The village and parish of Fishlake is situated on the North side of the River Don about 9 miles east of Doncaster, and separated from Thorne and Stainforth by the river and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. It lies in the south division of the Wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, the rural deanery of Doncaster and the archdeaconry of York. It is almost an island, being surrounded by river and canals, and can only be entered by crossing a bridge.

Originally part of the parish of Hatfield, it soon became a separate parish and included the townships of Fishlake and Sykehouse, until the latter became a parish in its own right in 1860. The township of Fishlake included the districts and farms of Clowns, Foster Houses, Hay-Green, Smalledge, Thorninghirst and Westfield.

Recorded as FISCELAC in Domesday in 1086 A.D., the name was derived from the Old English meaning a fish stream rather than a lake. The name relates to a time when the river spread itself into a broad expanse of mere which provided excellent fishing for the local people. The whole area was subject to regular flooding.

In the Middle Ages Fishlake was a sizeable port on the River Don, with a population of about 1600. A ditch in St. Cuthbert's Landing, known as Cuthbert's Haven in Saxon times, was part of the bed of the medieval dock. Today's Trundle Lane was once known as the Long Causeway which ran between rows of eel ponds from which the monks of Dunscroft Abbey used to collect supplies of eels.

A great flood bank provides the highest land for miles around, the first being erected in the early 17th century by Cornelius Vermuyden as part of the great drainage of Hatfield Chase. Built to keep out water, at Fishlake the reverse was true; whenever the river flooded the land, it remained and was reluctant to leave again. Older residents of the village today can still recall times when only the tops of hedges could be seen above the water. This situation persisted until a second higher bank was built by prisoners of war in the late 1940s, some three hundred years after Vermuyden.

The oldest building in the village is undoubtedly the church, which is dedicated to St. Cuthbert. The second William de Warrenne granted it to the Priory at Lewes in about 1200 A.D., at which time it was still part of Hatfield parish. Legend has it that when the Danes invaded the north east coast of Britain the monks of Lindisfarne carried the body of St. Cuthbert away to safety. Wherever the body rested on its journey a cross was erected, or sometimes a church. Fishlake was the furthest south of all the places visited during seven years of wandering to avoid the Danes, until it reached its final resting place in Durham Cathedral. One of the main features of the tower of Fishlake church is a fine medieval statue of St. Cuthbert holding the head of St. Oswald, former king of Northumbria. Another legend which appears to have some substance is that the head of St. Oswald was placed in St. Cuthbert's coffin for safe keeping, for when the coffin was opened a few years ago two skulls were found in it.

Built in stone by the Normans, the church was added to throughout the Middle Ages. 13th century nave arcades have pointed arches on round pillars, and there is a pointed chancel arch with rich mouldings. The chancel has 14th century windows and one of Norman origin, and a font with eight canopied figures has a Jacobean cover carved with a dove. There is an ancient chest and part of a pew said to have been made in the year Shakespeare died (1616). There are 15th century screens and the tower at the west end is of that date. There are six bells and a curious notice in the belfry forbids anyone to ring the bells "in hat or spurs."

Monuments inside the church include the tomb of Robert Marshall, a vicar who died in 1505 A.D. Although its brasses have gone, it is richly embellished with elaborate carvings. An inscription elsewhere commemorates Thomas Simpson of 1740 A.D. and there are 17 other gravestones. The church has two old porches, and the South porch, which has a modern front shelters what is generally regarded as the glory of the whole church, a Norman doorway of great splendour. It is considered to be one of the finest examples of Norman stonework in the country. In its intricate carving can be seen dragons fighting, knights tilting, a monk rowing, a griffin, an angel and a demon. The inner side of the arch includes 35 grotesque heads and 2 figures, a hunting scene, men carrying a coffin and a canopied figure holding a staff. Inside this archway, the door itself looks old enough to be Norman, and is believed to have been brought from nearby Roche Abbey.

Apart from the church, there are two old windmills and the two medieval crosses in the village. There may have been a market for the surrounding villages in early times. There was a ferry, which transported horses and carts across the river to Thorne, and the ancient landing known as Cuthbert's Haven was used by river traffic travelling between Sheffield and Thorne. It is believed that tunnels existed running from the Old Hall to the church and to a house on the old riverbank, used for smuggling.

Fishlake's first school was founded by the will of Richard Rands, the rector of Hartfield in Sussex, dated 1641 A.D. Land was purchased to provide an annuity for a headmaster who had to be an Oxbridge graduate with a degree in Latin, conditions which persisted until the early 1900s. Rents from church land provide a charity for orphans, which is still available today. A bequest in 1685 by Thomas Alleyn provided poor relief and apprenticed poor children of the parish to trades in London.

Apart from St. Cuthbert's, there were chapels in Fishlake for the Wesleyans, New Connexion Methodists and Primitive Methodists, all built in the mid 19th century.

Fishlake has lost many of its old trades and, apart from farming, has little to offer in the way of employment; most villagers have to commute to work in Doncaster or Thorne. It does, however, remain essentially a rural village community and has kept its identity.

Margaret Frost
February 2002

PARISH RECORDS

Parish registers for Fishlake St. Cuthbert start from 1561 A.D. and included the township of Sykehouse until 1860. The original registers are held by Doncaster Archives.

Filmed copies of the registers for the following years are available for consultation at the Doncaster & District Family History Society research room:

• Baptisms 1813 - 1954
• Marriages 1754 - 1959
• Burials 1813 - 1974

Apart from these registers, Doncaster Archives also holds many other records relating to the parish. These include Overseers of the Poor accounts, settlement and removal papers, and constables and 'churchwardens' accounts, all worth looking into if you have ancestors in Fishlake.

MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS

The churchyard at Fishlake still contain many tombstones, and these, with the memorial inscriptions from inside the church were transcribed in May 1981 and are available on fiche

Set 2 - from Doncaster and District FHS.

This burial index has been arranged to include all information from the parish registers.

Where the information does not fit into the main index 'extra info' has been entered in the last column and the full transcription for that entry has been entered in date order at the end of the index.