The Plough Inn

The Plough Inn, photo c1910

The Hostelry With A History

The Plough Inn is a large, imposing red brick and mock Tudor building on the corner of High Street and Church Lane in Arksey. 

There has been a public house on this site for much longer than the present building suggests. Here we look at the history of the public house and its past owners.

Contents

• Early History
• William Trout (1733 - 1812)
• Robert and Martha Trout
• William Trout (1811 - 1863)
• Ann Barker (1835 - )
• The Brewery Takes Over
• Whitworth, Son & Nephew
• Industry Comes Knocking
• Twentieth Century Tenants
• John Thomas Dean (1863 - 1937)
• Francis Machin (1881 - )
• George Shaw (1859 - 1930)
• John Smith's Buy The Plough
• Jack and Joyce Gittins
• The Latter Years Of The Plough
• David and Elaine Ross
• A New Direction

Early History

In the days when it wasn't safe to drink water, ale was the popular beverage for everyday consumption. Almost every household would have brewed their own beer, and it was common practice to sell the surplus.

Most alehouses have grown out of ordinary dwellings, which not only sold beer, but provided a meeting place to socialize and for travellers to rest.

This is undoubtedly how The Plough Inn began life. Indeed, an early record from 1809, relating to a dwelling on the site refers to 'a messuage (dwellinghouse) with blacksmith's shop, stable, and other outbuildings adjoining.' These premises were described as being bounded by the 'town street of Arksey on the west and north' (i.e Church Lane on the west, and High Street on the north), while premises on the east and south were owned by Sir George Cook.'

It is almost certain that there would have been a dwelling on the site described above, for many decades, if not centuries, before this. It would have been a prime location, close to the Norman church and the heart of the village. But the story of The Plough Inn really begins with the arrival of the Trout family.

The Trout Family

This long established family of blacksmiths branched out into the licensing trade when William Trout and Thomas Sailes took out a mortgage on family property which William had inherited from his father. Property which had previously been owned by a Mr Sheepshanks. This was probably during the 1770's, because in 1781 William Trout repaid the principal sum of £100 and the property became his alone.

William Trout (1733 - 1812)

William Trout was born in 1733, and was brought up in the blacksmith trade. He married Jane Harman of Kirk Bramwith in 1759, and probably took over the smithy from his father, Robert, on his death in 1760.

Aside from his role as village blacksmith, William became publican of the adjoining 'Horseshoe', as it was named then. Unfortunately William found himself in court three times over the course of three years, between 1777 and 1780, when he was charged in the Doncaster Court of Pleas with non-payment of goods received:

8th February 1777
John Matthewman of Harlington, co. of York, yeoman, charges William Trout of Arksey, co. of York, blacksmith.
£2/2 shillings. For money had and received.
+ Writ 8th February 1777, with note of discharge.

8th May 1780
James Hodson of Retford, co. of Notts, merchant, charges William Trout of Arksey, alehouse keeper.
£10/10/3d for goods sold and delivered.
+ Writ 8th May 1780.

23rd December 1780
Edward Carter of Doncaster, dealer in spiritous liquors, charges William Trout of Arksey, blacksmith.
£11/2 shillings for goods sold and delivered.
+ Writ 28th December 1780.

In family matters, William and Jane now had six children, but 1780 turned out to be a sorrowful year for William, as his wife Jane died in June that year.

During 1781 William repaid the mortgage on the Horseshoe, to the Revd. Thomas Gaunt Barber of Whiston, Yorkshire. The building was described as being 'newly erected' and is said to have been 'long and low', a fact which is further endorsed by the outline shape of the plot on a map dating from 1892. Unfortunately I have not been able to track down a photo of this original building.

The site of the original Plough building (in red)

William Trout died in 1812, at the age of 79, and is buried in the family plot at Arksey churchyard. This left the Horseshoe in the hands of his son Robert, who inherited on his father's death.

Robert and Martha Trout

Robert was the fourth child of William Trout and his wife Jane. He was born in 1766, in Arksey. He married Martha Hemsworth (1771-1842) in 1808, and they had two, possibly three, children over the next four to five years.

Like his father before him, Robert traded as a blacksmith, and then as licensed victualler at The Horseshoe following William's death.

