Shafton is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Wombwell, Worsbrough, Penistone and Hoyland. The borough is bisected by the M1 mo ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, England, on the border with

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,840, increasing to 3,447 at the 2011 Census. The parish contains the villages of Shafton and Shafton Two Gates. Shafton lies to the north of Shafton Two Gates, on the road to

Ryhill Ryhill is a small village and civil parish situated on the B6428 road in West Yorkshire, England approximately north-east of Barnsley. It has a population of 2,628, increasing to 2,894 at the 2011 census. Like many of the surrounding villag ...

. It is located at approximately 53° 35' 10" North, 1° 24' West, at an elevation of around above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Sceptun in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 then later in c. 1160 Scaftona meaning a farmstead marked by a pole, or made with poles. Shafton Two Gates lies to the south of Shafton and north of Cudworth, on the intersection of the A628 and A6195 roads. It is located at approximately , at an elevation of around above sea level. Shafton Two Gates takes its name from the two roads that enter Shafton at this point. The etymology derives from the Old Norse word ''gata'', the equivalent of the modern English word road. The two roads in question are both ancient and locally important. The more southerly of the two is the road between Pontefract and Barnsley, this section of which was made into Turnpike in 1833, with a turnpike gate which was sited slightly to the east of the modern roundabout serving the Cudworth Parkway and Engine Lane. The second more northerly road, is the old Salter's road that runs from Shafton Two Gates via the North Field of Cudworth (Weetshaw Lane) through to Carlton where it continued towards Smithies and eventually up through Penistone to the Salter's Brook Bridge which marked the ancient boundary between Yorkshire and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

at Longdendale (these days the boundary is between the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and Derbyshire). This was an ancient packhorse route. Today,

Outwood Academy Shafton Outwood Academy Shafton (formerly Shafton Advanced Learning Centre) is a comprehensive secondary school with academy status, located in Shafton, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It is a mixed school for both girls and boys, ages 11– ...

is located in Shafton. Bus services in Shafton: *Waterson's services 35, 36, 37, 38. (35 & 36 go via Shafton Hawthorne Crescent & the Green) *

Tates Travel Tates Travel was a local bus operator based in Barnsley in England, operating services in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. History Tates Travel was founded in 2003 by Graham Mallinson in Stocksbridge, when he purchased a minibus to run pri ...

service 34 *

Stagecoach Yorkshire Stagecoach Yorkshire is a bus operator providing local and regional services across South Yorkshire and Derbyshire in England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered in Barnsley. The subsidiary was formed in 2005 follow ...

services 29, 48, X27, N27

Listed building

The parish contains one

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

that is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

. It is a milepost on the south side of Brierley Road, dating from the mid to late 19th century. It is in stone with

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

overlay, and has a triangular section and a rounded top. On the top is inscribed "BARNSLEY & PONTEFRACT ROAD" and "SHAFTON", and on the sides are the distances to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in South Yorkshire Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley Civil parishes in South Yorkshire