A Brief History of Bentley - Part Two

Top left to right, High Street, St Peter's Church
Middle, Park and Pavilion, Bentley Colliery
Bottom, The Avenue, Bentley Road

A Time Of Change

In part one we saw how the tiny village of Bentley grew up in the shadow of its neighbour Arksey. With less land available for farming it was difficult to imagine Bentley becoming anything more than a gateway to the more fertile farm lands around Arksey.

However, with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, Bentley would find its place in the world and become the thriving township it is today.

In this second part of a two-part introduction to the history of Bentley we look at how industry changed the village in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and how the village adapted when that industry was taken away. 

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

Continued from A Brief History of Bentley - Part One.

Contents Of Part Two

• Nineteenth Century Bentley
• 1827 Enclosure
• The Growth Of Bentley 
• Industrial Bentley
• Education
• Housing And The Population
• Religious Houses
• Twentieth Century Bentley
• Public Transport
• Bentley Colliery
• 'New' Bentley
• New Communities
• Scawthorpe
• Toll Bar
• Hardship and Disaster
• The Pit Disaster
• Flooding
• War Time Bombs
• Latter-Day Bentley

Nineteenth Century Bentley

By the beginning of the nineteenth century Bentley was established as a rural village. Agriculture was still seen as the chief occupation of the population, but change was coming and this began with the Acts of Enclosure in the late eighteenth century. By 1827, the second phase of Enclosure was under way, changing the face of agriculture and the very village itself.

1827 Enclosure

Lands in Bentley and Arksey Ings had already been enclosed in the first phase of Enclosure in 1759. In 1827 further lands at Bentley were enclosed, and these consisted of Broad Axe Field, Amersall Field, West Field, Scawthorpe Field, Havercroft, Broach, and Streetcroft. The reasons given for Enclosure being that the lands of proprietors were so intermixed and dispersed, that the management and cultivation of them was inconvenient. Improving the system by enclosing the lands would greatly benefit the land owners and the village. This change would also alter the look of Bentley, as powers were granted to re-direct, "stop-up" or alter any carriage road or bridleway passing through lands to be enclosed. Drains could also be improved, but there were no powers to alter anything which would cause injury to Bentley Mill.

As many as thirty footpaths were discontinued, along with one bridleway and one carriage road, this included a section of Millgate to its junction with Finkle Street and Arksey Lane.

The main Doncaster to Selby Road turned in a dog-leg at the Millgate junction, and ran through the village green (on Cooke Street), past Bentley's only inn, the Grey Horse.

In all there were 1,893 acres of land enclosed, and of these 1,447 acres were acquired by Sir William Bryan Cooke, which meant that almost all the farmers in the area were renting directly from him.

This shift in the methods of agriculture would have taken away certain common rights from the villagers, on which they depended for their subsistence. This must have caused a great deal of anguish to the people. 

Bentley from the Enclosure map of 1827

The Growth Of Bentley

Despite the fact that Sir W B Cooke owned and rented out almost all the land around Bentley, he remained a non-resident Lord of the Manor, and as such Bentley village was allowed to develop freely, without the dominant planning of one person. 

Bentley would grow steadily throughout the nineteenth century, providing a variety of occupations for the villagers. 

By 1837 there were wheelwrights, blacksmiths, bricklayers, farmers, boot and shoe makers, tailors, shopkeepers, butchers, a maltster, beerhouses and an inn, the Grey Horse. There was also a corn mill and a mustard manufacturer. 

The appearance of shops and butchers in Bentley came as a direct result of Enclosure. Families who were once self-sufficient had lost the common land they had used for rearing animals and growing produce; and as they were now employed, there was a demand to buy provisions locally.

As for religion in the area, there had been meetings of the Wesleyan Methodists on the village green and in private homes since about 1790. Bentley gained its first purpose built religious building in the form of a Wesleyan chapel, which was opened in 1819.

Sometime between 1827 and 1850 an extension was built to the High Street in Bentley, so instead of having to turn left towards the village green to reach areas to the north, it was possible to carry straight on up to the end of Arksey Lane. Creating this route required the building the of a new bridge over the mill stream, adjacent to Finkle Street, but it did mean a more direct route to Arksey, with the addition of providing more building space for shops and businesses.

