Crofton in 1838 - (2 of 9)

In 1838, Crofton was primarily a rural community. The village stretched along the High Street and Harrison Road, with far fewer buildings than we see today.

Each black rectangle on the map represents a building. We can recognise All Saints’ Church, marked with a cross, and Crofton Old Hall, which still sits within the Crofton Academy complex. The cottages next to the chemist and the former Lord of the Manor pub would also have been present.

Less familiar are the buildings labelled Hall and Rectory at the bottom of the hill on Harrison Road. You can read more about Crofton Hall on the Crofton In Pictures section. The name Lidget may refer to a place—definitions include “small gate” or “gate by a small meadow”.

A windmill, likely used for milling grain, stands north of the area now known as Weeland Road. Another building, “Windmill House”, is marked on Towers Lane.

Two quarries are shown—one on Shay Lane and another south of the old Pontefract Road. These were probably sources of building stone.

The map hints at changes to come. To the north, coal workings had already appeared north of Sharlston, and Oakenshaw had a railway station at the junction of two lines.

It is interesting to note that some of the public footpaths that walkers use today appear to marked as roads (more likely tracks) on the map. For example an offshoot of Hare Park Lane continues to Shay Lane, not just to Hare Park.