Darton

Darton is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire, England), on the border with West Yorkshire. According to the 2001 UK census, it has a population of approximately 14,927. Formerly part of the now defunct Barnsley West and Penistone borough constituency, following the Boundary Commission for England's report on South Yorkshire's Parliamentary constituencies in 2004 and the subsequent inquiry in 2005, it is now part of the Barnsley Central borough constituency.

Geography
Darton lies on the River Dearne, directly to the east of Kexbrough, and 5 mi north of the town of Barnsley. It is served by the A637 road and is bisected by the M1 motorway (junction 38 being a mile to the north). Its location is approximately 53.585°N, -1.5325°W, at an elevation of around 80 metres above sea level. Darton is the only village on the M1 with 3 motorway bridges.

History
The name Darton is believed to be an amalgamation of "Dearne" and the Anglo-Saxon word "ton" (meaning 'town'). Hence, in ancient times it was known as 'the town on the Dearne'. However, other sources dispute this explanation and claim that the name originates from a description given to a deer enclosure or something similar.

A church was built in the village in 1150, but an official register of baptisms, deaths and marriages did not begin until several centuries later in 1539.

Darton may have also been the birthplace of the painter William Tate, a pupil of Joseph Wright of Derby.

Present day
Darton has its own railway station which links train journeys between Sheffield and Leeds. It is especially included in the "West Yorkshire Metro". The reason for this is that the West-South Yorkshire boundary historically ran between the village and its main source of employment - Woolley Colliery.

2007 flooding
On 15 June 2007, Darton hit the national headlines after 48 hours of torrential rain caused the River Dearne to burst its banks leading to heavy flooding in the village. The main road through the village was impassable by car or foot and damage was caused to many homes and businesses, notably the village Post Office, which re-opened in June 2008. The Darton Carnival and a local music festival were also delayed by a month. The village of Darton was submerged and farmers reported dead animals floating in waterlogged fields.

2008 flooding
Darton was also affected by the floods in January 2008. Again the main road through the village was impassible by car or foot, homes close to the river were damaged, including the Post Office which was supposed to open after being re-done, and the houses on Mill Lane were the worse affected. Schools were closed nearby, and pupils were sent home (this did include cancelling a GCSE exam at Darton High School). However, businesses were well prepared and secured everything inside, they secured the doors and windows with plastic wrapping and sand bags. There was not as much damage as the 2007 floods.