Editing Askern

{{Short description|Town and civil parish in South Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.6167|-1.15|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Askern
| population               = 5,570
| population_ref           = ([[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]])<ref name="NOMIS">{{NOMIS2011|id=E04000059|title=Askern Parish|access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref>
| metropolitan_borough     = [[City of Doncaster]]
| civil_parish             = Askern
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| metropolitan_county      = [[South Yorkshire]]
| post_town                = DONCASTER
| postcode_district        = DN6
| postcode_area            = DN
| dial_code                = 01302
| os_grid_reference        = SE5513
| constituency_westminster = [[Doncaster North (UK Parliament constituency)|Doncaster North]]
| static_image_name        = AskernSpaPool(DavidPickersgill)Mar2008.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Askern Spa Pool
| london_distance          =
| area_total_sq_mi = 1.33
| type = [[Town]] and [[civil parish]]
}}
'''Askern''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|s|k|ər|n}}) is a town and [[civil parish]] within the [[City of Doncaster]], in [[South Yorkshire]], England. It is on the [[A19 road]] between [[Doncaster]] and [[Selby]]. [[Historic counties of England|Historically]] part of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], it had a population of 5,570 at the 2011 Census.<ref name="NOMIS"/> Askern was also known in for its [[Askern Greyhound Stadium|Greyhound Stadium]], which closed in 2022.

==History==
The town's name derives from the [[Old English]] ''askr-ærn'' meaning 'building made of ash' or 'building surrounded by ash trees'.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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 Wapentake|Osgoldcross]] in the West Riding of Yorkshire.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

The history of Askern can be traced back to the reign of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]]. The people of [[Norton, Doncaster|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

===Spa===
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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

===Coal mining===
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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> The pit was closed in 1991 due to a low in the price of coal, and the surface buildings were demolished in 1993.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>

== Railway ==
Askern is on the former [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]] line between [[Doncaster railway station|Doncaster]] and [[Wakefield Kirkgate railway station|Wakefield Kirkgate]], though [[Askern railway station]] closed in 1947.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Body |first1=Geoffrey |title=Railways of the Eastern Region |date=1985 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |location=Wellingborough |isbn=0850597129 |page=154}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> The line is used mainly by goods services, as well as the four-times daily [[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]] passenger services from [[Bradford Interchange]] to [[London King's Cross railway station|London King's Cross]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> There have been proposals to re-open Askern railway station to passenger trains.<ref>{{cite news |title=Campaign to restore rail station is on track |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=21 January 2023 |page=21|issn=0963-1496}}</ref>

== Bus services ==

Askern is served by bus service 51 to [[Doncaster]], [[Carcroft]], [[Skellow]] and [[Norton, Doncaster|Norton]].<ref>{{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}}</ref> There are also two school bus services from the town.

==See also==
*[[List of collieries in Yorkshire 1984-present with dates of closure|List of Yorkshire pits]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
*{{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}}

{{authority control}}

[[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]]