Laughton-en-le-Morthen
Domesday name: Lastone. In Laughton-en-le-Morthen and Throapham are 18 carucates of land to the geld, where there could be 9 ploughs. Earl Edwin had a hall there. Now Roger de Bully has there in demesne 5 ploughs; and 33 villans and 6 bordars having 10 ploughs. There is woodland pasture 1 league long and 2 furlongs and 8 furlongs broad. The whole manor is 2½ leagues long and 8 furlongs broad. To this manor belongs this sokeland: Dinnington, 4 carucates; South Anston, 6 carucates; North Anston, 10 carucates; Thorp Salvin, 6 carucates; Wales, 3½ carucates; Slade Hooton, 3 carucates; Newhall, 3½ carucates. Together, there are 36 carucates to the geld, where there could be 20 ploughs. There are now 50 villans and 17 bordars and 23 sokemen having 18 ploughs. Roger has there in demesne 5 ploughs; and 2 of his knights have 2 ploughs.
Laughton, usually leek or garlic enclosure, herb garden.Latton in Morthing, 1230. Affix means 'in the (district called) Morthen', a name first recorded in the 12th century from Old English or Old Scandinavian mor and thing 'moorland' and 'assembly'.
Source A Dictionary of British Place-Names. A. D. Mills. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online.
It is recorded that the village was commonly known by the name of Lighten in the Morning, - looking eastward to the village, the lofty spire was clearly defined in the early light of the morning.
See also Laughton Poll Tax 1379
See also The Thurcroft Estates from 1464
1841 Census
1861 Census
1871 census
1881 census
1881 census Coldwell Green
This church can be seen for miles around, with its superb 15th spire and tower, a rare crown for a hilltop. It stands within a stones throw of the site of a Norman Castle, a church begun by the Saxons, refashioned by the last of the Normans and made largely new in the 15th century. The tower and spire soaring 185 feet are perhaps the most beautiful of any village church in Yorkshire resting on massive piers and arches at the west end of the nave between the aisles.
Of the Saxon church there is still some masonry in the north aisle wall, with a Saxon doorway built up to allow for one of later time. Of the 12th century building there are still the pillars and capitals of the north arcade (supporting 15th century arches), and a window in the chancel, which has five Norman buttresses and part of the original stringcourse. Angels adorn both stately arcades, and on the aisles outside are sculptures of old men, a knight, a king, a queen, an angel, and a demon carrying off a woman. A Madonna in a niche is on the east wall of the tower, which has a fine vaulted roof.
A gabled piscina may be Saxon, and a simple stone seat I2th century. There are many Saxon and Norman fragments, an altar stone which may be mediaeval, a bell over 300 years old, and some. doors older still. The low stone screen between the nave and chancel may be Norman, its border carved with battlements perhaps in the 15th century. High on a wall kneel a man and wife of Elizabeth I's day.
A document of 1650 records Laughton-en-le-Morthen prebend, held tithes in Rampton, North & South Anston, Woodsetts, Slade Hooton, & Dinnington, 'Brackhouses', (Brookhouse)Thorpe Salvin, Carr House, Thurcroft & Newall, Throapham, & Thwaite, and Wales, Thorpe Salvin, Firbeck & Letwell chapels
In 1769, an Act was passed for dividing and inclosing the several Open Fields, Arable Lands and Waste Grounds, within the several Manors and Lordships of Laughton en le Morthen, Slade Hooton and Hooton Slade, in the Parish of Laughton en le Morthen.
Described in 1822 as a parish-town, in the upper division of Strafforth and Tickhill, liberty of St. Peter. The population was 652. The Church, peculiar, is a vicarage, dedicated to All-Saints, in the deanry of Doncaster, value, £6. 13s. 4d.. Patron, the Chancellor of York. Also included in the parish:
Trades and professions of 1822
- Rev. John Crabtree, vicar
- John Fisher vict. Horse Shoe
- Jonathan Frost , victualler, Ball
- John Letlow , schoolmaster
- John Nickson , parish clerk
- Robert Pullen , vict. Red Lion
In 1868,Laughton-en-le-Morthen was described: a parish, partly within the liberty of St. Peter's, East Riding, and partly in the S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth, West Riding county York, 7 miles S.E. of Rotherham, its post town, and 5 from Kiveton-Park station on the Manchester. Sheffield, and Lincolnshire line of railway. The village, which is situated on rising ground, is considerable, but irregular in form. It suffered greatly during the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster. The parish contains the hamlets of Carr, Slade-Hooton, Throapham, Brookhouse, and St. John's. There is a Roman encampment in the neighbourhood. The soil is various in quality, but in general fertile. The surface is well wooded and highly picturesque. Laughton Hall, the ancient seat of the Butler family, is a fine old mansion. The tithes were commuted for annual money payments under an Enclosure Act in 1769. The living is a vicarage annexed to the perpetual curacy of St. John's, in the diocese of York, value £376, in the patronage of the archbishop. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a stately structure, with a curious doorway of great antiquity. It has a square embattled tower surmounted by a lofty spire, which may be seen from a distance of 60 miles. The parochial charities produce about £11 per annum. There is an endowed school for both sexes, with a Sunday-school adjoining. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Independents. A. F. B. St. Leger, Esq., is lord of the manor.
The St.Leger public house is named after Lieutenant Colonel Anthony St Leger, (1730-1786) an MP, who owned the Park Hill estate in nearby Firbeck, where he bred and raced horses.
He established a two-mile race for 3-year-old horses, in Doncaster, which we now know as the St. Leger Stakes.
Read more about the St Leger: How it all began
©2004