Written works that have been published:

Allan, Sue

James Brewster, Bawtry Chapel and a Trybe of Wicked People – 2014, Domtom

An account of James Brewster (brother of Mayflower Pilgrim Father William Brewster) and his involvement with the Chapel of the Hospital of Mary Magdalene – now the Masonic Lodge in Bawtry. Includes a general history of the Hospital & anti-Catholicism in England. 

ArcHeritage

Archaeological Scoping Study of Site Allocations for Doncaster Local Plan – sites 966, 995 & 996 – 2019, ArcHeritage

The study analyses archaeological potential of land which could be developed, and details known archaeology on site (if any) and nearby. See Allocation Reference 966 Bawtry Hall; 995 Menagerie Wood, Bawtry; 996 Land west of Bawtry Hall. These extracts have been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Archaeological Research Services Ltd

Archaeological Works at St Nicholas Church, Bawtry, Doncaster – 2018, ARS Ltd

The works described were to investigate the possibility of archaeological remains during the construction of toilets on the north side of the church and a new doorway to the front of the church. Little of interest was found. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on this link:

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1181922&recordType=GreyLitSeries

Armstrong, Mostyn John

An Actual Survey of the Great Post Roads between London and Edinburgh – 1776, published by the author

An 18th century version of a gazetteer with maps, identifying post houses and inns near the main roads and distances between them. Plate 12 shows the Roman fort and road just north of Scaftworth. The work has been digitised and its title page, plate 12 and its accompanying text can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title. The complete work can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking on this link:

https://archive.org/details/actualsurveyofgr00arms

Beresford, M

New Towns of the Middle Ages – Town Plantations in England, Wales and Gascony; or, The Content of a New Town – 1967, Praeger

A history of Norman “planted” (planned) towns. There are no references to Bawtry but the work is relevant to Bawtry’s development.

Buckland, Paul C

Roman South Yorkshire; A Source Book – 1986, University of Sheffield

Paul Buckland is a professional archaeologist.  This work provides a summary of archaeological research in South Yorkshire. It contains a little information about the Roman fort and road at Scaftworth. The work has been digitised. Clicking on the title above opens extracts from the book – the title pages, the introduction, and the section on Bawtry. The complete work can be read or downloaded by clicking on this link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283326974_Roman_South_Yorkshire_a_source_book

Chadwick, A M

Coin hoard data from South Yorkshire – 2014 – Interim Report from the British Museum/University of Leicester “Hoarding in Iron Age and Roman Britain” project. Describes two Bawtry hoards – one near the Gainsborough Road bridge (associated with the section of Roman road north of Scaftworth fort) and the other near the River Idle, associated with the possible Roman shrine or temple. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Cole, M

Holly House Farm, Scaftworth, Notts – Report on Geophysical Survey – 1995, Ancient Monuments Laboratory Report 47/95

Geophysical survey of the Scaftworth Roman fort. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Dearne, Martin J

Excavation of the Timber Causewayed Roman Road at Scaftworth, nr. Bawtry, Notts – 1991, Interim Report – University of Sheffield

Detailed & illustrated account of the 1991 excavations. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Deegan, Alison

The Nottinghamshire Mapping Project – 3.2.1 Fortresses, Fort and Fortlet – extract pages 26-27 – 1999, RCHM England

Brief analysis of the fort at Scaftworth. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council & Lathams of Derby

Bawtry Conservation Area Appraisal – 2009, DMBC

The Appraisal contains much material on the history of Bawtry, and detailed information on individual buildings. It is in six sections (including a Review, published in 2015) which have been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on this site:

https://www.doncaster.gov.uk/services/planning/bawtry-conservation-area

Dunkley, J A & Cumberpatch, C G

Excavations at 16-20 Church Street Bawtry, South Yorkshire – 1996, South Yorkshire Archaeology

A detailed report of the archaeological excavations in 1990/1991, which describe the evidence of buildings constructed prior to to the Norman “planted” town. The report has been digitised and can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking this link:

https://dokumen.pub/excavations-at-16-20-church-street-bawtry-south-yorkshire-9780860548348-9781407318752.html

Elliot, Brian (Editor)

Aspects of Doncaster – Discovering Local History 2 – Wharncliffe Publishing 1999

A collection of essays on the history of the Doncaster area, including one about Bawtry – “History in the Townscape” by Derek Holland, giving a general history of the town.