Robert died at the age of 58 in 1824. He left his estate to to his wife, Martha, and son William. William would inherit outright on reaching his 22nd birthday. The property is set out in a valuation list of 1830:

 Proprietor                  Occupier           Name of Premises        ARP        Value         Rate
Trout, Martha                Herself                 Public house                      003            £3              2/4
Sir Wm Bryan Cooke    Martha Trout      Blacksmith shop                002            £2              1/8

William Trout (1811 - 1863)

William was the second child of Robert Trout and his wife Martha. He was born in 1811 in Arksey. At the same time as William succeeded to the freehold, and took over the running of the pub from his mother Martha, the name 'Horseshoe' disappears from the records. Instead, the premises were now known as the 'Three Horse Shoes'. The reference to the blacksmith's trade in evidence again. This property auction advertisement from 1833 illustrates the use of the new name.

TILTS AND ARKSEY

near Doncaster

----------

ELIGIBLE FREEHOLD ESTATE.

----------

TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION

by Mr. Webster,

At the house of Mrs MARTHA TROUT, the sign of the THREE HORSE SHOES, in Arksey, near Doncaster, in the county of York, on Monday, the 9th day of September next, at five o'clock in the afternoon, either together, or in the following or such other Lots, as may then be determined upon; subject to conditions there to be exhibited.

          (a list of lots follows)

MESSRS. RICKARDS & SON

Solicitors in Alfreton, Derbyshire

Alfreton, August 20, 1833

From: Doncaster, Nottingham and Lincoln Gazette. Friday 26 August 1833.

The 'Three Horse Shoes' as a name, was fairly short lived, as only a year later, in 1834, the first reference to the present name of 'The Plough' is to be found in Pigot's directory. 

William Trout had a colourful family life; he married three times, once in dubious circumstances, and fathered ten children altogether.

He married his first wife Sarah Wood in 1835. They had four children before Sarah tragically died at the age of 28, in 1842, just weeks after the birth of her youngest child. William's mother Martha, also died in this year, at the age of 71.

His second wife was Charlotte Sidwell, whom he married in 1844. She already had two illegitimate children, and gave William four more legitimate children. In a tragic parallel to her predecessor, Charlotte died in 1850, again just weeks after their youngest child was baptised, she was aged around 41.

With eight children at home and two businesses (the smithy was also his by inheritance) to run, he took on Charlotte's younger sister Jane as housekeeper. Jane Sidwell (born 1814) had previously been married to William Barker in the 1830's, and had at least three children. William Barker died at an unknown date, and Jane joined the rest of her family in Arksey. In April 1851 Jane and William Trout were married - which is where the dubious circumstances come in - because it was illegal for a man to marry his sister-in-law before the Deceased Wife's Sister Act was passed in 1907. This is probably why the marriage took place in Hull, away from the village gossip. Surprisingly, the marriage took place following banns, and Jane's relatives acted as witnesses, giving their full names. 

William and Jane had two children together, and life at The Plough carried on as normal. Although, in 1860 The Plough managed to get itself on the magistrates' black list, however, William managed to get the licence renewed.

William died at the age of 52 in 1863, leaving an estate worth under £100 and a mortgage, to all his children, his widow Jane would stay on and run The Plough.

In the 1850's another smithy was built in Arksey, opposite the north west corner of the church. It is possible that the blacksmith's part of the business was moved to the new premises around this time.

The 1850's smithy, pictured derelict in 1992

Jane Trout was listed as the owner of The Plough from 1873 to 1891, however, she handed over the licence to her daughter-in-law Ann Barker in 1888.

Jane moved into the Almshouses where she lived out her years on a charity allowance. She died in 1896.

Jane Trout's signature and seal from a document of 1894

Ann Barker (1835 - )

Ann Wright was probably born in Kellington, near Eggborough in 1835. She married John Barker, son of William Barker and Jane Sidwell, in Doncaster in 1858. The family first appear in Arksey on the 1871 census. John was the local shopkeeper and grocer, and they had two children at that time, Sarah Ann (b. 1859) and John Tom (b. 1870). By 1881 the family had grown by another three, Walter (b. 1872), Florence J (b. 1874) and Emily (b. 1877). There was another child, Charlotte Hannah (b. 1882) who appears on the next census.

John Barker died in 1886, and by 1891 his widow Ann had moved into The Plough with her children, John Tom, Florence, Walter and Charlotte. Strangely, Florence and Walter are named on the 1891 census as being a niece and nephew of Ann's, but on the previous one they were listed as daughter and son.

Ann found herself in a troubling situation in 1891, when records show she got into debt to the tune of £65 9s, 3d for coal supplied by Amos Shaw, a dealer from Adwick. Amos threatened Ann with legal proceedings, but her son John Tom stepped in and took out a mortgage on The Plough to clear the debt. This effectively finished the Barkers' time at The Plough. Albert Henry Smith took over in December that year, and the Barkers disappear from the records, although Ann was found living in Balby in 1901, at the age of 65.

