Laughton-en-le-Morthen History
Saxon Times
There was a Great Hall and an earth and timber motte and bailey fort on the top of castle hill next to the church in Saxon times. This dated from about 600 and belonged to Edwin King of Northumbria. Edwin's wife, a princess of Kent brought Christianity to the area. It is little more than a ditch and bank and you can easily miss it - I did. It goes by the grandiose name of Laughton Castle. Laughton is mentioned again in the will of Wolfric dated about 870. The original church was built next to the castle in Saxon times. As for the rest of the village; that would have been huts of mud or wood.
The Middle Ages
In the Domesday Book of 1086 Laughton was a soke in the Honour of Tickhill which had been given to Roger de Busli by William the Conqueror about 1066. It was reported to have 33 villeins, 6 smallholders and 15 plough teams, along with its church, castle and hall. There was a priest and a church, four acres of meadow and pasture woods of seven acres. The number of plough teams indicate there was a considerable area in the parish under arable cultivation. (At the time Rotherham had 8 villeins and 3 borderes having two ploughs and a half and one mill of ten shillings - a much smaller and less important place than Laughton - look at it now). This indicates that Laughton was an very important place more than a thousand years ago.
In the reign of Henry 1 (1100 - 1135) the de Busli Honour of Tickhill reverted to the King, who gave the church the canons of York.
The manor of Laughton remained in the hands of the Crown until the 13th Century when Prince Edward, son of Henry III, gave the manor to Geoffrey de Lusignan. In the reign of Edward II Drogo de Merlawe was lord of the manor. Some reports have it that the village and the church was laid waste in 1322 during the Barons' War against King Edward II; others indicate that the village was only damaged. Because of damage or decay, or a bit of both, the church was rebuilt about 1377. By 1332 the lordship of the manor had passed to the Frenchman Ralph, Earl of Eu. At the outbreak of the Hundred Years War, the estates of the Earls of Eu were seized and Laughton reverted to the the Crown once more. It was then granted to the King's son, John of Gaunt. When John of Gaunt's son ascended the throne as Henry IV, Laughton passed into the hands of the Crown yet again. I don't imagine any of these grandees every lived at Laughton-en-le-Morthen and it seems unlikely they ever even visited. The running of the estates would have been in the hands of a reeve or steward.
The Poll Tax return of 1379 for Laughton lists 232 people assessed for the tax. There was no resident lord in the manor, the most prosperous inhabitant being John de Kirke who was described as a 'Marchant Sufficant' (literally a supply merchant). He was a very wealthy man assessed at the sum of 13s 4d. A draper and a cattle merchant were assessed at 1s while 13 tradesmen paid 6d. This would indicate a probable population of about 450 persons so although the place had suffered fifty years before it was well along the road to recovery.
Tudor & Stuart Times
The manor of Laughton was in the hands of the Crown in 1577 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. By the 17th Century it had passed to the Eyre family, who were also lords of Kiveton. The Eyres occasionally resided at Laughton and Sir Gervas Eyre was killed fighting for the King at the siege of Newark in 1644. The main rivals of the Eyres in Laughton were the Hatfeilds who arrived in Laughton when Ralph Hatfeild of Shire Green married the daughter of Robert Mirfield of Thurcroft in the late 16th century. The Hatfeilds were supporters of Parliament during the Civil War.
The Hearth Tax return of 1672 shows that there were 105 houses, of which 94 paid the tax, of these over half had only 1 hearth in the parish of Laughton. Schoolmaster John Broomhead occupied a house with 5 hearths while Nicholas Pearson's house boasted 14, William Hatfeild had 13 and William Beckwith at Thurcroft Hall had 11. The Hearth Tax was a shilling a hearth collected twice a year at Michaelmas and Lady Day. The Reverend Robert Browne reported in the 1743 Visitation Returns that there were 107 families in the parish.
The 18th Century
In 18th Century the manor of Laughton was sold to Anthony St Leger of Park Hill, Firbeck which was the end of the association of the Eyre family with the village. The Hatfeilds lasted at Laughton until 1791 when John Hatfield died unmarried.
As the years ad passed much of the common land in and around the village of Laughton had been enclosed. An act of parliament for the enclosure of the remaining open fields and commons in Laughton was passed in 1769 with the process being completed in 1771. The bulk of the 1,172 acres of newly enclosed land (580 acres) was allotted to Anthony St Leger as lord of the manor, followed by Dr Hugh Thomas, prebend of Laughton (189 acres) and John Hatfeild (173 acres). The enclosure award also abolished the payment of tithes in kind on the newly enclosed lands, replacing them with rents.
The 19th & 20th Centuries
Laughton was described in 1822 as a parish-town and the population was 652. Moderate 19th Century and massive modern developments have largely passed Laughton-en-le-Morthen by. Housing for the miners at nearby collieries was developed at Laughton Common.