Hoyland and Elsecar

Hoyland means "spur of land" and remained in agricultural use until industrial activity developed in the area in the 18th century.

Prehistoric activity in the Hoyland area is indicated by an Iron Age settlement with associated field systems at Jump. This site was developed as an enclosed farmstead in the Romano-British period. Place-name evidence indicates early medieval activity. Recorded as ‘Holand’ in the 1086 Domesday survey, Hoyland derives its name from the Old English term ‘hoh’, meaning a spur of land (Smith 1961). Following the Norman Conquest, Hoyland was granted to Roger de Busli, the lord of Tickhill. The area remained in agricultural use throughout the medieval and early post-medieval periods and ridge and furrow earthworks remain extant in several areas. Elements of features from these periods survive within the fabric of later structures, including timber-framed farm buildings such as an aisled barn at Alderthwaite. Hoyland’s commons were enclosed in 1794.

Industrial activity developed in the area with the opening of a series of coal mines at Platts Common. These were subsequently developed as Hoyland Silkstone Colliery in the second half of the 19th century. This mine closed in the 1950s, while the nearby Rockingham Colliery closed in 1979.