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| View of Tilts from Tilt's Lane |
Tilts
There are many hamlets in the north Doncaster area, mostly made up of farming communities. They usually consist of a few farms and maybe a few houses, but usually there are no public amenities and are often without a bus service.
Arksey has four satellite hamlets, Shaftholme, Tilts, Almholme and Stockbridge. All these places came under the enumeration district of Bentley-with-Arksey, along with some others which satellite Bentley.
This second part in a series of four articles focuses on Tilts. The first part being about Shaftholme, the third about Almholme, and the final part about Stockbridge, see bottom of page for links.
This second part in a series of four articles focuses on Tilts. The first part being about Shaftholme, the third about Almholme, and the final part about Stockbridge, see bottom of page for links.
Contents
- Locating Tilts
- Early History
- Early Inhabitants
- Tilts Moat
- Tilts West Farm
- Industry in Tilts
- Gypsies
- Farming
- Census Information
Locating Tilts
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| Tilts aerial view, Google Earth |
Tilts is reached via Shaftholme Lane from Arksey, through the hamlet of Shaftholme, over the old railway bridge and by taking a right turn at the crossroads. A left turn at the crossroads takes you down Hall Villa Lane to Toll Bar.
Going straight on at the crossroads takes you to Tilts Hills, along Tiltshills Lane towards a junction with the A19 Doncaster to Selby road.
Tilts itself has only one road through it. Tilts Lane starts at the bridge over Tilts drain north east of the cross roads on Hall Villa Lane. Tilts Lane winds around to the east until it narrows to a footpath. Off Tilts Lane to the north is Wheat Holme Lane, which crosses a railway line and heads off into Owston Wood; this lane forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail.
For more on the Trans Pennine Trail go to Trans Pennine Trail Official Website.
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| A modern map of the Tilts area |
Early History
Tilts along with many other small north eastern settlements do not appear in the Domesday survey of 1089. The area was waterlogged and too marshy for habitation. Places such as Fenwick, Sykehouse and Thorpe in Balne don't appear in records until the following century.
Following the Norman Conquest an area known as 'Langthwaite with Tilts' was made part of the manor of Doncaster despite its close proximity to the manor of Bentley with Arksey. It was held by Nigel Fossard who built a motte and bailey castle at Langthwaite in the eleventh century. This seems to be the first reference to the Tilts place name, which comes from the Old French 'de Til'.
Other written records for Tilts begin in 1279, and over the following five hundred years the name went through many spelling variations as listed below:
- 1279 - Thils
- 1332 - Tils / Tyls (also occurs in the years 1379, 1434 and 1502)
- 1364 - Parva Tils
- 1398 - (Parva) Tilles
- 1471 - (Lyttyl) Tillis
- 1565 - Tylthall / Great Tylse
- 1573 - Tilts / Tylts
- 1587 - Tilse / Tysle
- 1600 - Magna Tils
- 1610 - Little Tilse
- 1764 - Great Tilts
The records seem to contain names for both parts of this split settlement, with the prefixes Parva (little) and Magna (great) being used to determine the two parts of the hamlet.
It's not clear which part was which, but it may be the case that 'Little Tilts' was where today's Tilts Hills lies in the west, and 'Great Tilts' was perhaps in the east where Tilts is today, as it was probably where the greater concentration of farmsteads were.
For more on Langthwaite and Nigel Fossard go to Scawthorpe - It's Older Than You Think! on sister site Bentley Village, A History.
Early Inhabitants
Despite Langthwaite with Tilts paying their tithes to the church of Doncaster, the local population were attending Arksey church for matters such as baptisms, marriages and burials, and maybe even regular services. This was probably because it was much nearer geographically than journeying all the way to Doncaster.
Arksey parish registers have records of inhabitants of both Magna Tilts and Parva Tilts occurring as far back as the 1590's. Family names occurring from the late 1500's to the mid 1600's include:
- Earle - Magna tilts
- Fernes - Parva Tilts
- Castle - Tilts
- Broughton - Parva Tilts
- Childe - Magna Tilts
- Carter - Parva Tilts
- Shore - Parva Tilts
- Nutt - Magna Tilts
Details of the properties these families occupied are not available, but it is possible to surmise that some cottages and smallholdings were originally part of a medieval moated manor lying in the greater (or Magna) Tilts area.
Tilts Moat
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| Tilts Moat Farm, Google Earth image |
As with other moated sites in the north Doncaster area, such as Radcliffe Moat near Scawthorpe, Moat Hills at Bentley and Roundabout Moat at Arksey, it is thought to be the remains of a medieval manor dating between 1250 and 1350AD.
Medieval moated sites usually consist of a wide water-filled ditch partially or completely enclosing one or more islands of dry ground. The islands would house domestic or religious buildings, and sometimes livestock.
