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Darfield is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The village is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) east from Barnsley town centre. Darfield had a population of 8,066 at the 2001 UK Census,increasing to 10,685 at the 2011 Census.
Roman coins have been unearthed in Darfield, and there is evidence to suggest that the village contained Roman habitation during its history.
In Saxon, the name "Feld" describes 'a large area of pasture land' , while the term "Dere" refers to the deer which inhabited the forest. When combined, this gives the name Derefeld which later became Darfield.
There are records of an 8th-century church in Darfield, but when the Domesday Book was written in 1086 there was no mention of it.
Darfield remained an insignificant agricultural village for many centuries to come, until 1862. In that year, two mining companies sank shafts in the Barnsley district to exploit the rich seam of coal running through the area. Darfield Main colliery and Mitchell's Main were local mines, the population of the village quickly increased and it became a labour pool for the surrounding coal mines. By 1901, over 4,000 people lived there compared to just 600 inhabitants in 1851.
Until June 1963, Darfield had a railway station on the Sheffield - Cudworth - Leeds line. The line itself closed in 1988 due to severe mining subsidence.
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