Hey, David

The Making of South Yorkshire – 1979, Moorland Publishing

Medieval South Yorkshire – 2003, Landmark Publishing

A History of the South Yorkshire Countryside – 2015, Pen & Sword Local

Packmen, Carriers And Packhorse Roads – Trade and Communications in North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire – 1980, Leicester University Press

David Hey (1938-2016) was a respected local historian. He was Emeritus Professor of Local and Family at Sheffield University and was also President of the British Association for Local History. He was well-known and much respected for his numerous books, articles and lectures relating to Yorkshire and Derbyshire. The Making of South Yorkshire is a general work, written for the amateur, and easily readable with numerous photographs and illustrations. It addresses the history of South Yorkshire since Roman times, but stops well before the Industrial Revolution. The book contains a 3-page section on Bawtry, plus numerous other references.

Medieval South Yorkshire is essentially a re-writing and updating (by new research and archaeological excavation) of The Making of South Yorkshire. The book contains a 3-page section on Bawtry, plus numerous other references.

A History of the South Yorkshire Countryside comprises 20 essays, one of which is titled “Inland Waterways” and includes a 3-page account of Bawtry as an inland port on the River Idle. There are also other references to the town.

Packmen, Carriers and Packhorse Roads contains the best part of a chaper on Bawtry port’s trade, plus numerous other references.

Historic England

Shrines (Roman and Post-Roman) – Introduction to Heritage Assets – 2018, Historic England

General description, without any reference to Bawtry. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Holland, Derek

Bawtry and the River Idle trade – 2nd edition 1976, Doncaster Museum

Derek Holland was a local historian who specialised in buildings, landscapes and social history. He worked in adult education, both as tutor and as an organising tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association in South Yorkshire. This booklet gives an account of Bawtry’s river trade between the 14th and 19th centuries. It gives quite a lot of detail about the goods and traders involved, but no information about the wharf itself.

Holland, Derek & Holland, Enid

A Yorkshire Town; the Making of Doncaster – History, Buildings & People – 2012 Memorial Edition

A general history, with numerous references to Bawtry. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Margary, Ivan D

Roman Roads in Britain – 1973, John Baker

Margary was one of the most important scholars of Roman roads in Britain, and his numbering system for the roads is used universally. The western variant of Ermine Street is relevant to Bawtry. 

Marren, Peter

Battles of the Dark Ages – British Battlefields AD410 to 1065 – 2006, Pen and Sword

A general military history, with a short account of the Battle of the Idle. The work has been digitised. Clicking on the title above opens the book’s title pages, its preface and introduction, and the section of the book on the Battle of the Idle. The complete work can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking on this link:

https://kupdf.net/download/battles-of-the-dark-agespdf_5af4c9f5e2b6f5005e814634_pdf

McIntyre, L & Hadley, D M

Archaeological Excavations at Bawtry Masonic Hall, South Yorkshire, July 2010: the cemetery of the medieval hospital of St Mary Magdalene – 2011, Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield 

Archaeological excavation report. It contains a good deal of the hospital’s history, as well as the excavations. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Newton, Sam

The Reckoning of King Raedwald – 2003, Red Bird Press

An account of Raedwald’s life, with a section on the Battle of the Idle.

Noort, Robert Van de

Scaftworth – A Roman bridge and road in the Wetlands – 2001, Current Archaeology magazine issue #172

Brief article about the 1997 excavations north of Scaftworth fort which found evidence of the Roman road and river crossing. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Ottaway, Patrick

Roman Yorkshire – 2018, Blackthorne Press

An authoritative account of the early years of Yorkshire’s history, which recounts not only the story of the soldiers and emperors, who usually figure so prominently in accounts of the Roman period, but that of the lives of the ordinary citizens. There are a number of references to Bawtry.

Page, William (Editor)

The Victorian History of the Counties of England – Nottinghamshire, Volume 1 – 1906, Archibald Constable

A general history. On page 302 there is a description of the earthworks at Martin, and on page 303 a very brief description of the Roman fort at Scaftworth. There are also other minor references to Bawtry. The work has been digitised and clicking on the title above opens the book’s title pages, and pages 302-303.  The complete work can be read or downloaded by clicking on this link:

https://archive.org/details/nottinghamhisto01pageuoft

Peck, William

A topographical history and description of Bawtry and Thorne with the villages adjacent – 1813

A topographical account of the Isle of Axholme – 1815

William Peck (fl. 1813-1835) was a local historian who was dissatisfied with previous histories of the area. He wrote two works – see below. They had very limited copy runs, printed privately at Doncaster. The Isle of Axholme work includes material about Bawtry not contained in the earlier work. The books are easy to read, but they often refer to earlier authors whose work is not always clearly referenced and some of the content is highly speculative, being unevidenced. Both works have been digitised. 

