Owston is a small village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster

Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster

The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire in Yorkshire and the Humber Region of England.In addition to the town of Doncaster, the borough covers Mexborough, Conisbrough, Thorne and Finningley....

 in rural South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The village is situated amongst mixed farmland and woodland 6 miles (9.7 km) north north west of Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

, just west of the A19

A19 road

The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road, although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster but the old route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland...

. It has a population of 170.

The name 'Owston' is of Old Scandinavian and Old English origin. It means 'East farmstead', being composed of the Old Scandinavian word austr ('east') and the Old English word tun ('farmstead'). In the Domesday Book, the village was recorded as Austhun.

Close to the village is a site of special scientific interest called Owston Hay Meadows which is the second best example of neutral grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

 hay meadow

Hay

Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...

in South Yorkshire. The site consists of three small fields which together cover 5.5 hectares (13.5 acres) and were notified in 1979.