Houses built by 1893 maps on part of the medieval open field system. The open field system around Shafton was still mostly intact in the 1597 when a map of the village was commissioned (Harrison & Watson 2006 [accessed 22/11/07]). There were five fields around the village called Lydgate, Eshbarrow, Townend, Nether and Heade Field. These were enclosed in a piecemeal fashion. There is partial legibility of the former field pattern in the surviving roads. The Barnsley and Pontefract Trust turnpike ran south of the polygon.