The Brewery Takes Over

Old documents can be rather confusing, but my feeling is that Albert Henry Smith was put in The Plough as a tenant. Various documents from the time point to a succession of title and mortgage transfers throughout the 1890's. Names which come up again and again are Amos Shaw, Arthur Stephen Atkinson, Thomas Dymond and Charles Wellbourne Hall (solicitor). What is clear is that in 1896 The Plough was sold to the brewery Whitworth, Son & Nephew for the sum of £1500.

Conveyance document from 1896

Whitworth, Son & Nephew

Spedding Whitworth had established a maltings in 1871, in Wath, near Rotherham. He expanded the business rapidly, taking over a number of South Yorkshire breweries as well as acquiring a large portfolio of tied alehouses. The Plough Inn at Arksey was one such acquisition in 1896.

Brewery Label

Advert from 1901

With The Plough now in the hands of a brewery, it was their job to find tenants for the day-to-day running of the premises. The 1901 census states that The Plough was occupied by John Smith (b. 1868), his wife Alice (b. 1868), son George (b. 1882), and daughter Kathleen (b. 1900). A superintendent's report to the licensing magistrates that year, stated that The Plough was 'one of the worst inns in the area'. This is probably why, two years later, Whitworths decided to completely rebuild The Plough.

This advertisement from 1903 (unknown source) details the search for builders to tender for the rebuilding project:

TO BUILDERS

PERSONS wishing to TENDER for the whole work required in the erection of a NEW HOTEL, etc. at ARKSEY, near Doncaster, for Messrs, Whitworth, Son and Nephew, are requested to forward their names to me on or before MONDAY, MARCH 23rd inst. No pledge is given to accept the lowest or any Tender, and no allowance is made for same.

H.L. TACON

Architect, Surveyor and Valuer

11 Westgate. Rotherham; March 12 1903

The new Plough Inn was to occupy the same corner plot as the old building. The only difference was a change in the footprint of the building. As can be seen from this H.M. Land Registry map of 1987, the length of the building was shortened, probably to allow more road width on that corner of High Street.

Site of current Plough Inn

The original building would have been prone to flooding, so this was alleviated in the new building by raising the floor height. In the event of further flooding, it would only be the cellars that would be affected.

The Plough Inn during the floods of 1932

The building, which was completed in 1904, is of red brick, with a mock Tudor, half timbered effect to the upper floor. There were originally three entrances, one at the front, on Church Lane, and two at the left side, on High Street, one of which was blocked up in the 1970's. The new Plough Inn was built as a hotel, with accommodation provided on the first floor, accessed by a large central staircase opposite the front entrance. This has been made smaller since, although it is possible to see remnants of the old staircase. 

Upstairs, and occupying a large room at the rear, was a meeting room. This room still retains some original features, like decorative timber bracing, gas light mountings and two iron grilles in the ceiling which let out into a conical metal roof cowl (still visible from the outside), which allowed an outlet for the smoke-filled atmosphere inside the room.

Meeting room at the Plough.
Photo taken in 2019, courtesy of the Plough Inn

Smoke Cowl

Outside, at the rear of the property, original outbuildings can still be seen in the form of a cart shed and stabling for a horse, which has a hay loft above it. The adjoining building, which used to belong to Brook House Farm shows some evidence of having a fireplace or kitchen range built against the stone wall.

Industry Comes Knocking

Barber, Walker & Co sunk the pit at Bentley in 1906 to mine the Barnsley Seam. Ten years later, the mine owners wanted to be able to extract coal from a length of the seam which ran right under The Plough Inn. In order to do this, the company paid Whitworth, Son & Nephew the sum of ten pounds for the right. They also promised to put right any damage to the premises above, should it arise.

20th Century Tenants

The Plough Inn in 1909 on window cleaning day.

John Thomas Dean (1863 - 1937)

Despite gaps in the records, there is some evidence to be found of the tenants Whitworths put into The Plough. The 1911 census gives us one such tenant, which I'll come to later. Other evidence was found in a photo sent to me by Edwin Trout.

The photo in question is shown at the top of this post and pictures The Plough Inn during the early 20th century, possibly before 1911. Looking closely at the photo, you can see a board over the main entrance. When the photo is enlarged it is possible to read most of the text. The text reveals the name of another tenant, John Thomas Dean. A name isn't much to go on, but nevertheless I attempted a genealogical search of this name, and surprisingly, found out quite a bit about Mr Dean. 