Bentley Bridge over the mill stream pictured in 1910.
Photo courtesy of Colin Hardisty

Despite the new prosperity in Bentley, the population was actually falling. In 1821 there were 1,183 inhabitants, but by 1831 the number had dropped to 1,144. Over the next ten years the population fell again, by another 88. 

This was due in part to people moving away, but an outbreak of cholera in the early 1830's made a big impact on the population of Bentley, especially in the year 1832, when more than 40 burials took place, most of which were cholera victims.

By 1837 the population was recovering, and from this time increased at a much faster rate.

For a full list of traders in Bentley at various times go to Trade Directories.

Industrial Bentley

Industry had long been a feature in the growth of Bentley, but by the mid nineteenth century this was expanding and changing. 

The mustard factory had ceased operating entirely, and the number of malt-kilns in the area was also reduced, but the water-driven corn mill still prospered. Another corn mill on Finkle Street, which was steam driven was also in operation, this was called Marsh's Mill. Brick yards flourished in the area, Tuffield's at Arksey made thousands of bricks for use on the new railway, and then became employed in making drainage pipes etc. Another brick yard was in operation at Bentley Moor Lane, one was sited at Tilts and two more in an area that would become Toll Bar. 

There were three limestone quarries in operation throughout part of the nineteenth century, and these were situated near to the Great North Road. 

Bentley 1893

Agriculture still made up the biggest proportion of the workforce in the 1850's, with the rest made up from domestic service, road building, the railways, craftsmen, shops, inns and teaching. By 1861 there was also a post office in Bentley.

By the end of the nineteenth century agriculture had declined, while the number of railway workers had increased significantly.

The only inn in Bentley, The Bay Horse (originally, the Grey Horse), was joined in 1861 by the Railway Tavern. A beerhouse on High Street became The Druids Arms, and further afield there was The Three Horse Shoes at Bridge Foot and The Sun at Bodles.

The Bay Horse on Chapel Street

It was during the latter half of the nineteenth century that the Cooke family's long association with Bentley and Arksey began to recede. They started to sell off land in 1868, with further sales taking place up to the 1890's. The Cooke's would eventually move away from Doncaster completely, although their charitable concerns were kept up in Arksey.

Education

In 1877 the first purpose built school in Bentley was built on the village green, Cooke Street. A previous National School had been housed in the old Primitive Wesleyan chapel on High Street, but it became short on capacity and unfit for purpose.

The school taught 174 children at first, with room for 120 more with the addition of an infants' section in 1889. With education becoming free for all in 1891, the school underwent further expansion in 1894, raising the intake level to 246.

For more on Bentley's schools go to Educating Bentley.

Bentley Board School in the 1890's.
Photo courtesy of John Goodridge

Housing And The Population

By 1891 the population of Bentley was recorded at 1,863, with the biggest increase taking place since the 1870's.

It was in the 1870's that new housing was built on Bentley Road. Work began on the west side of the road first with nine of the Westfield Cottages built by 1871. Elmbank, next to Haslemere Grove was also built in 1871. Other houses were built during the 1870's, including Rose Cottages in 1876, Mount Pleasant in 1877, and Broughton's Houses and Harrison's Houses. 

Building continued on the west side of Bentley Road during the 1880's, consisting of mainly terraced houses and a few detached properties, such as Warwick Villas in 1889. 

Building on the east side of the road was completed during the 1890's, this included a new chapel for the Primitive Methodists, built in 1899.

The map below is from 1893 and shows the west side of Bentley Road almost complete, and large gaps on the east side yet to be built on.

Bentley Road in 1893

Religious Houses

With the growth in population came the need for more places of worship in Bentley. The church at Arksey was over two miles away, and while nonconformist religions had sprung up in Bentley, there was still no Anglican church by the end of the 1880's. 

The Wesleyans, who had started meeting under a walnut tree on the village green in about 1790, and later in a small house or chapel nearby, took up residence in a larger chapel on the corner of Cooke Street and Askern Road in 1819. 

