The discovery of a 3rd-century coin may point to Roman activity in the area. A field of Harper Farm has the name 'Castle Hill', leading to a local tradition (which appears to have originated with an estate manager of Farnley Hall) that it was the site of a Roman marching camp. The field name first appears in early modern estate maps. There are also Saxon field names in the village and remains of medieval ridge and furrow. Other evidence of medieval activity may be the place-name Snittels Farm, a possible corruption of "spital", indicating the location of a medieval (leper?) hospital. However, there is no archaeological or documentary evidence to support this.