Adwick-Le-Street... A Social and Economic History

Between the Roman’s Rule and the Norman Conquest of 1066 there is no real documented evidence for local historians to get their teeth into. This is due chiefly to the continuous changing of place names. We do know, however that Doncaster and Conisborough were both Saxon burghs, burgh meaning a fortified settlement. Similarly Burghwallis, Sprotborough and Mexborough, may have been fortified settlements also. No doubt, within our long history the Danes settled in Adwick and surrounding areas, we know this due to a find of a grave containing the skeletal remains of a Viking female whilst excavation work was being carried out to lay sewerage pipes for a new development in 2001. some of the finds from the dig The Danes would have come up the Humber estuary and the river Don, a lot of the older place names are Danish in origin, Hangthwaite, meaning a hanging clearing and Langthwaite, this area stretched from Highfields to Castle Hills.