A Brief History of Bentley - Part One

Top left to right, Bentley Bridge at Playfair's Corner, Old Stone Bridge.
Middle, Farm House on Church Street, Bentley Bridge and Mill Stream.
Bottom, Finkle Street, High Street.  

Bentley In The Beginning

The village of Bentley grew up in the shadow of neighbouring village Arksey. The land being more favourable to farming in Arksey meant that was the preferred location for farms and small holdings etc. It also had the only church and school for miles around. However, things would change for Bentley in a big way in the coming centuries.

When industry was introduced to Bentley, the village grew beyond its rural beginnings and became a township, whereas Arksey retained much of its farming heritage and grew at a much slower rate.  

This two-part introduction to the history of Bentley will take you on a chronological journey through the centuries, from its rural beginnings to its industrial growth.

Throughout this post there are links to more in-depth articles that will expand aspects of the history even further.

Contents Of Part One

• Before Bentley
• Geology
• The Origin Of The Name 'Bentley'
• Early Bentley
• The Domesday Book
• Bentley In The Domesday Book
• Medieval And Tudor Bentley
• Moat Hills
• Poll Tax 1379
• Bentley Water Mill
• Plague In Tudor Bentley
• The Pilgrimage Of Grace
• The Wider Area
• Smaller Communities
• Langthwaite
• Amersall
• Bodles
• Rostholme
• Seventeenth Century Bentley
• The Hearth Tax
• Eighteenth Century Bentley
• Time Of Great Mortality
• Introduction Of Enclosure

Before Bentley

Geology

Bentley lies in a low lying area of peat land, between an area of magnesian limestone to the west, and an area of silt and clay over Bunter sandstone to the east. Always prone to flooding, the land was also good for growing cereal crops; and evidence of Neolithic settlement has been found not that far away.

Geology map of North Doncaster

The Origin Of The Name 'Bentley'

The name 'Bentley' is derived of two elements as below:

1. 'Beonet' from the Old English 'bent', a wiry grass.
2. 'Leah' from the Old English 'lea', a clearing.

Put together, this is commonly meant to mean 'glade or clearing overgrown with bent'.

As with any place-name of great age, variants in spelling have occurred many times over the centuries. Depending on the ability to spell of the person recording the name in documents etc, these variants crop up with some regularity, especially in the parish records, where several variants can appear in the same year. As a general rule though, certain variants can be attributed to certain periods in time. Here are some examples of variants and roughly when they were used. 

• 1086 - Beneslaie, Benedleia, Benelei, Beneslei (Domesday Book)
• 1185-1243 - Benetleia -lai -ley, 
• 1276-1453 - Benteley(e) -lay
• 1285-1822 - Bentley -lay

Other Bentley's also appear in the counties of Hampshire, Warwick and Worcestershire, unlike Arksey, which seems to be a totally unique place-name.  

Early Bentley

Bentley probably dates from around the same time as its nearest neighbour, Arksey. Archaeological finds have been few, and while some Roman coins have been found, there is no evidence from the Anglo-Saxon period. The land seems to have been covered in thick woodland at the time of settlement - a theory suggested in the meaning of the place-name. 

Meanwhile, Arksey, which was on higher silt and clay covered sandstone, and free of woodland, was favoured for the acreage of ploughable land available, and as such, settlement followed to the extent that an early Anglo-Saxon church could have been built there. Some evidence of Anglo-Saxon stonework has been identified as being reused in the Norman phase of the present church.

For more on Arksey church go to All Saints Church History on sister site Arksey Village, A History.

The Domesday Book

In the year 1085 King William ordered a survey of all his lands in England. He sent commissioners to every shire, town and village in 1086 to record the number of households, economic resources, land owners and tax payable to the king. The resulting book is known as the Domesday Book.

Image of the Domesday Book

Bentley In The Domesday Book

Bentley was in the Hundred of Strafforth, in the county of Yorkshire. Strafforth no longer exists as a location, but at the time of Domesday a hundred and twenty four places were listed in the Hundred (a Hundred was a county division). The Domesday Book was written in Latin, which has been translated. It is a written list of the village's assets and some of the terms used are not familiar to us today.

Bentley is listed under two owners in 1086. The first entry (below) lists the Tenant-in-chief as Count Robert of Mortain, the Lord associated with this entry was Nigel Fossard.

The entry includes the names of other places apart from Bentley - Adwick [le Street], Doncaster, [Kirk] Sandall, Langthwaite and Scinestorpe (which could be an early spelling of 'Scawthorpe').