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| Tilts Moat from a map of 1854 |
Tilts Moat is a substantial double island moat, and while it was traditionally thought to be a monastic site, this cannot be substantiated. It was more likely to be a manor house, controlling the manor of Tilts. The size of it suggests it was a manor of some importance.
The two rectangular islands are divided and surrounded by a water-filled moat. The north island is the largest at about 100m x 50m, it is joined to the south island by a narrow causeway across the central ditch. The south island is roughly 75m x 40m and contains a house which appears to be seventeenth century in origin. The remains of an earlier manor house are believed to lie under the present house. Large stone blocks believed to have been the foundations of an ancillary building were found on the north island in the 1980's. Another discovery was a section of paved road entering the site from the north, this can be seen on the map of 1854 above.
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| This map of 1952 better illustrates the original layout of the site |
The moat has been partially filled in, while another part has been recut, so little remains of the original course. Modern structures now cover some of the old moat.
Today the site is a scheduled monument, however, it continues to be occupied and run as a farm.
For more on moated sites in the area go to Moated Sites.
Tilts West Farm
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| Tilts West Farm |
Lying just to the north of Tilts Moat Farm is Tilts West Farm. There are few details about the history of this property, but today it continues to be a working farm although the old farmhouse has been abandoned.
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| Tilt's West Farm with the old farmhouse of grey render. © Copyright Jonathan Thacker and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence |
The site of Tilts West Farm has probably been occupied for many centuries. The present modern farmhouse stands to the south of the farm itself, but the old farmhouse, dated 1740 still stands derelict among the other farm buildings.
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| Date stone on the old farmhouse, courtesy of Keith Wilburn |
The old farmhouse carries a date stone displaying the initials S I W and the date 1740. The initials probably refer the owners at the time, and as there was a family named 'Walker' living in Tilts in the mid 1700's, it may be them that the stone refers to.
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| The abandoned farmhouse at Tilts West Farm, courtesy of Keith Wilburn |
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| Interior of the old farmhouse, courtesy of Keith Wilburn |
Industry in Tilts
Industry didn't escape this mainly arable farming community, for in the mid nineteenth century there existed a brick kiln. It is now a farm with a sizable pond, which would have formed when the clay was extracted for the brick making.
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| Location of Tilts Hills Brick Kiln on a map of 1854 |
The brick kiln was located in the west part of Tilts, known as Tilts Hills today and possibly Parva Tilts in the past. On the above map, the road running right to left is Tiltshills Lane, with Tilts and Shaftholme off to the right. The road running roughly north to south is today's A19.
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| Tiltshills Farm today, note the large pond on the right which was once a clay pit. |
Just like its contemporaries at Arksey (Tuffield Brick Yard) and at Bentley Moor Lane, brick making was an important industry. Established in the mid nineteenth century thousands of bricks were produced at the yards to be used in drainage, railroad and colliery construction.
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| A Victorian brick yard |
Tilts Hills Brick Kiln is mentioned over three census records, first in 1841 when John Threadgold was recorded as a brick maker. In the 1851 census it was Abraham White who was listed as the brick maker at the property. By 1861 the brick yard is still listed, but it had probably been converted to a farm, as William Yates, who lived there, was described as a farmer. Once the clay had been extracted from a site it was usually closed down; Tilts Hills yard became a farm while Bentley Moor Lane brick kiln became a fishing pond, and Tuffield yard at Arksey became the Willow Garth fishing pond.
Gypsies
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| Section taken from the 1871 census at Tilts |
A number of people, some related, some not, were listed together in 'open fields' in 'Tilts Hills' (see above).
Their occupations, such as 'chair mender', 'broom maker', 'rat catcher' and 'grinder' are typical of travelling tinkers or gypsies.
There appear to have been three 'units' of gypsies resident in Tilts Hills in 1871, these are listed below:
Name>Age>Occupation>Relationship>Place of birth
1. Henry Smith / 27 / chair mender / Sheffield
Jane Smith / 35 / wife /
2. Moses Fielding / 42 / broom maker / Ferry, Lincolnshire
Maria Smith / 34 / Northamptonshire
Addam Fielding / 21 / son / Laughton, Yorkshire
Cehayn Fielding / 16 / son / Garthorpe, Lincolnshire
Adeline Fielding / 14 / daur / Tuxford, Nottinghamshire
Riley Fielding / 12 / son / Wellow, Nottinghamshire
William Fielding / 5 / son / Seaton, Yorkshire
Elias Fielding / 2 / son / Garthorpe, Lincolnshire
3. Bob Hardy / 52 / rat catcher / Anston, Nottinghamshire
George Sheriff / 38 / grinder / Macclesfield, Cheshire
Addelaide Boswell / 38 / Langwith, Derbyshire
It is obvious from the records of the Fielding family that they moved around a considerable amount, with each child born in a different town or village. Moses and Maria don't appear to have married as she has the name 'Smith' and the census does not record her as being the wife of Moses.
