Bawtry

South Yorkshire


Bawtry is a town in the Doncaster metropolitan district of South Yorkshire.

Just to the south and east of the town is the boundary with Nottinghamshire.

The gateway to Yorkshire from the south, Bawtry has been busy with road traffic ever since Roman times. Then it was the crossing point of the River Idle on the western alternative route of Ermine Street, a Roman road from London via Lincoln to York. The route avoided the crossing of the wide River Humber on the more direct route.

Later, the Great North Road, the route of mail coaches from London to York and Edinburgh, came more directly from the south through Bawtry and coaching inns sprang up around Bawtry's large Market Place.

The A1 road followed the route of the Great North Road making Bawtry an increasingly congested bottleneck in an age of increasing car ownership. The A1(M) Doncaster bypass, a short stretch of early motorway, opened in 1961 and brought some relief, but the town remains busy with traffic with the convergance of six A-road routes into the town.

Bawtry used to have a station on the Great Northern Railway main line just north of the low viaduct which skirts the eastern side of the town. The station closed to passengers in the mid-1960s, although regular services had stopped a few years earlier, and goods traffic ceased in 1971. The line was subsequently upgraded for 125mph running as part of what has now become known as the East Coast Main Line.

The town still seems to owe something to its coaching inn past with a hotel and a good selection of restaurants to provide a great welcome to Yorkshire for weary travellers in their many cars.


 Town features


Bawtry has an old parish church.
The town is near to the River Idle.
Bawtry has local traders and a supermarket. Bawtry offers bakery goods, butchers, clothes, crafts, flowers, furnishings and other goods.
The town has a Post Office branch.
The town has a pharmacy.
Bawtry has a choice of pubs.
Bawtry has a great selection of places to eat.
The town has a community library.
Bawtry has a theatre - Bawtry Phoenix Theatre.
Bawtry has a community centre.
Places of worship: Anglican, Methodist, other.
Places to stay in Bawtry include hotel, inn accommodation.

Travel


While passenger trains run through Bawtry, it currently has no station.

Bus travel

The town has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.

Road travel

Bawtry can be reached via the A638 A614 A631

Air travel

Doncaster Sheffield Airport (Robin Hood Airport) is nearby. See airports.


Places to visit

Cusworth Hall

Cusworth Lane, Doncaster
Situated two miles north of Doncaster, off the A638 Doncaster to Wakefield Road, this grade I listed building, built in the early 1740s, can be explored together with its impressive parkland with lakes. Features of the house and gardens have been restored to various periods of its life and include ceiling paintings in an Italianate chapel, an Edwardian rose garden and 'below-stairs' features such as its great kitchen, bake house and laundry. The Hall is managed by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council with the support of The Friends of Cusworth Park.
More information at these  Doncaster Council - Cusworth Hall web pages.


South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum

Dakota Way, Airbourne Road, Doncaster
The museum has a collection of aircraft from the first air show to be held in Britain, held at Doncaster Racecourse in 1909, together with more modern preserved light aircraft and jets. It is located about a mile to the south east of the town centre. For opening times see the museum's website.
Details at  South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum website.


Conisbrough Castle

Conisbrough Castle

Conisbrough, South Yorkshire
The castle is situated in the small town of Conisbrough, about five miles south-west of Doncaster and seven miles north-east of Rotherham. Its tall circular cylindrical keep has had its walls and roofs restored to create a feeling of how the castle would have been in the late 12th century when it was built. In 1201, the castle had a royal visit, when King John stayed there. The castle became famous through fiction as the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe'. The historic site is managed by English Heritage.

Find out more at the  English Heritage - Conisbrough Castle web pages.
Find on map:  Conisbrough Castle


Brodsworth Hall and Gardens

Brodsworth
The Victorian country house at Brodsworth, about 5 miles north-west of Doncaster, was built in 1860, surrounded by beautiful gardens. It remained largely unchanged through its lifetime and is now being conserved by English Heritage. Yorkshire bands perform at the hall most Sundays during the summer. A car park for the hall can be accessed from Church Lane, between the villages of Marr and Brodsworth.
More information at the  English Heritage - Brodsworth Hall website.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Hurst Lane, Auckley, Doncaster
The Yorkshire Wildlife Park, about 4 miles south-east of Doncaster, was created at a former farm and riding school in 2009. Over the years it has grown and it is now the outdoor home of 400 animals of 70 different species, including polar bears, lions, tigers and leopards and a whole range of other animals native to Africa, South America and other parts of the world. A few of the species can be visited within their enclosures. A recent addition has been the addition of animatronic versions of long-extinct dinosaur species. Just outside the park gates, The Hive offers craft and gift shops, dining and a hotel.
Further details at the  Yorkshire Wildlife Park website.
Find on map:  Yorkshire Wildlife Park


The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft

Belton Road, Sandtoft, North Lincolnshire
Although just outside the Yorkshire border at the former RAF Sandtoft airfield in North Lincolnshire, the museum is only a 12-mile drive from Doncaster. It lays claim to having the world's largest collection of preserved trolleybuses and includes many examples of trolleybuses used in Yorkshire, including those from the fleets of Bradford, Huddersfield, Rotherham, and Doncaster, which have been beautifully restored by volunteers. The museum, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019, has a calendar of themed open days on weekends and bank holidays between April and November. The museum also organises trolleybus driver experience days. Details are on the museum's website.
More information at  The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft website.



Emergency services

South Yorkshire Police  South Yorkshire Police website.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue  South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust  Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.


Local government


Civil parish council

Bawtry Town Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:  Bawtry Town Council


Metropolitan district council

Doncaster Council

Doncaster is one of four metropolitan district authorities within the county of South Yorkshire.

It covers Doncaster and many other towns and villages within a radius of between 7 to 10 miles from centrally-placed Doncaster.

Unusually within Yorkshire, the district council is run by an executive-powered elected mayor, who is supported by a cabinet. The mayor chooses the cabinet from elected councillors.

The elected mayor system means that Doncaster Council has two elections to organise, one for the elected mayor and one for councillors. The mayor and all councillors are selected in elections every four years, the most recent election being in 2021.

The election of 55 councillors is done across 21 wards with two or three councillors elected in each ward. Eight councillors currently serve under the chairmanship of the mayor on the cabinet.

Doncaster is the responsibility of an elected mayor:

Elected mayor: Ros Jones

Political composition of the councillors after the May 2021 election:

40114
55 members
Link to  Doncaster council website.


County strategic authority

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Covers combined services including public transport, housing, infrastructure and regeneration and adult education in South Yorkshire, including the metropolitan districts of  Barnsley,  Doncaster,  Rotherham and  Sheffield. The authority has been mayor-led since 2018. The South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner is added to the list of mayoral responsibilities after the May 2024 election.

Elected mayor: Oliver Coppard Labour & Cooperative
 South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority website.


Police and Crime Commissioner

This role becomes the responsibility of the elected South Yorkshire mayor after the May 2024 election.
 South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner website.


Fire Authority

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
The fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the four metropolitan district councils of South Yorkshire - Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
 South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority web pages.


Parliamentary constituency

Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme
Elected MP: Lee Pitcher Labour

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

South Yorkshire

Historic

-1984 In the West Riding of Yorkshire.



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