Pub Sign

John Thomas Dean was born in 1863, in Brightside, Sheffield. He worked as a fish and chip dealer and was married twice. Firstly to Julia Ann Watson of Darfield, Yorkshire, they married in 1887 in Rotherham. It seems as though this marriage produced no children, and as I cannot locate a death record, they may have divorced.

The Plough Inn and High Street possibly from the time of the Dean family

In 1899 John married Mary Severn (b. 1876) in Sheffield. Their first child Victoria Elizabeth was born in 1900 in Swinton, near Mexborough, but died a year later. Their next child, John Thomas was born in 1902 in Mexborough. He was followed by Levi in 1904, he was either born in Mexborough or Arksey, records don't agree. He lived in Arksey until his death in 1973, at 114 Station Road. Their next child was George Henry in 1905, he was born in Arksey, and died in 1976 in Wath. Their last child was Doris, born in 1908 in Arksey, she died two years later in 1910.

John Thomas Dean 1863-1937

Mary Dean and Victoria

The Deans occupied the new Plough building from about 1905. By 1911 the family had moved to 26 New Street, Bentley. After the Deans left The Plough John Thomas became a steward at The Hammer & Wedge WMC, Arksey. The club, situated at Westfield Cottages, on the corner of Ings Lane and Station Road, was a club for the mine workers of Arksey. He appears on this photo below of the Hammer & Wedge Committee.

Hammer & Wedge Committee, John Thomas Dean seated, centre.
Photo courtesy of Jill Lowe.

Mary Dean died in 1932 in Doncaster, and John returned to Mexborough to work as a steward at the Northgate Club. Two of their sons, Levi and John Thomas stayed in Arksey with their families. 

John Thomas Dean died in 1937 at 40 Cowper Road, Mexborough, he is buried with his wife Mary and their two daughters, who died in infancy, in Mexborough cemetery.

Francis Machin (1881 - )

Evidence from the 1911 census gives us the next tenant of The Plough. He was Francis Machin (b. 1881) and his wife Isabella Machin (b. 1882). Francis came from Barnsley, and he married Isabella Athron Askin, from Mexborough in 1906 in Grimsby. They had two daughters, Priscilla Athron (b. 1907) and Edna (b. 1908), both were born in Cleethorpes. 

Sadly, Isabella Machin died while at The Plough, in December 1911 at the age of 29.

The 1911 census for The Plough also lists a servant, Lucy Greasby (b. 1890), from Swinton, and a boarder, Jess Nicklin (b. 1855) a brick maker from Aldershot in Hampshire.

Electoral records show that Francis Machin was at The Plough during 1911 and 1912, after that the records lose track of him.

George Shaw (1859 - 1930)

Electoral records name a Tom Johnson Snart as the tenant in 1912, but then there is a gap in the records between 1913 and 1917. However, by 1918 The Plough had a new landlord by the name of George Shaw. George and his wife Frances were originally from Dodworth and despite an early career in coal mining, George entered the licencing trade with a pub near Barnsley around 1911. With six children, the Shaw's move to Arksey would be a permanent one for the family. 

Albert Shaw (1904 - 1975)

When George Shaw died in 1930, his youngest son Albert took over as landlord at The Plough. Newly married Albert and his wife Edna ran the pub for well over 30 years and brought up a daughter, Mollie there. There was a son too who died in infancy. 

It was during George Shaw's tenure that the brewery sold out to John Smith's.

John Smith's Buy The Plough

The Plough Inn under the ownership of John Smith's in the 1980's.
Photo courtesy of Tony Canning

In 1958 Whitworth, Son & Nephew sold the brewery at Wath and all 172 tied public houses to John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery. The Wath brewery closed down and was later used by W. H. Thackwray as a mineral water plant and distribution centre. Production at Wath ceased in the 1970's.

Jack and Joyce Gittins

The Shaw's retired in around 1967 and the tenancy was taken over by Jack Gittins (1928 - 2009) and his wife Joyce.

The Gittins' were resident when a serious fire broke out at the premises in November 1974. Both bars were gutted, with horse brasses and St Leger mementos being lost. Fortunately no-one was hurt in the blaze.

1975 diary 

The Latter Years Of The Plough

The Gittins' left The Plough in 1982, and another couple, Eric and Joyce Pollard moved in. During their time there John Smith's sold the pub to Wards brewery of Sheffield in 1991. The Pollards left in 1993, and were replaced by David and Elaine Ross.

David and Elaine Ross

During the first ten years of the Ross's tenure The Plough changed hands twice.

Wards brewery closed in 1998, and The Plough was sold to the newly created Pubmaster company, along with all of Wards other pubs. Pubmaster subsequently sold The Plough to Punch Taverns in 2004.

