The name Langsett derives from the Old Englishlangsīde meaning "long hill slope".[3]
In the early medieval period, Langsett was known as Penisale. It held a royal charter entitling it to hold a weekly market on Tuesdays and an annual three-day fair, but these were held somewhere in the country rather than in the village itself. The market charter was later used to start a market in Penistone.[4]
A tradition associates the location of Penisale market with a cross near the junction of Cross Lane and Hartcliffe Road. This theory is rejected by Neville T. Sharpe, who holds that this was a wayside cross used as a guide by travellers.[5]
