Askern

The town's name derives from the Old English askr-ærn meaning 'building made of ash' or 'building surrounded by ash trees'.{{Cite web|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Yorkshire+WR/Askern|title=Key to English Place-names|website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk|access-date=6 August 2021|archive-date=15 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615062617/http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Yorkshire+WR/Askern|url-status=live}} Historically in the parish of Campsall, the town lies {{convert|9|mi}} south of Pontefract, and {{convert|7|mi}} north of Doncaster.{{sfn|Lankester|1842|p=1}} Up until the middle of the 19th century, the town was in the wapentake of Osgoldcross in the West Riding of Yorkshire.{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Albert Hugh |title=The place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire II: Osgoldcross and Agbrigg Wapentakes |date=1986|orig-date=1961 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=44|oclc=615109017}}

The history of Askern can be traced back to the reign of Edward III. The people of Norton complained to the Sheriff of Osgoldcross that the people of Askern had failed to keep part of Askern Pool in a clean state. As a result, the King's highway had been "overflowed and drowned so that neither horse nor foot passengers could use it".{{sfn|Lankester|1842|p=3}}

The parish church of St Peter's dates back to 1852.{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |title=Yorkshire: the West Riding |date=2003|orig-date=1959 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0-300-09662-3 |page=85}}

In the 19th century, Askern was a popular spa resort. The sulphurous nature of Askern Lake had long been recognised, and the first bathing house opened in 1786. In the 1820s and 1830s several hotels opened in the village, turning it into a small spa town. Visitor numbers increased when the railway station opened in 1848. By the 20th century the resort's popularity had declined, and the coming of coal mining permanenty changed the character of the town. The last bathhouse was demolished in the 1960s.{{cite web |last1=Fordham |first1=Dave |title=Discovering five bath houses of Askern Spa, to rival Harrogate's waters |url=https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/discovering-five-bath-houses-of-askern-spa-to-rival-harrogates-waters-44511 |website=Doncaster Free Press |access-date=25 October 2024}}

Then in the early years of the 20th century the quest for coal identified a good seam of coal near Askern. It was decided to access the coal from a mine built above the village, in 1911. As the mine opened the new houses were built for the workers and their families in the village.{{cite news |title=Nostalgia on Tuesday: Village of change |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/nostalgia-on-tuesday-village-of-change-1759820 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=24 July 2018}} The pit was closed in 1991 due to a low in the price of coal, and the surface buildings were demolished in 1993.{{cite web |title=Askern Main Colliery |url=https://www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/coal-mining-in-the-british-isles/yorkshire-coalfield/doncaster/askern/ |website=nmrs.org.uk |access-date=10 July 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Whetstone |first1=David |title=Exhibition pays tribute to long-gone mining community |work=The Newcastle Journal |date=5 April 2022 |page=16|issn=0307-3645}}

Askern is on the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway line between Doncaster and Wakefield Kirkgate, though Askern railway station closed in 1947.{{cite book |last1=Body |first1=Geoffrey |title=Railways of the Eastern Region |date=1985 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |location=Wellingborough |isbn=0850597129 |page=154}}{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Neil |title=The lost railways of Yorkshire's West Riding: the central section Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield |date=2014 |publisher=Stenlake Publishing |location=Catrine |isbn=9781840336573 |page=54}} The line is used mainly by goods services, as well as the four-times daily Grand Central passenger services from Bradford Interchange to London King's Cross.{{cite news |last1=Waugh |first1=Rob |title=Plans to re-open Don Valley Line and Askern Line in Yorkshire and restore passenger trains |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/plans-to-re-open-don-valley-line-and-askern-line-in-yorkshire-and-restore-passenger-trains-3935833 |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=30 November 2022}} There have been proposals to re-open Askern railway station to passenger trains.{{cite news |title=Campaign to restore rail station is on track |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=21 January 2023 |page=21|issn=0963-1496}}

Askern is served by bus service 51 to Doncaster, Carcroft, Skellow and Norton.{{Cite web |title=51 – Doncaster – Norton |url=https://bustimes.org/services/51-doncaster-norton |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=bustimes.org |language=en-GB}} There are also two school bus services from the town.

• List of Yorkshire pits

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• {{cite book |last1=Lankester |first1=Edward |title=An account of Askern and its mineral springs |date=1842 |publisher=Churchill |location=London|oclc=22835231}}

{{South Yorkshire}}

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Category:Askern

Category:Towns in South Yorkshire

Category:Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster

Category:Civil parishes in South Yorkshire

Category:Mining communities in England