Page from the Domesday Book containing the first entry for Bentley

(highlighted in the red box) 

Cropped and enlarged image of the first entry for Bentley in the Domesday Book

The entry tells us that there were 17 households, made up of seven villagers and 10 smallholders, with one freeman. 

As for land and resources there were two ploughlands with two Lord's plough teams and five men's plough teams. There was also woodland of 7 x 7 furlongs.

The second entry (below) is listed under Roger of Bully, Lord of the Manor and Tenant-in-chief.

Page from the Domesday Book containing the second entry for Bentley

(highlighted in the red box) 

Cropped and enlarged image of the second entry for Bentley in the Domesday Book

This entry tells us that Roger of Bully had 14 households, made up of 12 villagers and two smallholders.

There were two and a half ploughlands with 6 men's plough teams. There was also eight acres of meadow and woodland of one league and four furlongs.

The value of these lands to the Lord had roughly halved in value since the Norman Conquest, a devastating result of the 'harrying of the north', from several years of hostile fighting. 

Medieval And Tudor Bentley 

Moat Hills

The Norman lords of the manors in the twelfth century were the Newmarch family. Adam de Newmarch, the grandson of Bernard Newmarch, one of William the Conqueror's companions-at-arms, inherited the manors in 1123, and it was either Adam or his father, Ralph de Newmarch who ordered the first phase of the building of Arksey church in around 1150. 

The Newmarch family is thought to have built a large residence at Moat Hills, which was between Bentley and Arksey (sited off the present Arksey Lane and Millfield Road) in the fourteenth century. 

The Moat Hills site on a map of 1903

Today the site is a scheduled monument and consists of a large double enclosure surrounded by a moat. It is divided in two by a north west - south east running ditch. The larger eastern island measures around 70m x 70m, while the smaller western island measures about 60m x 60m. The eastern island has the remains of a stone wall and a bank which suggests a revetment wall. Building foundations measuring around 30m x 25m suggest that this was the site of the 'hall'. 

The western enclosure has a depression which indicates the remains of a fishpond. A causeway crossing the central ditch links the two islands and there are remains of a stone gatehouse nearby.

The old font in Arksey church before 
it was donated to All Saints, Intake.

The site is thought to have had a chapel as a font bowl was found there in 1884. The font was kept in Arksey Church until it was gifted to All Saints Church in Intake in the 1950's by Reverend H H Naylor, where it was renovated and installed in the newly built church.

Moat Hills (site of) today

Pottery finds at Moat Hills suggest that the Cooke family resided there until the second half of the seventeenth century. Sir George Cooke had bought the Manor of Wheatley in 1658, and following his death in 1683, his brother and heir Sir Henry Cooke built the four-storey Wheatley Hall, which became the family seat of the Cooke's for the next two hundred and thirty years.

Wheatley Hall, seat of the Cooke Baronets, built in 1683

As non-residential Lords-of-the-Manor, the Cookes still worshiped at Arksey, using a boat to cross the river. They also provided the poor of Arksey with a school and almshouses, although they did relatively little for the people of Bentley. 

Despite this, there were several sizable farms in Bentley, whose income ensured their family names would be notable for over two centuries.

For more on the Cooke family go to Cooke Family History on sister site Arksey Village, A History.

For more on Wheatley Hall go to Wheatley Hall, also on the Arksey site. 

Poll Tax 1379

In 1379 a poll tax was levied and everyone over the age of sixteen was counted. An estimate of the population of Arksey and Bentley can be worked out. Going on the theory that families consisted of 3.85 persons the total population of Bentley and Arksey combined was 250 people. The tax was charged at four pennies, but for those of trade it was higher, usually six pennies. In Bentley and Arksey traders mentioned in the villages were a ‘Smyth’, ‘Chapmen’, (peddlers), and a ‘Taillour’. Not many traders were found in the manors as goods could be bought at nearby Doncaster.

Bentley Water Mill

A mill at Bentley is first mentioned in a transfer deed of 1332, when Robert de Hathelsay transferred - 

'Two messuages, one toft, one mill, nine and a half bovates of land, six acres of meadow and 11s. 5 1/2d. rent in Kirksandale and Bentlelay' to John le Botiller.'

As there is no record of a mill at Kirksandale (Kirk Sandall), it seems likely this must be the one at Millgate, Bentley, which was demolished in 1980.

The mill is mentioned again in a transfer of 1554, when Edmund Wyndam, Knight., transferred rights of the - 

'Manors of Bentley and Arksey and 100 messuages and a water-mill with lands there,'

to three other knights. In both cases the deeds do not specify what the mill was manufacturing, but is safe to say that a mill existed in Bentley for around six hundred and fifty years.