The Bawtry and Thorne book can be accessed, free, by clicking this link:

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/A_topographical_history_and_description.html?id=gkIIAAAAQAAJ&redir_esc=y

By hovering your cursor over “Read ebook” a drop down menu is revealed, including “Download PDF”.

The Isle of Axholme book  can be accessed, free, by clicking this link:

https://books.google.co.uk/booke/about/A_topographical_account_of_the_isle_of_A.html?id=-OY-AAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y

By hovering your cursor over “Read ebook” a drop down menu is revealed, including “Download PDF”.

Pigot

Pigot’s Yorkshire Directory 1834 – extract re Bawtry

A Trade Directory, providing a brief description of the town and listing its principal residents, merchants and tradesmen. The work has been digitised and is available on the Ancestry family history site. The section on Bawtry can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Pratt, Edwin A

A History of Inland Transport and Communications in England – 1912, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubert & Co.

A general history, with references to Bawtry’s inland port. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on this link:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52087 

South Yorkshire Archaeology Services & English Heritage

South Yorkshire Historic Environment Characterisation – Final Report – Part 3 Doncaster Character Zone Descriptions – 2008, South Yorkshire Archaeology Services

General history of Bawtry, identifying its main sites, pages 311-315, plus other references. The work has been digitised and clicking on the title above will open pages 311-315. The complete work can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking on this link:

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/syorks_hlc_2012/downloads.cfm

Various Authors 

Wessex Archaeology

Bridge Lane, Bawtry, Doncaster – Archaeological Evaluation and Mitigation Report – 2012, Wessex Archaeology

Report of investigative excavations in advance of the Bridge Lane Court development. Evidence of activity from prehistoric times to the 19th century was found, the most significant being the likelihood of hemp production, probably used in the manufacture of ropes or canvas for river traffic associated with the nearby wharf site. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking on the this link:

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1119151&recordType=GreyLitSeries

Top Street, Bawtry, South Yorkshire – Archaeological Mitigation Report – 2017, Wessex Archaeology

Report of investigative excavations in advance of the William Bradford Court development. Evidence of medieval and post-medieval activity. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking on this link:

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1171061

West Yorkshire Archaeological Services

River Idle Washlands, Bawtry, South Yorkshire – Archaeological Watching Brief – 2006, West Yorkshire Archaeological Services

An account of the discovery of artefacts indicating the presence of a Roman shrine or temple near the River Idle. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

White, Francis

Nottinghamshire. History, Gazetteer, and Directory of the County, and of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham – 1864, Francis White & Co.

A Trade Directory, with a description of Bawtry on pages 653-4 and list of principal residents, merchants & tradesmen on pages 657-9. The work has been digitised and the title page, preface, pages 653-4 and 657-9  can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title. The complete work can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking on this link:

https://archive.org/details/historygazettee03whitgoog/page/4/mode/2up

White, William

History, Gazetteer, and Directory, of the West Riding of Yorkshire with the City of York and Port of Hull – Volume 1 – 1837, William White

 A Trade Directory, with a description of Bawtry on pages 294-5 and list of principal residents, merchants & tradesmen on pages 295-6. The work has been digitised and its title page, preface and pages 294-296 can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title. The complete work can be read or downloaded, free, by clicking on this link:

https://archive.org/details/historygazetteer01whit

Written works that have been circulated publicly but not formally published:

Bawtry WEA Local History Group

New Light on Old Bawtry – 1978, WEA Yorkshire District (South)

This booklet (50 pages) mostly addresses the history of Bawtry in the 19th century, and concentrates on detailed analyses of the census returns. The Local History Group was led by the local historian Derek Holland, who wrote Bawtry and the River Idle trade referred to above. Copies are hard to find – but Bawtry Community library has one.

Newman, Alan P

The History and Future of the Idle/Bycarrsdyke Waterway and its Catchment – 2017, American Society of Civil Enginers – Author’s pre-print

Contains extensive details of Bawtry’s wharf. The work has been digitised and can be read or downloaded by clicking on the title.

Rose, John

An Ordinary Special Place – An Outline History of Bawtry – 2000

This well written booklet (39 pages) is a general history of Bawtry, spanning from prehistoric times to the present day. Copies are hard to find – but Bawtry Community library has one.

Websites

https://www.bawtryfreemasons.org/history

This site gives a history of the chapel of the Hospital of St Mary Magdalene and its restoration by the Bawtry Freemasons, including images and a download of an earlier history compiled in 1933.

