Domesday
In 1086 Laughton was the head of a large soke within the honour of Tickhill, held by Roger de Busli. Before 1066, it had belonged to Earl Edwin who had a hall there.
It was a thriving village for the population of 33 villeins and 6 smallholders had 10 plough teams between them and Roger de Busli and a further 5 teams of his own.
Motte and Bailey Castle
The earthworks of an earth and timber motte and bailey castle can still be seen near the church. When the de Busli Honour of Tickhill passed to Henry 1, the king gave the church of Laughton to the canons of York. In 1484 Archbishop Rotherham appropriated the prebend of Laughton to the Chancellor of York Minster.
13th and 14th Century
The manor of Laughton remained in the hands of the Crown until the 13th century when Prince Edward, son of Henry III, gave the manor to Geoffrey de Lusignan. In the reign of Edward II Drogo de Merlawe was lord of the manor and by 1332 the lordship had passed to the Frenchman Ralph, Earl of Eu. At the outbreak of the Hundred Years War, the estates of the Earls of Eu were seized and Laughton passed into the hands of the Crown once more, being granted to the King’s son, John of Gaunt. When John of Gaunt’s son ascended the throne as Henry IV, Laughton passed into the hands of the Crown once more.
The 1379 Poll Tax return for Laughton lists 232 people assessed for the tax, representing a total population of 450. There was no resident lord in the manor, the most prosperous inhabitant being John de Kirke.
Eyre Family
The manor of Laughton was in the hands of the Queen in 1577 but by the 17th century it had passed to the Eyre family, who were also lords of Kiveton. The Eyres occasionally resided at Laughton and Sir Gervas Eyre was killed fighting for the King at the siege of Newark in 1644. His great-great-grandson, Anthony Eyre, sold the manor to Anthony St Leger of Park Hill, Firbeck, in 1767.
Hatfeild Family
The main rivals of the Eyres in Laughton were the Hatfeilds who were supporters of Parliament during the Civil War. The family came to Laughton when Ralph Hatfeild of Shire Green married the daughter of Robert Mirfield of Thurcroft in the late 16th century.
In 1652 the family gained national notoriety when Martha, the 12 year old daughter of Anthony and Faith Hatfeild was seized by a strange illness which caused to her fall into cataleptic fits during which she could neither move nor see. During these fits she was able to speak and astonished listeners with the piety and wisdom of her utterances. People flocked from far and wide to see her and a book about her, the wise virgin, ran to five editions between 1653 and 1664. After eight months the seizures passed as suddenly as they had started. The Hatfeild dynasty at Laughton lasted until 1791 when John Hatfield died unmarried.
Parish Church
The church at Laughton was mother church to a considerable area, an indication of the village’s importance in Anglo-Saxon times. The Saxon church was a simple rectangular structure. Rebuilding in Norman style began c1190 when a north aisle was added. The church was rebuilt again c1377 and a 185ft tower and spire were added. The north arcade of the nave retains its Norman columns while Saxon stonework can be seen in the lower courses of the chancel walls. The Lady Chapel contains a pre-Reformation stone altar table which was found buried in the south aisle during the 19th century. Considerable alterations and repairs to the church were carried out in 1857 at the expense of AFB St Leger, the lord of the manor.
In 1693 the vicarage near the church was described as “a dwelling containing about three bays of building”. By 1716 it had been enlarged to five bays but as late as 1817 most of the downstairs rooms had earth floors. The present vicarage dates from 1840.
Education
The history of Laughton Endowed School can be traced to 1610 when Edmund Laughton of Throapham and Anthony Eyre gave adjoining plots of land for the construction of a school “for the learning and instruction in learning of the children of the inhabitants of the township and parish of Laughton”. Further endowments were made by John West, William Beckwith and William Laughton and a house for the master was erected 1670. The government of the school was in the hands of a body of local trustees who had the power to levy rates on the inhabitants for the support of the school. In 1820 the Charity Commissioners found that the school was in “ruin and decay” and the trust deeds had been lost. The trust was re-established but in the mid-19th century the school was accepted as a Church of England school. The building was extended in 1850.
Enclosure
Shortly after Anthony St Leger purchased the manor of Laughton moves were made to enclose the remaining open fields and commons. The act of parliament for the enclosure was passed in 1769 with the process being completed in 1771. A considerable portion of the parish had already been enclosed over the years. The bulk of the 1,172 acres of newly enclosed land (580 acres) was allotted to Anthony St Leger as lord of the manor, followed by Dr Hugh Thomas, prebend of Laughton (189 acres) and John Hatfeild (173 acres). The enclosure award also abolished the payment of tithes in kind on the newly enclosed lands, replacing them with a rent charge. Tithes remained payable on the old enclosures until they were converted by the Tithe Award of 1840.
Slade Hooton
The hamlet of Slade Hooton, to the north of Laughton, appears in the Domesday Book as a manor within the Soke of Laughton, with three carucates of land. Despite the small size of the hamlet, it was divided into two manors in the Middle Ages. One manor came into the hands of the Ripers family, lords of Loversall, who gave their manor to Roche Abbey. At the Dissolution, this manor was granted to Richard Turke who sold it to Robert Saunderson, ancestor of the Earls of Scarbrough.
The other manor was held in the early 16th century by William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Southampton (d1542). He gave Slade Hooton and other lands in the area to John Fitzwilliam of Kingsley (Hants). This grant was later challenged by the Earl’s niece, wife of Sir James Foljambe and the case was settled in 1563 in favour of Godfrey Foljambe of Croxden. The main freeholders within the hamlet were the Mirfin family.
Slade Hooton Hall was built in 1698 for John Mirfin. The stable block and barn were added in 1702 and 1705. The 1838 West Riding Directory shows that the hamlet then had its own blacksmith, wheelwright and shopkeeper.
(Extracted from:- R.M.B.C, Patchwork of parishes, 1997)
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