About and Contact

Hello

I was born in the shadow of Arksey Church (literally), and Arksey was where I was brought up. My Dad used to have a box of ‘treasures’ on a high shelf in his garage and I would pester him at every available opportunity to get the box out and show me its contents. The box held bits of broken ornaments, buttons, jewellery, coins, pottery and clay pipes, all of which he’d dug up in the garden over the years. I think this must have kick started my interest in history and archaeology, well, it contributed anyway.

Items dug up in my parents' garden in High Street, Arksey

Dad used to tell me that the things he had dug up came from some cottages that used to stand where our house now stood. I began to read local history books, look at old maps and collect newspaper cuttings whenever Arksey’s history was featured. A teacher I once had at Don Valley school recognised my interest and gave me a rather battered photocopy of a book written by a local lady, it was poorly printed and some of it was missing, but it painted a wonderful picture of her childhood in Arksey in the early twentieth century. I was later fortunate enough to be given a more complete copy by the Bentley with Arksey Heritage Society.

A few years ago I began to seriously research the history of Arksey, using tools within easy reach, such as books, maps and the internet. I must admit that I find using resources such as Doncaster Archives rather daunting, I’m never really sure what I can and can’t ask for when visiting such places, so I’ve kept it simple and enjoyable.

While Arksey may not be the picturesque village it once was I want to remind people that there are still those hidden gems in the old architecture and the surrounding countryside.

The Purpose of this Site

While I found the process of researching Arksey's history very enjoyable and absorbing, information is fairly scattered all over the internet and in books; there was no one site I could go to for an in-depth account of the village. So, when I was putting my family history blog together I hit on the idea of creating a similar blog for the village; a history of my home village in one place. It is now filling up nicely with new information coming in to me all the time.

What this blog is not

This blog has been produced as a hobby project, I am not a trained historian. So please be aware that while I have endeavored to check that the information I have written is correct, it was not always possible to do this, so please feel free to let me know of any mistakes. 

Most of the photographs shown are my own, but some of the old photos have been found on other websites. I want to make it clear that the images used are only intended to illustrate parts of the text.

Contact Me

I am always looking for new stories, memories or photos of Arksey. So if you have anything of interest to share or just have an equiry, please use the contact form on the right sidebar, or  email  me at arkvillhistory@yahoo.co.uk 

If you are wanting information on locating graves in the two cemeteries, please refer to the page 'Old Cemetery A - M'. 

Join My Facebook Group

The Arksey and Bentley Bygone Years group was set up to allow anyone to share photos, stories, memories and ask questions. Simply use the link and click 'join group' to be added.

Sister Site

Launched in 2014, Bentley Village, A History tells the history of Arksey's nearest neighbour. 


Alison Vainlo