Domesday
At the time of the Domesday Survey [1086] both Aston [Estone] and Aughton [Hacstone] were held by Richard, as tenant of the Earl of Mortain (half-brother to William I). The church at Aston was already in existence. Before the Conquest, Aston had belonged to the Saxon Leofsige who also held one of the three manors at Aughton, the others being held by Grimr and Leofketill. William de Warenne also had property in both villages. In 1086 the value of both villages was 18s. [£0.90] considerably less than their pre-1066 value of 70s [£3.50].
The Domesday entries suggest a total population of 50-60 for the parish.
13th and 14th Centuries
By the reign of Henry II Osbert de Arcubus or de Arches was lord of Aston as tenant of the Furnivals. His only daughter and heir married William de Cantilupe. In 1293-4 William de Cantilupe and wife Emma were claiming the right to have free warren, infangthief and gallows at Aston. In the reign of Edward II, following the death of Emma de Cantilupe without heirs, there was a dispute about the lordship of Aston between the descendants of the three sisters of Osbert de Arches. This was settled in favour of Thomas de Aunby.
The Poll Tax returns of 1379 for Aston and Aughton list 179 taxpayers, suggesting a total population of around 700. Most paid the standard 4d tax but the list is headed by William de Melton, knight, and Elizabeth, his wife, who paid 20s. [60p]. The middle classes are represented by John de Worteley, beast merchant, who paid 2s [10p] and Ralph de Aghton, beast merchant, who was assessed at 1s [5p].
The manor of Aston passed to the Melton family following its sale in 1332 by de Aunby to William Melton who was Archbishop of York 1317-40. He was member of the household of Edward II, serving as Keeper of the Wardrobe in 1314-6 and Treasurer in 1325 and, under Edward III, in 1330. On Melton’s death in 1340, his Aston estate passed to his nephew, Sir William de Melton, whose family remained lords of Aston until the death of Sir John Melton in 1545. Aston then passed to George, son of John, Lord Darcy, the husband of Melton’s only daughter.
Lord Darcy
The Darcys were to remain at Aston for over two centuries. From the 14th century, Aughton had belonged to the West family. For some unknown reason, a feud developed between the Wests and the Darcys, culminating in the murder in 1556 of Lewis and Edward West, sons of William West, by John and George Darcy, sons of George, Lord Darcy. The Wests were attacked while returning from Rotherham Fair. The Darcys escaped punishment because Lewis West’s wife agreed to accept compensation. In 1682 Conyers, Lord Darcy was created Earl of Holderness. His great-great grandson, the fourth Earl, was the last of the Darcys to live at Aston. In the early 1770s he employed the York architect John Carr to rebuild Aston Hall, the old house having been destroyed by fire. Before the new house was complete the Earl decided that he no longer wanted to live at Aston.
Verelst Family and Aston Hall
The new house and the estate were sold to Harry Verelst. Of Dutch extraction, Velelst had entered the service of the East India Company. In India he became a friend of Clive whom he succeeded as Governor of Bengal. Verelst returned to England with his fortune made and looked around for a wife and landed estate. The wife he chose was Ann Wordsworth, daughter and co-heiress of Josiah Wordsworth of Wadworth, a prosperous London merchant. The estate he purchased in 1773 was Aston. The Verelst family were to remain at Aston Hall until the estate was sold in 1928. The Hall was then bought by Sheffield steel magnate Ronald Matthews. In the 1940s West Riding County Council purchased the hall for use as a mental home, changing the name to Aughton Court. Following the closure of Aughton Court in 1984, Aston Hall was converted into a luxury hotel.
Parish Church
The parish church for both Aston and Aughton stands close to Aston Hall. The earliest surviving portion of the church is the nave of c1100 with its five Norman arches and one transitional gothic arch. The chancel dates from the early 14th century and other additions were made in the 15th century. The chancel is built in limestone, the remainder in sandstone. The south aisle formerly housed the Chapel of St. Mary. There is a monument to John, Lord Darcy and first three wives on the north wall of the chancel. His fourth wife has her own memorial on the opposite wall. There is also a monument to Rev. William Mason who was Rector from 1754 to1797. Mason was a minor poet of some reputation and was responsible for rebuilding the rectory, employing John Carr as architect.
Education
In 1743 there was a small school where 10 poor children were taught by a master who received a salary of £4 per annum. The old school stood in Aston Lane and was later used as a club and reading room. It was replaced in 1866 by a new Church School at the top of Lodge Lane, halfway between Aston and Swallownest. The first school at Aughton, a single room building, opened in 1864. It was replaced by a new Council School across the road in 1910. The old building continued to be used for divine services for some years. The growing population at Fence and Swallownest was served by schools opened in 1877 and 1893 respectively.
Swallownest
The commons within the parish were enclosed in 1768 when the bulk of the land (245 acres out of 302) was awarded to the Earl of Holderness. At the end of the 18th century, Aston and Aughton were still separate settlements, with fields between. The two main roads through the parish, the Rotherham-Pleasley Road and the Attercliffe and Worksop Road, were both turnpiked in 1764. To the west of the crossing of the two roads the hamlet of Swallownest grew up. The hamlet took its name from the Swallow family who had a farm nearby. As late as 1838 the only buildings around the cross roads at Swallownest were turnpike tollhouse and three farms. The tithe award of that year shows that Rev. Arthur Verelst owned 1,285 acres of the 2,891 acres in the parish. The remaining land was divided among eight other landowners.
Coal Mining
The parish registers list a number of coal miners in the 18th century. The pits they worked in would have been small and shallow. In the mid-19th century the coal reserves under the parish began to be exploited on a more extensive basis.
Fence Colliery was sunk in 1842 near the boundary with Handsworth, and Aston Colliery was sunk on Aston Common in the 1840s. The latter pit was superseded by the North Staveley Colliery, opened in 1864. The arrival of the collieries completely changed the appearance of the western side of the parish. The North Staveley company built several terraces of houses for its workers, known as Aston Terraces, with a chapel and reading room. Houses were erected at Fence for Fence Colliery and on Millstone Hill for workers at Waleswood Colliery.
Fence Colliery was connected underground with Treeton Colliery and all coal was hauled from the Treeton shaft after 1887. Coal ceased to be mined at Fence Colliery in 1904 but the shaft remained in use for pumping. In the 1950s the colliery site became the NCB area workshops and stores. Beighton Colliery was sunk on Park Lane, adjacent to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, in 1902. A new Brookhouse shaft was sunk to the south of North Staveley Colliery in 1929. The site of North Staveley Colliery is now occupied by industrial units. Brookhouse Colliery closed in 1985 and from 1988 the site was opencast as part of the Pithouse West site.
Population
In 1801 the combined population of the parish (Aston, Aughton and Swallownest) stood at 586. The population rose gradually to 995 in 1861, and then jumped to 1667 by 1871. This increase can be explained by the increase in coal mining following the sinking of North Staveley Colliery. Thereafter the population increased steadily, reaching 4,583 in 1939, 10,489 in 1981 and 14,122 in 1991.
For further information on Aston look at the Aston Bibliography link which lists further printed sources available from the Archives and local Studies Service.
Useful Links
Aston Bibliography
Map of Aston cum Aughton
Junction 31 Local History Website
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