In 2010 an extensive refurbishment took place which included the removal of the main bar, this uncovered some charring - evidence of the 1974 fire.

In October 2011 David and Elaine acquired the freehold to the pub, and ran The Plough independently. 

David had a keen interest in the history of the pub and Arksey in general, displaying many old Arksey photos in the public rooms. He also liked to adorn the outside of the pub with hanging baskets, window boxes and planters in the summer, the results were quite stunning. The photo below shows two examples of the floral displays David created.

Taken during the 1990's when Ward's still owned the premises.
Photo courtesy of Mick Rockett

A New Direction

After 26 years behind the bar of The Plough David and Elaine Ross decided to retire in 2019. The popularity of the pub was waning and despite introducing food, the pub's opening times gradually reduced over the last few years.

David sold The Plough to Helen Elworthy, a local property developer and restaurateur. She took over the business in September 2019 and began making changes straight away. The decor was updated, opening times extended, and a new menu put in place. The biggest change was the conversion of the former meeting room on the first floor to a function room.

The function room refurbishment.
Photo from the Plough Inn Facebook page

The completed function room.
Photo from the Plough Inn Facebook page

Unlike many village pubs which have seen sweeping decline and closures over the past decade, The Plough has been saved, modernized, and will hopefully continue to serve the people of Arksey and beyond for many decades to come.

__________

Many thanks to David Ross for a personal tour of The Plough in August 2012 and allowing me to view and photograph old documents. Also, many thanks to Edwin Trout for providing information on the Trout family, and for some wonderful old photographs. Thanks also to Tracy Dean for family information and photos on the Dean family.

Alison Vainlo 

First written 2012, updated 2019

Arksey Underwater

'Arksey Landing', High Street 1932

The Story Of The Floods

Few things bring communities together more than a disastrous flood, and thankfully, here in Doncaster we've seen relatively few floods over the last half century or so.

That wasn't always the case though, the low-lying land to the north of Doncaster has always been prone to flooding, especially prior to the drainage works carried out in the seventeenth century. Since then, the two major floods of 1932 and 1941, and a further one in 1947, had devastating effects the villages of Arksey and Bentley.

For fifty years these floods were consigned to history, with many believing that it could never happen again. However, in 2007 history was repeated when Bentley and Toll Bar suffered at the hands of mother nature once again, then in 2019 parts of Bentley found itself underwater once again. 

In this updated post we take a look at some of the floods to affect Bentley, Arksey and the surrounding areas along with the hardship and community spirit that came with them.  

Contents

• The Deluge of 1932
• Bentley and Toll Bar
• Arksey
• A Child's Perspective
• When Arksey Really Did Need an Ark
• History Repeating... 
• Flooding in 2007
• November Rain in 2019

The Deluge of 1932

Bentley and Toll Bar

At the first signs of impending flood, people in Bentley and Toll Bar moved as many of their possessions to upstairs rooms as possible. Flood water reached a height of four feet in the houses, while the road outside stayed relatively free of water for some time. People were reluctant to leave their homes at first, but as the situation got more serious Bentley Council got together a number of carts to evacuate marooned people, those who refused or who could not leave their homes had provisions brought to them by the council at a cost to the council of £4 a day.

Bentley Road and the flood arches 1932

Rafts were used on Askern Road to rescue people, but were replaced with horse-drawn carts. Forty boats and a motor boat were in operation, rescuing people; the sick were carried on stretchers for half a mile on the shoulders of bearers who waded through the water.

The water was still rising on the 23^rd of May and people who chose to stay in their homes spent a night in terror as the levels reached six feet, in some houses the levels rose to ten feet high. 

A week after the rain began thousands were made homeless and over a thousand homes were seriously affected by the flooding. Five hundred people were sheltered in New Village School but they resented being treated in an institutional way and so the council were forced to give up arrangements for providing provisions.

A flood disaster fund was set up and £100 was given to it by the British Legion. The flooding was so serious in Toll Bar that a number of government officials toured the area to see the damage for themselves.

Flooded Toll Bar 1932.
Photo courtesy of Bob Lord

Arksey

In Arksey the floods arrived a little later than in the neighbouring villages. The streets of Arksey were still dry by early evening on the 23^rd of May. The authorities had been warning of the danger throughout the previous two days and farmers moved as much of their livestock as they could to higher ground at Cusworth and Warmsworth. The vicar of Arksey, Rev. John Pierce-Price, could see across to Barnby Dun from the top of the church tower and as the water approached from the breached banks of the River Don he went around the village warning everyone to move their possessions to rooms upstairs.