Bentley water-mill.
Photo courtesy of Pete Dumville

Plague In Tudor Bentley

Pestilence and plague were the most feared diseases of Tudor times, and although the terms 'pestilence' and 'plague' were in fact blanket terms for a number of often fatal afflictions, as well as the Black Death. These diseases ran rife in communities, and often decimated the local population. 

The Plague or Black Death

Bentley did not escape the ravages of this terrible time, in fact Bentley and Arksey were central to introducing the plague to Doncaster town itself in the year 1582. 

It is recorded in Arksey parish registers that a man named William Monkton was travelling south from Thirsk in North Yorkshire along the Great North Road when he was found collapsed at Amersall in the township of Bentley. He died shortly after being found and as Bentley was in the parish of Arksey, William was buried in the churchyard of All Saints. 

There followed ten months of disease and suffering in an area reaching as far south as Cantley, south of Doncaster. There were over fifty recorded burials at Arksey due to the pestilence in the years 1582/1583.

There were nine lethal epidemics in Doncaster, over the next one hundred years, but the plague of 1582/1583 remains the worst to hit the Doncaster district.

For more on this and other diseases, including a list of Bentley plague victims go to How We Died on sister site Arksey Village, A History.

The Pilgrimage Of Grace

Bentley found itself at the centre of this famous historical event in 1536, when the River Don at Bridge Foot was the focus of one of the most dramatic uprisings in English history.

The uprising was brought about by Henry VIII's split with the Catholic church. Robert Aske and his followers were opposed to the abandonment of the Catholic church and set about restoring Catholic observances in the north. This didn't go unnoticed by the King and a five thousand strong army, led by the Duke of Norfolk rode north to confront Aske. Their confrontation took place at the River Don, however, the swollen river prevented anyone crossing, so a solution was negotiated instead.

For more on this area of Bentley and the Pilgrimage of Grace go to At the Foot of the Bridge.   

The Wider Area

Smaller Communities

As with any village or town, smaller communities spring up around them and form satellite hamlets. Most of the surviving satellite hamlets in the Bentley area are nearer to Arksey; places such as Almholme, Shaftholme, Stockbridge and Tilts which consist of just a few houses or farms are scattered all over the land north of Arksey. Bentley had fewer satellite hamlets than Arksey, and what is interesting to note is that the older ones have disappeared off the map completely to make way for newer urban conurbations.

1860 map of the Bentley area.

1. Langthwaite, 2. Amersall, 3. Bodles, 4. Rostholme

The map above shows some of the lost hamlets and villages near Bentley. Each one is talked about in turn below:

Langthwaite  

An area lying close to Castle Hills and Radcliffe Moat, Langthwaite was once a twelfth century manor owned by the de Langthwaite family. Not much is known about this deserted village, which was later named Hangthwaite, and the nearby earthworks are all that remain of the settlement now. Later, quarrying of magnesian limestone was carried out in the area at Long Edge Quarry.

For more on the earth works and quarry go to Scawthorpe, It's Older Than You Think.

Castle Hills and Radcliffe Moat at Langthwaite in 1849

Amersall 

Little is known about Amersall. It appears as a field name from around 1830, but is mentioned as a place in Arksey parish registers when referring to William Monkton, the plague victim mentioned earlier, who was discovered 'on the King's high road of Amersall'. He had been walking down the Great North Road and was found collapsed at Amersall, whether Amersall was a community, a farm, or simply an area of land is not known now.

Amersall Field with the Great North Road to the west, 1849

Bodles  

Bodles occupied an area on the Great North Road where it forks with Barnsley Road (the modern A635). There seems to have been just one farm there, which later became the Sun Inn, and it is interesting to note that the Roman Ridge runs right through it. The Roman Ridge is part of the major Roman Road of Ermine Street, which ran from London, to Lincoln and to York. Most of it follows the Great North Road (the A638) in Doncaster, but one section lies between The Sun Inn and the Red House junction, before joining the A1 to Barnsdale. 

Also near here was the toll house for the Great North Road when it was turnpiked in 1741.

The Sun Inn was rebuilt further south of its original position in 1936, and the name 'Bodles' has also since been dropped.

Bodles in 1849

The Sun Inn abt 1905

Rostholme

Rostholme is one of those places that hasn't entirely disappeared, it has however been swallowed up by an ever growing Bentley and is indistinguishable from the rest of the village.

Lying on an area of Askern Road, just beyond the end of the park boundary, Rostholme seems to have started out as a cluster of farms, and with mentions in the Arksey parish registers going as far back as the 1580's, it has a very long history.