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/

British History Online is a collection of nearly 1300 volumes of primary and secondary content relating to British and Irish history, and histories of empire and the British world. BHO also provides access to 40,000 images and 10,000 tiles of historic maps of the British Isles. It can be searched by place name. There are several references to Bawtry.

https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/

This site reproduces Historic England’s (see below) listing details for individual buildings and sites, but also includes images of them not available on the Historic England site.

https://www.burgageplots.info

A general, illustrated description of burgage plots and their significance. There is no reference to Bawtry.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/thelist/

This website contains a wealth of information about all the nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England. It can be searched by placename or via an interactive map. Much of the information presented under the “Significant buildings/sites in Bawtry” tab on this site has been obtained from here. 

https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/gateway/default.aspx

This website cross references local and national information relating to England’s heritage. It can be searched by place name. Results contain material about the site, relevant links to other sites, and maps. 

http://www2.hull.ac.uk/science/waerc/origins/humber_head_levels.aspx

This website is operated by the University of Hull Wetland Archaeology & Environmental Research Centre, and concerns its Humber head levels project. The website contains a description of excavations at the Scaftworth Roman Road site.

https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/roman-landscape-bawtry

Oddly for a wildlife organisation, this site has an illustrated article titled “The Roman Landscape at Bawtry” written by Trent & Peak Archaeology, dealing with the Roman road north of Scaftworth fort and the shrine site on the River Idle. 

http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/monographs/blyth1860/chapter10p1.htm

A general Nottinghamshire history website. It includes a history of Bawtry and Austerfield Manors, chapelries of Bawtry and Austerfield, St Nicholas church, and the Hospital of St Mary Magdalene.

https://researchframeworks.org/syrf/iron-age-and-romano-british/#section-2

This site seeks to identify archaeological significant sites throughout the country, presenting an overview of present knowledge and posing relevant research questions and objectives for the future. The information is presented geographically and thematically. The link is to the South Yorkshire Environment Research Framework part of the site. The historical content is arranged chronologically – e.g. Iron Age and Romano-British; Roman; Early Medieval; Later Medieval etc.. All these “frameworks” can be searched – for instance, with a place name, by clicking on the three hoizontal bars icon presented at the top right of each page. There is a good deal of material about Bawtry.

https://roadsofromanbritain.org/

This gazetteer website, launched by the Roman Roads Research Association in Spring 2018, provides a comprehensive online resource focusing on Roman roads in Britain. It is a “work in progress” but when completed will be the first survey of Roman roads in Britain since Ivan Margery’s authoratative 1973 work. It cannot be searched by place name, but any desired location can be easily found using maps on the site.

https://thelittlecorporal.co.uk/

A war gaming site, which includes an account of the Battle of the Idle. Little is known about that battle: the site uses a fair amount of artistic licence to re-imagine it.

https://www.tickhillhistorysociety.org.uk/st-mary-magdalene-hospital-bawtry

This site gives a general history of the hospital chapel, including the archaeological excavations made in 2002 and 2010.

https://workhouses.org.uk/doncaster

The Workhouses site provides a general history of workhouses and a comprehensive gazetteer of individual sites throughout Britain; the link given above goes to Doncaster – scroll down for Bawtry.

Maps

Historical Ordnance Survey Maps

https://maps.nls.uk/os/

This National Library of Scotland website presents a large collection of historic Ordnance Survey maps of the UK, of various scales and dates. It can be searched by place name, and maps can be downloaded for free. There are maps of the Bawtry and its vicinity available from the 1850s.

Map of Bawtry, 1774 by Chapman, John

John Chapman was a land surveyor, draughtsman and engraver. He made what were regarded as very accurate maps of Durham, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Essex. The map referred to here, made in 1774, shows an “Antient Incampment” between Scaftworth and Bawtry  – what we know today as the Scaftworth Roman fort. Chapman was the first to map this feature. The earthworks of the fort must have been visible in the late 18th century. They were subsequently ploughed out, and the fort was “lost” until rediscovered by aerial photography in the 1940s. The map is available to see or download, free,  by clicking on the link below:

https://digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca/islandora/object/macrepo%3A79567 

Map of Bawtry Hall Estate, 1904

A map made as part of the “sales prospectus” of 1904. It shows the Hall and its grounds. It is available to see or download by clicking on the title.  

Peck’s 1813 map of Bawtry

The map was included in Peck’s book A topographical history and description of Bawtry and Thorne with the villages adjacent – 1813 – see above. It shows the Roman fort at Scaftworth, a Roman road running to the west of Bawtry, the earthworks at Martin and a large “camp” between Austerfield and Finningley. In Bawtry itself, it shows the wharf. It is available to see or download by clicking on the title.