View from church tower with Brookhouse farm. Arksey Hall top left

A wave of water many feet deep soon hit Arksey and within a few hours houses were standing in eight to ten feet of water. The Almshouses were badly hit and had to be evacuated quickly. The last resident was removed at one thirty a.m. The water got into the church and the vicar had to remove all the valuables in the middle of the night. Arksey Hall, which had never flooded before stood in eighteen inches of water and garden frames were found floating hundreds of yards away.

Flooded Almshouses. Photo courtesy of Laura Hawkins

High Street was under six feet of water and while hundreds of rats sought refuge in houses, frogs were seen swimming around and large patches of frog spawn floated on the surface. Many poultry farmers lost flocks during the floods and dead hens were seen floating in the water. One resident who kept birds, released his entire stock of canaries into one of his upstairs bedrooms with plenty of food, before evacuating his house. When a newspaper reporter visited the area days later, the birds could be seen perched on the windowsills.


Trains between Doncaster and York were temporarily diverted on Tuesday 24th May, when ballast from the sides of the railway was washed away by the rushing water. The trains had to go via Stainforth and Applehurst Junction before rejoining the main line a few miles north of Doncaster.

High Street from the church tower, looking towards the railway.
Photo courtesy of Bob Lord

A number of heroic acts took place in Arksey during the floods. Rescuing people from the post office proved difficult as it was impossible to get them out via the ground floor. A twenty foot ladder was leaned up against a wall while the bottom end was balanced in a small boat. The occupants then climbed out of a window to make their escape down the ladder. A horse pulling a cart load of pigs refused to move in the water leaving the one-legged driver in a dilemma until someone nearby put on a swimming costume and dived in to lead the horse to safety. A brave milkman continued to make his rounds by cycling round with the milk can held in one hand while only the saddle and handlebars of his bicycle showed above the water.

Boating on Station Road at the junction with Ings Lane

People whose homes were not affected by the flooding found themselves unable to get to Doncaster as Arksey lane became flooded to a depth of several feet and could only be used by carts supplied by the council. Arksey was virtually cut off from the rest of Doncaster.

Arksey Lane

The people of Arksey seemed to show tremendous resilience in the face of adversity. People who had not been evacuated but had moved to their upper floors, filled the upstairs windows and passed jokes about the rowing styles of the boatmen in the flooded streets below. There was a great deal of hilarity when a milkman stepped into a boat making it rock wildly, he then lost his balance and fell into two feet of water. 

People stood out on top of bay windows in Marsh Lane.
Photo courtesy of Jill Lowe

Despite the camaraderie and hilarity that went on the floods caused tremendous damage and hardship for those affected and their lives were disrupted for quite some considerable time. However, the clean-up got underway and normality eventually returned to the area. 

After the floods - a resident of the Almshouses with a piece of water damaged furniture.
Photo courtesy of Laura Hawkins

A Child's Perspective

Without a doubt the flooding in Arksey must have been a terrible time for all those affected, especially the adults who had to drag heavy furniture upstairs, and clear the floors of all the muck and debris left behind. A child though sees things differently; the sense of excitement and adventure can be remembered for a lifetime.

One such 'child of Arksey' Pat Thorp, remembers how the flooding of 1932 brought misery to her parents, but excitement to her young self.

Born in 1922, Pat was encouraged to write down her memories by her niece Rosalind Fielding. Pat died in 2008 but her memories of the 1932 flood were published in the February 2013 edition of Down Your Way magazine.

Below is an account of those memories re-written from the article. 

When Arksey Really Did Need an Ark

Pat remembers the time in 1932 when the floods were coming and how, in her excitement she rushed to welcome them. This was a magical thing to happen, in that selfish, unconcerned way children think. She tells how the children met the advancing water, which crept in scallop shaped waves up each side of the street, and how they would help each scallop wave to meet in the middle using their feet, the water creeping too slowly for them.

Flooded High Street

Of course it was a different story for Pat's parents, as they dragged all possible furniture up the narrow stairs of their cottage. The cottage was one foot lower than ground level, meaning that as soon as the water reached the door it would immediately pour in to the kitchen, bringing with it dead chickens, rotten fruit, and even snakes. The ceilings in the cottages were also low, meaning that a flood of more than seven feet high would reach upstairs too! The water in Pat's cottage rose as high as six feet, so it was close. Their kitchen table, which wouldn't go upstairs, had to withstand three floods, and Pat remembers how its ends curled up like a pagoda roof.

