Scofton is a hamlet in the Bassetlaw district of northern Nottinghamshire, England. It is north west of London, north of the county town and city of Nottingham, and east of the nearest town Worksop. Having a shared modern history with nearby Osberton Hall, it is sometimes referred to as Scofton-with-Osberton. Other close neighbours are Bilby and Rayton which also have historical associations.
Toponymy
Scofton was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Scotebi, of Norse origin, possibly meaning 'Skopti 's farm'. The Old English form is Skofton, as recorded in county assize records of 1280, eventually becoming its modern form from 1316 onwards.
Osberton was also listed in Domesday, and is believed to mean 'the farmstead of Osbeorn'.
Bilby was Bilebi in Domesday and was a named for a person, Bil.
Rayton was at the time of Domesday, Rolvetune and Rouuetone, which may have meant 'reeve farm', or was possibly a derivative of the nearby river.
Geography
Scofton is surrounded by the following local areas:
Bilby and Blyth to the north
Osberton to the south
Ranby to the east
Rayton and Worksop to the west. This area lies in the south west within Bassetlaw district and north west in Nottinghamshire county. The core of the hamlet is accessed from the B6079 Worksop-Ranby road. Surrounding the settlement is predominantly a farming area, interspersed by farms, occasional residential dwellings and some small forested areas. Scofton stands on the north bank of the River Ryton, with the Chesterfield Canal also nearby. The lands of Osberton lie to the south. The wider area is low-lying, at a land elevation of , with a peak by northern Rayton of .
Governance
The area, except Bilby is not parished, being previously in the Municipal Borough of Worksop until 1974.
Bassetlaw District Council manage the lowest levels of public duties in the settlements.
Nottinghamshire County Council provides the highest level strategic services locally.
History
Scofton
By the time of Domesday in 1086, Scofton was in the ownership of William the Conqueror, and Osberton was held by Swein / Wulfgeat of Madeley.
Scofton then was part of the wider manor of Mansfield also held by the King.
By the late-16th century, the Jessop family (from Broomhall, Sheffield) were owners of Scofton Hall which was a manor house. Scofton then passed to the Banks family (also of Sheffield) in the late-17th /early-18th century – Joseph Banks, MP at one stage for Grimsby, was recorded as residing at Scofton in 1702. Scofton was sold to Brigadier General Richard Sutton in 1727. The last member of this family residing at the hall was Robert Sutton who was responsible for having the walled kitchen garden built in the late 18th century. The estate was sold around the start of the 19th century to Francis.F. Foljambe, who by this time held nearby Osberton Hall through marriage. Soon after this Scofton Hall was demolished and the landscape cleared to allow a more open view from Osberton Hall.
The church of St John the Evangelist was built in 1833 on top of, or close to the site of the hall, as a private chapel to Osberton Hall.
Osberton
At the time of Domesday survey, this was listed as containing two manors and a church. Robert Fitz Ranulph was a local lord in the 12th century and offered Osberton church to Worksop Priory, with his descendants confirming the gift. The church had been run down by 1227, when an assessment of it was done by Archbishop Gray, ruling it to be deconsecrated into a place to support the local poor. Sir Thomas Chaworth, a 15th-century landowner, granted further land to the priory. The Bolles family, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries took ownership of the area. Several of the family were subsequently born here, with a form of residence in use by this period. One of the more notable descendants was Dame Mary Bolles, who in 1635 was created a Baronetess by King Charles I, a title usually granted to men in the period.