Skellow is a village in rural
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
I ...
part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
The City of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough with city status in South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its principal settlement, Doncaster, and includes the surrounding suburbs of Doncaster as well as numerous towns and villages. The ...
, England.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, the village is roughly north-west of
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated i ...
. The village falls in the Askern Spa Ward of Doncaster MBC. To the north and south is mixed farmland, the
A1 runs immediately along the western edge of the village, and to the east Skellow merges with the adjacent village of
Carcroft
Carcroft is a rural village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the village is roughly six miles north-north west of Doncaster. At the time of t ...
along the
B1220 road
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A road
A roads may be
*motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian).
* ma ...
.
Geography
The village derives its name from the River Skell which flows from the nearby village of
Skelbrooke
Skelbrooke is a small village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Hampole, which had a population of 187.
The Grade II listed church of St Michael and All Angels is of medieval ...
, through the locally named 'Five Lanes End' area of Skellow where it joins the
Ea Beck, a tributary of the
River Don, of which it joins near the former
Thorpe Marsh Power Station
Thorpe Marsh Power Station was a 1 GW coal-fired power station near Barnby Dun in South Yorkshire, England. The station was commissioned in 1963 and closed in 1994. In 2011, permission was given for the construction of a gas-fired power st ...
at
Barnby Dun
Barnby Dun is a village in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Together with Kirk Sandall it forms the civil parish of Barnby Dun with Kirk Sandall. It lies between Arksey and Stainforth.
The parish church of St Peter & St Paul is Gra ...
. The village lies on the north side of the east-west Ea Beck valley. To the north-east with access from the village is
Burghwallis.
Skellow is well served for open public spaces, with a range of small and medium-sized parks scattered through both the modern housing estates to the west and the older former council estates which border Carcroft. Today most of the western half of Skellow is occupied by a patchwork of late 20th century housing estates.
History
Skellow is mentioned 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as belonging to Ilbert of Lacy, and having villagers, ploughlands, meadows and woodland. The name derives from the nearby River Skell, and various derivations could be behind the name, which Smith suggests is ''
heNook of land or hollow near the Skell (brook).'' Historically, Skellow was in the Parish of Owston, in the
wapentake
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...
of
Osgoldcross. During the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...
,
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
placed a cannon battery at the village to protect the Great North Road. The mounds for the cannon still remain and the surrounding area of cottages remain to this day.
On the east bank of the Skell lies old Skellow, a cluster of older houses facing Skellow Hall. The hall was originally built in 1642 and is now in use as a residential care home for the elderly.
Godfrey Higgins
Godfrey Higgins (30 January 1772 in Owston, Yorkshire – 9 August 1833 in Cambridge) was an English magistrate and landowner, a prominent advocate for social reform, historian, and antiquarian. He wrote concerning ancient myths. His book '' Ana ...
was the son of the owner of much of the land, known as Skellow Grange, of what is now Skellow village.
The church of Saint Michael located in the village is a sister church to the nearby Grade I listed Church of All Saints, Owston.
Coal mining
Further east is a sizeable former council housing estate which is in a generally good state of repair, and a good example of the coal mining related social housing developments typical of southern part of the
West Riding
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
in the early to mid-20th century. This area is the heart of the village, containing most of the local amenities including various shops and the local primary school. Several local clubs exist on the sites of former
working men's club
Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class m ...
s, and the area has an active local nightlife including live music events.
Coal mining in the area ceased in the 1980s but some remnants from the industry are visible in the area, including winding wheel relics at Bullcroft. Demographic evidence of the former mining community is also evident in both higher than average levels of unemployment, and a strong sense of community with residents knowing their neighbours and those that live around them.
In 2009, the population was estimated to be 4,103 by Doncaster Metropolitan Council.
The national censuses record the population of the village within the Askern Spa Ward.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Norton and Askern
References
External links
Skellow Grange WMCHealth statistics for SkellowMusic of the village
{{Authority control
Villages in Doncaster
Adwick le Street