Children rafting near cottages on High Street, 1932.

Pat enjoyed living upstairs during the flood, waking up beside the bedroom fire while her mother fried breakfast and boiled the kettle on it. Then sitting on the edge of the bed eating from a table between the beds, it was better than a luxury hotel to Pat.

After getting dressed they would sit on the window sill and wait for the rowing boat, sometimes with the vicar at the oars, to take them shopping. Pat loved being lowered on to the boat from the window. This was her 'gondola' which took her past all the buildings completely surrounded by water, except the church and the school, which stood on higher ground.

Rev. Pierce Price assisting neighbour, Mrs Lilley at her cottage.

After the flood water had subsided Pat's father had the terrible job of shovelling and bucketing the muck and water over the doorstep. He was left to clean up single handed as Pat, her mother, and brother had fled down the raised bank of the railway line to take refuge with her grandfather on his farm eight miles away. Pat wasn't happy at being taken to the farm, not only was she leaving the village she loved, but she would also have to attend a nearby school, while her friends in Arksey enjoyed an extra holiday, the school being forced to close.

Pat and her brother, who she describes as a 'pain in the neck', even though they were good friends, were stranded on the farm, miles from any shops, so they had to wait until Saturday when the travelling shop came. The small lorry was weighed down with all manner of goods, candles, pegs, paraffin, crockery, carbide for lamps, which made a hissing sound on the bicycles. Pat was always drawn to the sweets though, and soon her money was spent and the sweets eaten. Her brother on the other hand thought about his poor mother, who had returned to the cottage to help clean up. He bought her a box of 'Imps', tiny black cough type sweets in a red and black tin box with little devil-like creatures on it. But after spending the morning in their granddad's fields, they had to cross a small wooden bridge over a drain (a kind of stream). Leaning over the rail to look for minnows or eels, the box of Imps fell into the water below, never to be seen again.

This reminded Pat of the first time she ate eel. They used to catch them in the drain, and her granddad liked to eat them. They wriggled even after the heads were cut off, or so Pat's aunts and uncles told them. The eels were cut into two inch pieces and cooked. Her granddad made her try a piece, which she reluctantly did, but swears that the eel wriggled down her throat, putting her off eating them ever again!

Many thanks to Barry Morgan for bringing this article to my attention.

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To watch a video containing cine footage of the Bentley, Arksey and Doncaster  floods in the 1930's and 1947, use the link below.

The Deluge in Doncaster

History Repeating... 

After the area was once again hit by flooding in 1941 and 1947 better flood defences were built, which meant the threat of devastating flooding had been lifted. Everyone thought 'it could never happen again', but it did happen again, more than fifty years later in June 2007 and then again in November 2019. 

Flooding in 2007

At a time when climate change was beginning to be talked about seriously, the British weather suddenly left us in no doubt that things were indeed changing and 2007 should be taken as a warning...

Swirling waters invade the streets of Sheffield

Rain began to fall on South Yorkshire on Sunday the 24^th of June; it rained heavily all night and all the next day. Sheffield and Leeds were the first to suffer, large parts of both cities were flooded, but Doncaster only had some localised flooding at first when streets in Intake began to flood due to overwhelmed drains. 

Ulley Dam, Rotherham, near to collapse

It wasn’t until Tuesday the 26^th of June that Doncaster became the main focus of concern. The Ulley Reservoir Dam near Rotherham was near to collapse and the fear was that if it went, a tidal wave would surge down the river Don and flood large parts of Doncaster and the lower Don Valley. Residents of Scawthorpe, Bentley and Arksey were advised to evacuate but efforts to reinforce the dam worked and the threat was lifted. Despite this, enormous volumes of water draining from the upper Don Valley were now finding their way into rivers, becks and drains at lower levels. 

During the night of the 26^th and 27^th the Ea Beck which runs through Bentley to Toll Bar had burst its banks and people had to be evacuated from Toll Bar and Thorpe-in-Balne.

Flooded car sales premises in Toll Bar

During Wednesday the 27^th the situation became steadily worse, Toll Bar was under five feet of water and Bentley was starting to be affected too. Many of Toll Bar’s residents were taken to Adwick where a well organised relief centre had been set up at the leisure centre. In Arksey, people were warned to evacuate as a precaution. Those who could make their own way out went to Adwick Leisure Centre, while the elderly were taken there by other means.  

Flooded Toll Bar from the air

Unfortunately, to add to people’s misery, stories of looting in Toll Bar began to emerge, as properties were left abandoned thieves started to move in and the police had to patrol in boats to protect the empty houses and shops.

