Crofton in 1907 - (4 of 9)

By 1907 the village was beginning to shift from its rural roots.

Up to this point most houses had been built as individual properties, or at most a row of cottages. This map shows the arrival of the first planned housing estates. One in New Crofton along Middle Lane (known locally as “The Lump”), and a terrace in the centre of the village on Slack Lane. Houses opposite the Cock and Crown also appear.

A new Methodist Chapel had been built, with a building on Cock Lane labelled “Sunday School” (the old Methodist Chapel?).

Note that a Post Office and a Smithy are marked in the centre of the village. The Smithy or blacksmith's workshop would have been the village's main source of metalwork and for the shoeing of horses.

Crofton Park is shown in greater detail with a tree-lined track running from Doncaster Road to the Hall. This track and the line of trees are still visible today.

Crofton Windmill is now marked “Disused”.

The railways had expanded in all directions, with a new line under construction on what we now know as The Sidings sports field. Oakenshaw Station had closed, but Crofton itself now had two stations: Crofton Station (north) and Hare Park & Crofton (south).

The growth of coal mining drove this expansion. Nostell Colliery lay to the east, Sharlston West (now Walton Country Park) to the west, and New Sharlston Colliery to the north, all moved much of their output by rail.

Next to Nostell Colliery is the Nostell Brick & Tile Works, still present today. This also had rail connectivity at this time.

Note the extension of Middle Lane from "The Lump" to Nostell Colliery.