© Richard Croft. Creative Commons License: www.geograph.org.uk/reuse.php?id=146718

This zone is widely distributed across Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. There are similar settlements within the Sheffield district that have been considered as part of the surrounding countryside or within other urban zones. These settlements often date back to the medieval period and contain many early buildings dating to at least the 18th century. Road and property boundary patterns have altered little since their first recording in the 19th century and in many cases these date back to at least the medieval period.  Some settlements retain a rural setting whilst others have been surrounded by later housing.