Hackenthorpe is a village 5 miles south east of Sheffield’s city centre, now classed as a historic township of the city. Due to much expansion, the village became a part of Sheffield city during the 1950s. During much of the late 19th and 20th centuries the village was noted for its steelmaking, with the Thomas Staniforth & Co Sickle works being based at Main Street. Another prominent feature of the village is the 17th century Hackenthorpe Hall, built by John Newbould for the Hounsfield family, with James Hounsfield being a prominent land owner. The building is today used as a nursery. The Hackenthorpe Infant School provided education to the local children in the village during the 20th century, this was demolished in 1999 and today local children attend the Rainbow Forge school. Today the village has seen much development in terms of housing, however the former sickle works, estates and post office still remain in the village and are a reminder of its industrial past. Hackenthope was once a part of Derbyshire in the parish of Beighton but is now part of South Yorkshire. Early history The first mention of the village comes from 9th century Anglo Saxon records of Derbyshire land owners. The village was then known as Eckingthorp, meaning 'The hamlet of Eck's people'. The then hamlet stood on the edges of the 'Great Forest' which stood in the area where the Rother Valley Country Park stands today and extended to areas of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, West Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Today the only remnants of the 'Great Forest' is Sherwood Forest. Eckingthorp was settled by the British invaders known as the Angles. The invasions took place at the end of the Romanic period around 500AD. Prior to these invasions the area was part of the Kingdom of Mercia, the local Shire Brook formed the border with the neighbouring kingdom of Northumbria. Being so close to the border meant the hamlet was prone to invasions. The Sheffield Museum contains a number of bones and flint tools unearthed in the area during the 19th century, dating back to the Neolithic period, this shows the area was inhabited long before the Angles settled. In later centuries the hamlet consisted of farmlands, with the serfs spending time cultivating plots while also spending time working on the local lordships domains. As well as farming the area was found to be rich in coal and