Ravenfield (or Ranfield, as it was known until
the 19th Century) has been analysed as “Raven’s
Open Land v Feld”. Ravenfield is mentioned in Doomsday
(1086) as being one of 28 widely scattered townships, most
of which lay south of the River Don.
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Ravenfield is an attractive village
which is situated between the A630 at Hooton Roberts and the
A631 at Bramley in a tract of what is, for the most part,
agricultural land.
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The old village is very pretty and nestles
in a hollow below the church of St James, close to the site
of Ravenfield Hall and adjacent to Ravenfield Park. The
estate was broken up in 1920, the park with adjoining land,
sold as a farm, several tenants then became owner occupiers
and new families moved in.
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Only 35 new dwellings have been built in the
old village since the 1960’s. Many of the old buildings
have disappeared, including the hall, some without trace.
Many hedgerows, field gates and gate stoops, ponds, ditches
and wells have been filled in, including what used to be the
villages public well at the bottom of Church Lane. Most of
the barns have been converted into dwellings, whilst attempting
to preserve their identity in design.
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