As with other places of antiquity, the place-name of Rostholme has gone through many variations, the most common being Rostholme and Wrostholme, with both versions appearing on old maps.

Rostholme on a map of 1888

Yew Tree Farm is probably the best remembered property in Rostholme, and was the last surviving property of old Rostholme. Eventually it was replaced by a health centre.

Yew Tree Farm

The other farming properties in Rostholme had all gone by 1915 when new streets were created in the area, and terraced housing ensured the area blended in with all the other housing along Askern Road.

For more on Rostholme go to The Hidden History of Rostholme.

Seventeenth Century Bentley

The Hearth Tax

The best way of estimating the number of households in any village is to look at data gathered at the time of censuses or when new taxes were introduced, such as the Poll Tax of 1379. In 1662 a Hearth Tax was introduced and in basic terms, this was calculated according to the number of hearths in a property, the assumption being that larger properties would have more hearths and therefore have to pay more tax. 

In Bentley and Arksey an indication of the number of houses and their sizes can be gained from the returns. In 1662 one hundred and twenty six properties are listed for the villages of Bentley, Arksey and the surrounding hamlets, where there were four in Shaftholme, seven in Stockbridge, eleven in Almholme, one at Bridge Foot and a parsonage. 

The largest was a house at Bridge Foot which had nine hearths. Bridge Hall was once home to the Wilbore family, and this house stood at the Bentley end of what is now St George's Bridge, just where Willow Bridge caravan park is.

Bridge Hall

Of the one hundred other houses in the villages there was an assortment of sizes as listed below:   

• 1 with 8 hearths
• 3 with 7 hearths
• 1 with 6 hearths
• 4 with 5 hearths
• 9 with 4 hearths
• 13 with 3 hearths
• 21 with 2 hearths
• 48 with 1 hearth 

The population for both villages totalled about four hundred and eighty five, which showed they had grown considerably since the Poll Tax of 1379.

For more on the Bridge Foot area go to At the Foot of the Bridge.

Eighteenth Century Bentley

Time Of Great Mortality

Bentley in the eighteenth century consisted of several farms built around a village green, with more farms further afield, rented from the Cooke Lords of the Manor. There were also several beer-houses in the village, including the Grey Horse public house (now the Bay Horse) but no Anglican church, with the nearest being at Arksey. However there is evidence of a rise in certain non-conformist religions.

With the population of Bentley dependent on agriculture, it was inevitable that a series of bad harvests and severe winters would affect the mortality rate of the parish. One such occasion was so severe, that special mention was given to it in the parish register for the years 1727-1729. Writing in the parish register, Charles Herring  (parish clerk) declared:

"The greatest mortality that ever can be remembered or made out to be in the Parish of Arksey."

Prior to 1727, burials averaged at about 15 to 20 per year, but in the year 1727 there were 52, in 1728 there were 51, and in 1729 there were as many as 55 before numbers fell back to the average the following year.

By the 1760's things had improved considerably, and by the 1770's births outnumbered deaths by one third.

Introduction Of Enclosure

The eighteenth century brought a change in the way land was farmed. For centuries owner-occupiers and tenants had farmed in strips of land in huge common fields. The gradual change from this practice to a more efficient method of enclosing holdings in small fenced or hedged 'closes' was first carried out by the lords of the manor, however, in the first half of the eighteenth century a huge number of acts of enclosure were passed.

Example of an Enclosure map (not Bentley)

The acts for enclosing land at Bentley and Arksey started in 1759 and concerned the lands immediately north of the river Don, in an area known as 'Bentley and Arksey Ings'. The straight roads across the common were laid out at this time and were named Arksey Common Lane, Mastall Lane and Ings Lane. This land was prone to flooding due to work carried out in the 1720's to the 1740's on the Don Navigation to make it accessible for larger cargo vessels.

At the same time as the land was being enclosed many small roads and footpaths were 'stopped up and discontinued' to allow for new field boundaries. Drains were also altered and improved.

Without a doubt Enclosure was the biggest change in agriculture in centuries and the effect on the local population would have been immense. The change would have swept away certain rights from the villagers, rights that they would have depended on for their subsidence.

Enclosure would prove to be just the first phase in a time of change for the people of Bentley. A new industrial age was dawning and the local people would have to adapt to this progress. Life in rural Bentley and Arksey was about to change and would never be the same again.

Continue reading in 'A Brief History of Bentley - Part Two'.

First written 2014, updated 2016, re-written and updated 2020.