Darton (All Saints)

DARTON (All Saints), a parish, in the wapentake of Staincross, W. riding of York, 3¼ miles (N. W.) from Barnsley; comprising the townships of Barugh, Darton, and Kexborough; and containing 3583 inhabitants, of whom 1692 are in the township of Darton. This parish, which is situated on the Barnsley and Huddersfield road, is principally the property of T. Wentworth Beaumont, Esq., and comprises 4478a. 2r. 22p., whereof about 2599 acres are arable, 1600 pasture, and 279 wood: the township of Darton comprises, of the above number, 1440 acres, of which about 831 are arable, 580 pasture, and 29 woodland. The soil is generally fertile and well cultivated: three productive coalmines are in operation, and there are several quarries of gritstone. In the village of Mapplewell the inhabitants are chiefly employed in weaving and in the manufacture of nails. There are likewise vitriol-works. The village of Staincross, which gives name to the wapentake, is also within the parish, and consists of several good houses, irregularly built on the acclivities of a lofty eminence. The village of Darton is pleasantly situated in a valley near the confluence of two branches of the river Dearne, which flows through the parish. At Red-brook and at Swithin are extensive bleaching-works, the latter, which are said to be superior to any in this part of the kingdom, employing 70 men. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12. 10., and in the patronage of Mr. Beaumont (the impropriator), with a net income of £150. The church is a spacious and handsome structure in the later English style, with a lofty embattled tower crowned with pinnacles, and contains monuments to the families of Silvester and Beaumont. There is a meeting-house for Wesleyans at Blacker, and at Mapplewell are places of worship for those of the New Connexion and for Nonconformists. George Beaumont, of Oakes, in 1668 bequeathed £500 to be invested in land for the support of a free school, and £500 to the poor; which benefactions were applied to the purchase of an estate, now yielding about £203 per annum. Thomas Beaumont, Esq., in 1728 bequeathed £112 to the poor of Darton, and £150 to the poor of Crigglestone.