The Primitive Methodists, who had previously occupied the small building which is next to the former Druid's Arms public house on High Street had a chapel built overlooking the village green in 1857, with a school room added nine years later. The old Primitive chapel building was used as a National School for a time, before being taken over by the Anglican Church for use as a Mission Room by those not wishing to walk to Arksey for services. It was rebuilt in 1892 to provide a room for services while St Peter's Church was under construction.

The old Mission Room on High Street

In 1891 a new Wesleyan chapel was built on the corner of Chapel Street and High Street. The land was donated by Mr William Chadwick of Arksey Hall, and the chapel was built of brick in the Victorian Gothic style at a cost of over £2,350. The chapel opened in June 1892. 

The Wesleyan chapel on High Street/Chapel Street, built in 1891

While the new chapel was being built, plans got underway for the building of the new Anglican Church for Bentley, St Peter's, as mentioned earlier. The church was built during the 1890's, the cost being met by Charles Edward Stephen Cooke Esq. brother of Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke, Baronet of Wheatley. In 1898 Bentley finally became a separate ecclesiastical parish.

For more on all the churches and chapels of Bentley go to A Place of Worship.

St Peter's Church

20th Century Bentley

Public Transport 

Bentley had continued to grow through the latter part of the nineteenth century, and by 1901 the population stood at 2,019, while neighbouring Arksey's population had stayed at a modest 384.

A growing population meant changes were happening fast. A new tram system was installed and opened in 1902. In 1928 trolley buses replaced the trams, and these were operational up until around 1960. 

For more on public transport go to Please State Your Destination.

A tram on High Street heading towards Doncaster

Bentley Colliery

Following years of steady growth in Bentley, by far the biggest jump came with the sinking of Bentley Colliery. After an unsuccessful attempt boring at a site in old Bentley, a site north of the village was chosen, and a shaft was successfully sunk there in 1905, leading to the opening of the colliery in 1908.

This once rural village was suddenly the hub of industry, and while it must have been disconcerting for the locals at first, the colliery brought about better housing, jobs, more local amenities and allowed the village to step out of the shadow of Arksey.

For more on Bentley Colliery go to Bentley Pit History Part 1 - 85 Years of Mining.

Bentley Colliery in 1911.
Photo courtesy of Jill Lowe

'New' Bentley

One inevitable consequence of sinking a colliery in Bentley was the amount of workers it would attract. Workers came from all over the north of the country and they brought their families with them. These new families would all need housing and this saw the laying out of New Village. Meanwhile in old Bentley, cottages were demolished to make way for new commercial properties.

Further housing was built to the rear of buildings on the main roads, such as Bentley Road, and extended up the old turnpike road to Askern, with further houses being built around the old Toll-House which led to the building of the village of Toll Bar in about 1912.

By 1912 three new schools had been built in Bentley, with another being built at Toll Bar two years later. 1913 saw the building of the new council offices at Bentley to house the new 'Urban District Council'.

Housing under construction on Broughton Avenue in 1911

By the second decade of the twentieth century Bentley had lost it's rural setting completely, and by 1921 the population had risen to almost 13,000. As with many other pit villages, commercial enterprises were at the centre of the colliery community.

With such a fast growing population, Bentley needed many new facilities to keep them occupied and entertained. A new Recreation Park was opened in Bentley in 1923, and this was soon joined by sports grounds and working men's clubs.

Bentley Park

A new cinema in the heart of Bentley, the Coliseum, opened on the 7th of September 1914. With four shops on the ground floor, and two billiard rooms on the first floor, this large, imposing building had seating for 1,400 patrons in the auditorium. There was also a large stage for live productions, and space for a six piece orchestra. It also boasted electric lighting and a modern ventilation system.

The Coliseum on High Street

New Communities

In Part One we looked at how some of the smaller communities near Bentley had been lost over time. Place-names such as Langthwaite, Amersall and Bodles were consigned to history and eventually, new communities sprang up in their places, or at least nearby. Most of these new places began in the twentieth century, when the mining industry brought an influx of new families to the area.

