FISHLAKE HERITAGE TRAIL
Fishlake HeritageTrail
| The Fishlake Heritage Trail was researched by various local individuals and created in the year 2000 by Fishlake Parish Council with support from The Countryside Commission and promoted by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council This updated interpretation of the trail was created by The Vale of Snaith, Walkers Are Welcome Team in the year 2020 |  Trail Interpretation Board |
| The Trail winds its way through a landscape of low-lying meadows and damp pastures, criss-crossed by green lanes and drainage ditches, in which plants typical of marshy sites, abound. There is a network of hedgerows, some of which are hundreds of years old. | |
| Flat easy walking. Seven stiles. We recommend the wearing of walking boots. | |
| 5.4 miles- Circular | |
| Allow 3 Hours | |
| Start at The Landing Main Street Fishlake DN7 5JH SE6548513124 |
What you will see on the Trail
 A - THE LANDING Fishlake was on an important river route and the village became an inland port. The Quayside was here on The Landing. Goods such as tanned leather, wool and cloth were exported and stone, pottery and metal were imported. | ||||
 B - HALL FARM The large brick farmhouse opposite The Landing was previously known as The Old Hall. Although re-built in the mid 18th century, a re-used plaque above the door states an earlier date of 1610. It was then called Fishlake Hall and was the residence of the local Squire. C - STONE CROSS  | ||||
| This is one of two limestone crosses in Fishlake. They date from the late medieval period. It is thought they indicated the site of a market place, selling local dairy produce (Butter,Cheese,Eggs) D - FORMER POST OFFICE & SHOP  . | ||||
| Until 2008, this was the Post Office and Village Shop. It was originally a warehouse on the quayside for the storage of goods that had been imported or goods that were waiting to be exported. E - CUSTOMS HOUSE | ||||
 Next to former warehouses, this was the Customs House. F - THE CHURCH OF ST CUTHBERT | ||||
 St. Cuthbert's Church reflects the former prosperity of Fishlake Village. Built originally by the Normans in the 12th Century and modified in the medieval period. The tower was constructed in the reign of King Edward IV (1461-83). F - THE CHURCH OF ST CUTHBERT | ||||
| |  The southwest doorway, which dates back to 1170 is the pride of the church and is said to be the most lavishly decorated doorway in Yorkshire and to be renowned throughout Europe. G - THE PINFOLD  | |||
| The Pinfold was used as a pound for confining stray animals. It was managed by an annually appointed keeper, called a Pinder, who was responsible for feeding and watering the animals, until they were reclaimed by their owners, on payment of a fee. The position of Pinder was maintained until 1929. H - FISHLAKE ENDOWED SCHOOL  | ||||
| The Fishlake endowed school was one of the oldest education establishments in the area. It was the only endowed school in South Yorkshire. It was founded by Rev Richard Rans of Sussex in 1641. The endownment of £300 was used to purchase 35 acres of farmland, the income from which was used to pay the schoolmaster's salary. The school closed in 1994 after over 350 years service to the community, and has been converted into a residence. J - GREEN LANES  | ||||
| Until the 1930's a committee managed the 50 miles of ancient green lanes in the parish of Fishlake. Every year the grazing rights or "eatage" was auctioned off to local farmers. The income paid for the maintenance and drainage work as well as a salary for The Pinder. K - QUAKER BURIAL GROUND  | ||||
| Fosterhouses, once an outlying settlement, had, by the 17th century, become a settlement of non-conformists, in particular the Quakers. Although no purpose-built meeting house was ever established, the Fishlake Quakers buried their dead in a cemetery alongside what is now called " Burial Place Lane". It was still used in the 19th century, but the site was cleared of its memorial stones and ploughed up after the Second World War. L - WINDMILL  | ||||
| There used to be three corn-grinding wind powered mills in Fishlake. This is one of the two surviving mills and was the oldest of the three. It was built sometime before 1771. It has been converted as part of a business providing accommodation, a restaurant and a wedding venue. M - PRIMITIVE CHAPEL  | ||||
| As well as St. Cuthbert's Church, there were other religious establishments in Fishlake. This primitive Methodist chapel was erected in 1890. N - STONE CROSS | ||||
 This is the second limestone cross in the village P - LAND DRAINAGE | ||||
 Land Drainage has been a problem in Fishlake since the earliest times, due to the clay soil and low-lying nature of the countryside. Efforts were made in the 17th century to solve the problem but the situation was made worse. It was after the Second World War that effective drainage was introduced, culminating in the addition of pumping stations in 1987. For many years, these actions, kept Fishlake flood free but the village was devastated by extensive flooding in November 2019. R - WINDMILL  | ||||
| This is the other surviving windmill. It was the youngest of the original three, first mapped in 1902. It has been converted as part of a business providing temporary accommodation for rabbits and other small animals. S - REED BEDS  | ||||
| As a conservation project the reed beds along the old course of The River Don, close to the former quayside have been re- generated. |
If you would like to learn more about the history of FISHLAKE, Please Click HERE
MAP 1 - A Map of the whole trail.