The third unit of people don't have their relationship to each other listed, so it is hard to determine if they travelled and camped as a group, or individually.
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| A typical Gypsy camp |
These travellers only appear on the 1871 census and it proved impossible to track all these people through earlier or subsequent census returns. As we cannot rely on the accuracy of the information given to the enumerator in 1871, follow up searches threw up too many vague results. How long these people stayed in Tilts Hills is impossible to tell, but fortunately for us, they were there when that particular census was taken, or we might never have known about them at all.
Farming
As with many other farms in the nineteenth century, the farms in Tilts would have been occupied by tenant farmers, working for the land owner. The chief landowners were Philip Bryan Davis-Cooke (of Owston) who was lord of the manor, and Sir William Ridley Charles Cooke (of Wheatley Hall).
Mainly arable farming was carried out in the area, and the chief crops in the 1870's were wheat and beans.
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| Example of ploughing fields |
With only tenants rather than owners running the farms there was a high turn over of occupation during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Almost every census, taken every ten years, records a different family in residence at the farms. A list of tenant farmers in the Tilts area over time can be found at the end of this article.
In the early twentieth century, the Cooke's began selling land off to the likes of the National Coal Board and the Great Northern Railway. The NCB owned some farm property in nearby Shaftholme so it may be the case that they owned some in Tilts too; either that or the farms were privately bought.
Today, G Booth and Sons own Tilts West Farm, while Tilts Moat Farm and Tilts Hills Farm are probably also privately owned; and while the number of properties in Tilts has never increased, the businesses which operate there do seem to have expanded over time.
Census Information
The following lists are taken from the census returns 1841 to 1911. which may be of interest to those researching family history etc. Only basic information has been included here, please contact me for further information.
Name>Age>Occupation>Property (children are not included in this list).
1841 Census
William Yates / 37 / Agricultural labourer /
Jane Yates / 29 /
John Threadgold / 30 / Brick maker /
Jane Threadgold / 25 /
Benjamin Rowley / 25 / Agricultural labourer /
Mary Rowley / 25 /
1851 Census
William Yates / 47 / Agricultural labourer
Jane Yates / 38
Abraham White / 50 / Brick maker /
Charlotte White / 37 /
1861 Census
Thomas Topham / 49 / Farmer of 330 acres /
Mary Ann Topham / 39 /
George Crowcroft / 24 / Agricultural labourer /
Sarah Crowcroft / 22 /
William Foster / 54 / Agricultural labourer /
Maria Foster / 34 /
George Dunstan / 55 / Agricultural labourer / Shephouse
Elizabeth Dunstan / 54 /
William Yates / 57 / Farmer / Brick Yards
1871 Census
Edward Wilson / 33 / Farmer of 43 acres /
Mary Wilson / 24 /
See also Gypsies above.
1881 Census
William Birkenshaw / 63 / Railway labourer /
Elizabeth Birkenshaw / 64 /
William Telford / 36 / Farmer of 162 acres / Tilts
Thomas Beevers / 41 / Farmer of 120 acres /
Eliza Beevers / 38 /
1891 Census
John Wilson / 47 / Farmer / Tilts Hills
Mary Wilson / 49 /
Sarah Jane Mawson / 42 / Farmer /
1901 Census
Charles Schofield / 25 / Agricultural labourer /
Jane Schofield / 25 /
Henry Winn / 62 / Farm foreman /
Emma Winn / 60 /
Wormald Lawson / 40 / Potato and fodder merchant /
Alice Lawson / 36 /
Robert Jenkins / 74 / Farm labourer /
Eliza Jenkins / 76 /
Charles Briggs / 68 / Farm labourer /
Henry Hewitt / 58 / Farmer
Catherine Hewitt / 51 /
Thomas H Bywater / 39 / Roadman / Tilts Cottage
Ada A Bywater / 33 /
1911 Census
Sarah Goodworth / 61 / Farmer / Tilts Hill Farm
Sarah Jane Mawson / 62 / Farmer
Thomas Owen / 38 / Labourer / Tilts Cottage
Kate Owen / 40 /
Charles Schofield / 35 / Farmer /
Jane Schofield / 35 /
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For part one on Shaftholme go to Local Hamlets Part One - Shaftholme.
For part three on Almholme go to Local Hamlets Part Three - Almholme.
For part four on Stockbridge go to Local Hamlets Part Four - Stockbridge.
Alison Vainlo
Written 2017, updated 2020
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