Bentley, Doncaster
INTRODUCTION Today we visited certain sites in northern England, starting Bishop Auckland and finishing Matlock. This was an eighty mile north-south trip in a general region to the east of Manchester. The particular focus for today was Bentley, a suburb of the city of Doncaster, on which more below. However, first I am going to indulge in my keen interest in the development of the English people and language. In looking at today's itinerary I noticed that the south to north line comprising Doncaster-Bentley-Wetherby reflects the sequence of people movements in the first millennium which in turn led to the development of the English language. Doncaster: This translates as 'Roman fort on the River Don'. 'Don' is an ancient, Celtic (probably Brittonic-Welsh) word meaning 'water' going back into the mists of time.'Caster' means Roman fort. This was built on the banks of the River Don about AD 70. This housed about 500 soldiers and lasted until the Romans...