1. Start by facing the Interpretation Board on The Landing. POINT A
2. If you turn around, you can see Hall Farm (The Old Hall) POINT B
3. Turn right and walk a short distance. You will see the stone cross on the left POINT C
4. You will see the former Post Office POINT D and the Customs House POINT E on the right.
5. Walk straight forward on Church Street and enter the church yard. This is St Cuthbert's Church POINT F
6. Follow the path through the churchyard and leave the churchyard through an iron gate.
7. Follow the path over a farm track and then over a bridge.
8. When you reach Pinfold Lane, turn left and walk on the left-hand pavement until you are opposite the last house on the right. Cross the road and on the right-hand side of that house,you will see The Pinfold POINT G
9. After viewing The Pinfold, walk on the pavement, with the road on your right, until you reach a public tarmac footpath on the left.
10. Turn left onto the public footpath.
11. As you emerge onto Pinfold Lane, turn left and immediately on your left is the converted School, with a plaque on the boundary wall POINT H If you look across the road, you will see a row of old farm cottages.
12. Walk straight along the left-hand pavement of Pinfold Lane, following the road around the bend and passing the Cricket Club. Ignore a footpath going off to the right.
13. As the road begins to turn sharply to the left, walk straight ahead towards the fishing pond, keeping to the left-hand side of the path.
14. Follow the footpath in a clockwise direction around the fishing pond and near a telegraph pole, you will find a stile that may be hidden in the bushes. NB The path around the left side of the pond is a permissive path.
15. Go over the stile heading for a large tree.
16. Near the tree, turn right over a stile and follow the path at the right-hand edge of the field.
17. Near the field corner, look for a stile that may be hidden in the bushes.
18. Go over the stile and turn left on Hayes Lane.
19. When you reach the crossroads, turn left onto Sorrell Lane.
20. Keep on this road until you reach a signposted By way on the right.
21. Turn right along the By Way. Walk past the house and round the left hand bend. Here you have a great example of the Green Lanes of Fishlake POINT J.
22. At the end of the green lane, turn left onto the tarmac road.
23. As the road bends to the left, Go straight on down another green lane(public footpath). When the green lane reaches a farm track, look over to the right hand-side. This field was the site of the Quaker Burial Ground POINT K.
24. Cross over the farm track and continue walking on the green lane, passing a green water tank. You will eventually pass some farm buildings.
25. When you reach Pinfold Lane, turn right.
26. Turn right down Mill Field Road
27. Turn left down East Field Road. As you walk down the road, on your right you will see a converted windmill POINT L
28. Continue walking down East Field Road until it starts to bend to the left.
29. You are going to turn right onto Trundle lane, but before you do, look straight forward and you have a good view of the former Primitive Methodist Church. POINT M
30. Turn right onto Trundle Lane and walk along until you see a stone cross POINT N.
31. Turn left here, following the lower level of Far Bank Lane, which runs parallel with the row of houses.
32. Keep straight on Far Bank Lane, eventually passing some farm buildings and going over a stile onto a flood bank.
33. As you walk on the flood bank, you can see examples of work carried out to manage flood risk POINT P.
34. You will reach a stile. Go over the stile, turn right and then left through a pedestrian gate onto Woodhouse Green Road.
35. Turn left and walk down the road to the T junction.
36. Turn left onto the main road and then immediately cross the road to a stile.
37, Go over the stile and turn left onto the flood bank of the River Don.
38. Keep a look out for a footpath going off to the left, towards a stile and bridge.
39. Turn left onto the footpath, over the stile and bridge.
40.After crossing the bridge, look to the left and you will see another converted windmill
POINT R
41. Follow the footpath as it goes behind the houses.
42. On your right, you can see where the River Don used to flow and where reed-beds have been re-generated. POINT S.
43. Follow the footpath back to The Landing.
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