaths, and it was unveiled in 1930.

A gatepost at the Darfield Crown Green Bowls Club

Crossing the road again, the entrance to Darfield Crown Green Bowls Club has a gatepost that has the inscription “Miners Welfare Scheme 1923”. Such charitable institutions, which provide social and recreational facilities for the community, still form an integral part of the former coal mining districts in South Yorkshire and other regions.

Terraced houses along Snape Hill Road

Moving further along to the end of Church Street, the character of the street alters, with detached properties and large gardens being replaced by dense terraced housing. These possess little architectural merit and this is reflected by the Darfield Conservation Area boundary at this point.

Field House

Looking at various old maps, these were built sometime between 1890 and 1904, like those previously seen on School Street, and those on St. Mary’s Road, Snape Hill Road, Edward Street and Thomas Street completely engulf Field House, which is shown on the 1850 map.

A map of Darfield in 1890