The fabric of the buildings in Askern town centre mostly relates to the establishment of Askern Main Colliery, to the immediate west, in 1911. The buildings are a mixture of public houses and terraces. The Swan Hotel is the oldest establishment dating to the time of the spa town, which flourished briefly in the later 19th century - before the pit was sunk. This polygon shows the likely extent of medieval settlement with possible market place at the crossroads in the centre of the village. The 19th century OS maps show possible burgage plots along the west side of the main street, which were truncated by the colliery and are now largely illegible.