What is "elsecar"

Elsecar is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Like many villages in the area, it was for many years a colliery village until the widespread pit closures during the 1980s. Elsecar is near the town of Hoyland and the villages of Jump and Wentworth. Elsecar is south of Hoyland, south of Barnsley and north-east of Sheffield. The village falls within the Barnsley MBC Ward of Hoyland Milton.

Elsecar is unique as a name: the origins are not entirely clear. Else or Elsi was the name of a local Saxon lord who owned land in the area. It is also the Saxon name for a marsh that may have existed in the bottom valley.