Bentley High Street

Bentley High Street with pumps in place

By Thursday the 28^th of June Bentley High Street was under three feet of water and the whole of Bentley Road, from the Town End roundabout to the end of Arksey Lane was closed. Land around the old Thorpe Marsh Power Station was also flooded, and although the power station was now disused, the electricity sub station was still operational and there was a real danger of water getting in and cutting supplies of electricity to a large part of north east Doncaster. 

Flood water surrounding Thorpe Marsh Power Station, apologies for the poor quality picture

The army, fire services and council worked tirelessly to prevent further disasters, sand bags were flown in to reinforce the river banks. The fire service, including many extra teams from around the country used hundreds of hoses to pump water away from key areas. 

An Army Chinook flying in extra sand

By Friday the 29^th of June Toll Bar and Bentley were headline news nationally, the situation was equally as serious as in 1932 and just like that event, government officials visited. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who had just taken over from Tony Blair, visited Toll Bar, and a few days later HRH Prince Charles also took the boat trip through the flooded streets of Toll Bar.

Prince Charles visits flooded Toll Bar

While all this was going on Arksey remained dry, the village was surrounded by water but, apart from a little localised flooding on Marsh Lane, all properties were spared. By Sunday the 1^st of July the residents of Arksey had all moved back home. People in Toll Bar and Bentley were not so lucky though. By the Sunday all the water had been pumped out of Bentley High Street but lots of businesses had to start the process of drying out and repairing the damage. In Toll Bar the situation was much worse, the water, which was eight feet deep at its highest stayed for a whole week before the pumps started to make a difference. Many hundreds of people were homeless so the council built and provided a temporary caravan site so that residents could live nearby while their houses were renovated.

Arksey Lane was a near as the flooding got to Arksey itself

It would be close to eighteen months before everyone got back in their homes, many were not insured and faced hardship. The story of Toll Bar was not forgotten by the news teams who visited during the floods, BBC Look North produced a DVD telling the story of the floods and the proceeds of sales went to the flood relief fund. In another TV programme, DIY SOS, the team visited Toll Bar to renovate the home of a local foster carer and they also renovated Toll Bar Club clubhouse as a gift to the whole community. 

The BBC's DIY SOS programme

Finished interior of Toll Bar Rugby Club

Since the 2007 floods action was taken to prevent a repeat performance, and it has been successful up to point, however, it seems that any excesses of rain can still cause problems in certain areas, as was the case in late 2019.

November Rain in 2019

On Thursday the 7th of November 2019 it rained heavily in Doncaster all day. The rain fell on already saturated ground as it had been one of the wettest autumn's for decades. 

By Friday the 8th of November the river Don was bursting its banks at Marsh Gate. Also affected were Willow Bridge caravan park, Yarborough Terrace and Hunt Lane in Bentley. Further afield there were problems in Stainforth, and a severe threat to Barnby Dun. Worst affected of all was the village of Fishlake, just over six miles north east of Arksey.

Fishlake

Although the rain had stopped falling by the end of Friday, the river continued to fill as water drained into it from higher up. 

On Monday the 11th of November Chinook helicopters were used to drop aggregate on the banks of the river at Bentley to shore up the drainage channels.

A Chinook shoring up banks at Bentley

Once again Doncaster was national news, the focus of coverage centering on Bentley and Fishlake. Once again politicians visited to pledge their support, and once again fundraising efforts got underway.

At the height of the flooding thirty nine roads in the Doncaster area were closed. Evacuations were carried out in a number of places north of Doncaster and the severe flood warnings stayed in place for some considerable time.

Evacuations by boat

Almost as soon as the flooding hit, relief efforts swung into action. Donations of household goods and cleaning equipment were collected at various centres and the generosity of the public was welcomed as communities worked together to get some normality restored to people's homes.

Collections for the relief efforts

By the 15th of November the situation had eased in Bentley but it would take much longer for the flood water in Fishlake to disperse. Around one hundred homes were damaged in the village and many people were forced into temporary accommodation.

The clean-up in one house

While this flooding event was probably less severe than 2007, it affected areas not previously hit. Fishlake hadn't seen flooding like that for a century, but Bentley and Toll Bar, places impacted badly in the past got off relatively lightly. 

It all goes to show you can never be too complacent as you never know which areas might be impacted next time. Sadly there will be a next time - with climate change happening right now, it is inevitable.

For more old photos of the Arksey floods go to Old Photo Gallery.

For more old photos of Bentley floods go to Flood Images on sister site Bentley Village, A History.

Alison Vainlo

First written 2012, updated 2016, further updated 2020