Scawthorpe

Scawthorpe began as one single farm, probably in the nineteenth century, but no actual date can be found for this at present. The farm lay on the west side of the Great North Road opposite the end of the present day Jossey Lane.

Scawthorpe Farm in 1849

Developement of the area first began in the 1930's when Sunnyfields was laid out to the south of Scawthorpe Farm. Some development also began in the Raymond Road area, which would eventually be extended as Amersall Road.

It was the 1950's which saw the biggest increase in house building, when land between Long Edge Quarry and Watch House Lane was filled with council housing. Named Scawthorpe, after the farm, this urban estate provided cheap and convenient housing for mining and other families moving to the area. 

For more on Scawthorpe go to Scawthorpe - It's Older Than You Think!

The Adam and Eve pub on Amersall Road, Scawthorpe, 1950's

Toll Bar

As with Scawthorpe, the name Toll Bar came from one single building, namely, the toll house on the Doncaster to York Road. The toll house was built in 1832 at about the same time as the Doncaster-to-Selby-to-York road was turnpiked. Built to house the toll collector and his family, the house had a succession of owners until it was eventually turned into a working men's club.

The toll house when used as a club

Toll Bar village began to be built in around 1912. Residential streets were created off the main road, which became the present day A19. Commercial properties were also built and eventually a school was added too. 

Toll Bar hit the headlines in 2007 when severe flooding submerged much of the village for weeks and caused devastation for the residents and business owners there.

For more on Toll Bar go to A History of Toll Bar.

Hardship And Disaster

The Pit Disaster

Despite all the good things happening in Bentley, it wasn't all plain-sailing, the village suffered its share of hardship and disaster too. The colliery strike of 1926 brought poverty, while a devastating explosion at the pit in 1931 left many families mourning loved ones. Forty five men and boys were killed in that disaster, something that Bentley has never forgotten.

For more on this go to Bentley Pit History Part 2 - Disasters.

Aftermath of the Bentley Pit disaster, November 1931

Flooding

Disruption and loss due to major floods occurred in 1932, 1941 and 1947. The 1932 floods are the best documented of these; taking place in May 1932. Unprecedented rainfall led to the villages of Bentley, Arksey and Toll Bar, as well as the Marsh Gate area of Doncaster flooding to incredible levels. Water as deep as eight feet inundated houses in Arksey causing devastation. Boats took to the streets in all flood hit areas, rescuing people from upstairs windows, or fetching supplies. 

The 1932 floods were the worst ever recorded in the area, and following two further floods in the 1940's, better flood defences were built which had the effect of keeping Bentley dry for 60 years. 

For more on the flooding in Bentley, Arksey and Toll Bar go to Arksey Underwater on sister site Arksey Village, A History.

Flooding on Hunt Lane in 1932

War Time Bombs

The war also brought devastation to a part of Bentley. In December 1940 the York Road and Royston Avenue areas of Bentley were bombed, with the loss of seventeen lives, and leaving many injured.

Several houses were destroyed on Royston Avenue and West End Avenue, as well as a post office on Royston Avenue. These houses were eventually rebuilt. 

Royston Avenue seen from West End Avenue after the bombs hit.

A memorial seat to the civilian war dead is in Arksey cemetery, and lists all the names of the victims.

For more on the memorial and the civilian war dead go to War Memorials.

For more on the Royston Avenue bomb go to When Hitler Came To Call. 

Latter-Day Bentley

Since the mid twentieth century Bentley has continued to grow and prosper, even with the setbacks of the 1984-85 miner's strikes, and its subsequent closure in 1993. The colliery was demolished in 1994, and a community woodland now exists in its place.

A new century in Bentley brought an old adversary back when severe flooding once again returned to the area. In 2007 Bentley and Toll Bar were badly affected, prompting a visit from the Prime Minister and Prince Charles. Then in late 2019 more flooding hit parts of Bentley, and with climate change the big issue now, Bentley looks certain to suffer more of these weather events in the future.

On a positive note though, twenty first century Bentley remains a bustling township on the northern edge of Doncaster, its rural heritage obliterated by commerce and housing estates, but none the less it remains a thriving community in an ever changing country.

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Alison Vainlo

First written 2014, re-written and updated 2020