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| Bentley High Street |
19th and 20th Century Bentley
From Rural Village to Industrial Township
By the beginning of the nineteenth century Bentley was established as a rural village with the emphasis on farming 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 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 it's 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, 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 B 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.
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| 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. Bentley also gained it's first religious building in the form of a Wesleyan chapel, built in 1819, and later used as a school.
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.
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.
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, ran on steam and was in operation too. The brick yard at Arksey made thousands of bricks for use on the new railway, and then became employed in making drainage pipes etc.
See here for more on the brickyard.
There were three limestone quarries in operation throughout part of the nineteenth century, and these were situated near to the Great North Road.
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 numbers on the railways 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 End and The Sun at Bodles.
In 1877 the first purpose built school in Bentley was built on the village green behind the Primitive Methodist Chapel which had served as a school, but was now overcrowded and unfit for the purpose. The school taught 174 children at first, with room for 120 more with the addition of an infants' section in 1889.
The Cooke family's long association with Bentley and Arksey began to recede, when they started to sell off land in 1868, with further sales taking place up to the 1890's.
By 1891 the population of Bentley was recorded at 1,863, with the biggest increase taking place since the 1870's.
In 1889 a new Wesleyan chapel was built on the corner of Chapel Street and Doncaster Road (now 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.
While the new chapel was being built, plans got underway for the building of a new Mission Church for Bentley. St Peter's Church was built during the 1890's and in 1898 Bentley finally became a separate ecclesiastical parish.
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.
By far the biggest change in Bentley 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.
More on Bentley Colliery in a forthcoming article.
Housing for the miners and their families was provided in the building of the 'New Village', and in the old village cottages were demolished to make way for new commercial properties.
By 1921 the population had risen to almost 13,000. Further housing estates were built to the rear of buildings on the main roads, and extended up the old turnpike road to Askern, with further houses being built around the old Toll-House at Toll Bar.
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'.
By the second decade of the twentieth century Bentley had lost it's rural setting completely, as with many other pit villages, commercial enterprises were at the centre of the colliery community.
By way of entertainment, a new Recreation Park and Pavilion was opened in Bentley in 1911, and this was soon joined by a new cinema, the Coliseum in 1914. A sports ground and working men's clubs soon followed.
Bentley was not without hardship and disaster though, the colliery strike of 1926 brought poverty, while an explosion at the pit in 1931 left many families mourning loved ones. Disruption and loss due to major floods occurred in 1932 and 1941. In December 1940 the Royston Avenue area of Bentley was bombed, with the loss of several lives, and many injuries.
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 park now exists in its place.
Bentley faced devastation in 2007 when severe flooding once again returned to the area. Bentley and Toll Bar were badly affected, prompting a visit from the Prime Minister and Prince Charles.
See here for more on the floods.
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.
Aspects of Bentley's history will be covered in more detail in a series of articles over the coming months.
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.
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.
Industrial Bentley
Industry had always 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, ran on steam and was in operation too. The brick yard at Arksey made thousands of bricks for use on the new railway, and then became employed in making drainage pipes etc.
See here for more on the brickyard.
There were three limestone quarries in operation throughout part of the nineteenth century, and these were situated near to the Great North Road.
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| Bentley 1854 |
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 numbers on the railways 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 End and The Sun at Bodles.
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| The Bay Horse |
In 1877 the first purpose built school in Bentley was built on the village green behind the Primitive Methodist Chapel which had served as a school, but was now overcrowded and unfit for the purpose. The school taught 174 children at first, with room for 120 more with the addition of an infants' section in 1889.
The Cooke family's long association with Bentley and Arksey began to recede, when they started to sell off land in 1868, with further sales taking place up to the 1890's.
Housing and the Population
In addition to the growth in business, housing in Bentley also expanded during the latter half of the nineteenth century. New housing spread southwards, along the west side of what is now Bentley Road. Nine of the 'Westfield Cottages' had been 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 during the 1880's, consisting of mainly terraced houses and a few detached properties. Building on the east side of the road was completed during the 1890's.By 1891 the population of Bentley was recorded at 1,863, with the biggest increase taking place since the 1870's.
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| Broughton Avenue under construction |
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 nonconformist religions had sprung up in Bentley. The Wesleyans moved from the chapel on the village green in 1819, and took up residence in a larger chapel on the corner of Cooke Street and Askern Road. The old chapel was taken over by the Primitive Methodists, who had previously occupied the small building which is next to the Druid's Arms Public House on High Street. This building was used as a schoolroom for a time, then taken over by the Anglian Church for use as a Mission Room by those not wishing to walk to Arksey for services. |
| Mission Room next to the Druid's Arms |
In 1889 a new Wesleyan chapel was built on the corner of Chapel Street and Doncaster Road (now 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.
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| The new Wesleyan Chapel built in 1889 |
While the new chapel was being built, plans got underway for the building of a new Mission Church for Bentley. St Peter's Church was built during the 1890's and in 1898 Bentley finally became a separate ecclesiastical parish.
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| St Peter's Church |
20th Century Bentley
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.
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| Bentley Tram arriving at the Chapel Street terminus |
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| Trolley bus on Askern Road |
By far the biggest change in Bentley 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.
More on Bentley Colliery in a forthcoming article.
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| Bentley Colliery 1912 |
Housing for the miners and their families was provided in the building of the 'New Village', and in the old village cottages were demolished to make way for new commercial properties.
By 1921 the population had risen to almost 13,000. Further housing estates were built to the rear of buildings on the main roads, and extended up the old turnpike road to Askern, with further houses being built around the old Toll-House at Toll Bar.
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'.
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| Council offices, Cooke Street |
By the second decade of the twentieth century Bentley had lost it's rural setting completely, as with many other pit villages, commercial enterprises were at the centre of the colliery community.
By way of entertainment, a new Recreation Park and Pavilion was opened in Bentley in 1911, and this was soon joined by a new cinema, the Coliseum in 1914. A sports ground and working men's clubs soon followed.
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| Bentley Park |
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| The Coliseum |
Bentley was not without hardship and disaster though, the colliery strike of 1926 brought poverty, while an explosion at the pit in 1931 left many families mourning loved ones. Disruption and loss due to major floods occurred in 1932 and 1941. In December 1940 the Royston Avenue area of Bentley was bombed, with the loss of several lives, and many injuries.
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| Bomb damaged Royston Avenue 1940 |
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 park now exists in its place.
Bentley faced devastation in 2007 when severe flooding once again returned to the area. Bentley and Toll Bar were badly affected, prompting a visit from the Prime Minister and Prince Charles.
See here for more on the floods.
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.
Aspects of Bentley's history will be covered in more detail in a series of articles over the coming months.