Allotment gardens first marked on 1906 maps. Established within the strips of an area of enclosed open field. By 1649 these fields had been enclosed as Barnsley is recorded as having four townfields called Churchfield, Old Mill Field and Swinhill field (Elliot 2002, 37). These are marked on historic maps north east of the town. This area of strip fields is known as Shaw Lands. The name suggests the land was near a small copse (Field 1972, 199). There is significant legibility of the former strips.