Austerfield

Austerfield is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster (part of South Yorkshire, England), on the border with Nottinghamshire. It lies less than a mile to the north-east of Bawtry on the A614 road to Finningley, at 53° 26' 30" North, 1° 0' West and an elevation of around 23 feet (7 metres) above sea level. It is close to the River Idle. The population in 2001 was 571,[2] which fell to 536 at the 2011 Census.[1]

Austerfield

Saint Helena's Church
Austerfield
Location within South Yorkshire
Population536 (2011 census)[1]
Civil parish
  • Austerfield
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDONCASTER
Postcode districtDN10
Dialling code01302
PoliceSouth Yorkshire
FireSouth Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
Websitehttp://www.spanglefish.com/austerfield/

Heritage

The name Austerfield derives from the Germanic Ouestraefeld, meaning Eastern field.

The Council of Austerfield was convened here by King Aldfrith of Northumbria in AD 702 and attended by Berhtwald, Archbishop of Canterbury to decide on whether Saint Wilfrid should become Archbishop of York. Austerfield was then on the border between the two Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia.

Austerfield contains the 11th-century church of St Helena. The builder of it in 1080 was John de Builli, using stone from quarries at Roche Abbey. The church today has several stained-glass windows designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. The nave has a sheela na gig, a rare type of quasi-erotic stone carving of a female figure sometimes found in Norman churches. This had been blocked into a wall in the 14th century and was rediscovered in 1898 during restoration work.[3]

Notable people

In birth order:

  • William Bradford (1590–1657), a Pilgrim Father and Governor of Plymouth Colony, was born in Austerfield and baptised in a font rediscovered at a local farm 40 years ago, which can now be seen in the church.[3]
  • Roy Clarke (born 1930), an English comedy writer known for the sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine and Open All Hours, was born in Austerfield.

Transport

The nearest railway station to Austerfield is at Doncaster (9½ miles, 15 km). It is served by a bus route, as are Bawtry, Worksop and Sheffield.[4] The A1M trunk road between London and the North passes 5 miles (8 km) to the west of the village.

References
  1. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Austerfield Parish (E04000061)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. UK Census (2001). "Local Area Report – Austerfield Parish (00CE005)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. Bradford's baptism. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. Bus times. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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