Darrington, West Yorkshire

Darrington is a small village and civil parish in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, 3 mi from Pontefract and 25 mi from the city of York. The village is split in two by the busy A1 trunk road which runs from London to Scotland. The 2011 census population was 1,403.

History
The history of Darrington can be traced back to the time of Edward the Confessor. The last Anglo Saxon owners of Darrington were named Jordan, Baret and Alsi. After the Norman conquest it fell to the ownership of Ilbert de Lacy, a favourite of William the Conqueror. The village was recorded in the Domesday Book as Darnintone, which means the town of Daegheard's people.

Darrington was on the old Great North Road, and was 175 mi north of London. The A1 bypass to the east end of the civil parish was built in the 1970s.

Notable residents
Novelist, historian and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, J. S. Fletcher (Joseph Smith Fletcher) was brought up in Darrington.

Darrington today
At the heart of the village is the village shop, the Spread Eagle pub, church and the school. Darrington Church of England Junior School has over 100 pupils and was rated as Good by Ofsted in 2019. Darrington is home to the Mid-Yorkshire Golf Club, the Kyte Hotel, the Darrington pub and hotel, the Spread Eagle public house, a branch of Ripon Farm Services and Darrington Quarries.

The village has a community playing field which is home to the 'Feast and Fayre' once a year; this has a collection of stalls, a bouncy castle, dancing and many other types of entertainment. There is also a 5 mi run on the same day. This event brings in visitors from surrounding villages and raise money for the upkeep of the field and the purchase of new play equipment.

Although the Holly Cottage Post Office has closed, a post office is available on Monday morning only on Phillips Lane.

St Luke and All Saints Church
Next to the school is the 13th century parish church of St Luke and All Saints, for the parish of Darrington with Wentbridge in the Benefice of the Went Valley. Booklets of monumental inscriptions from the churchyard and that of Wentbridge are available here from the Pontefract & District Family History Society. Church records are kept at the West Yorkshire County Archives. The building was restored in 1855, and local people including antiquarians complained strongly of damage to historical features. Fine workmanship on rare stone effigies in the north chancel aisle had been "obliterated" by liberal use of whitewash. A Norman arch between nave and tower had been partially removed to make way for a large pew. A "considerable quantity" of carved oak furniture and woodwork had been sold and dispersed. A "highly interesting stone effigy of a "recumbent figure in armour" had "mysteriously disappeared."

Governance
Darrington is in its own civil parish and part of the Pontefract South Ward. It is represented at Westminster as part of the Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford Constituency.