During much of the late 19th and 20th centuries the village was noted for its steelmaking, with the Thomas Staniforth & Co Sickle works being based at Main Street.

In 1653, John and Alice Newbould, wealthy landowners from Woodhouse built the Hackenthorpe Hall on Main Street, a sign of increasing wealth in the hamlet.

In 1820 steam power began to be used by the local scythe makers and by 1840 the Sheffield Coal Company had several mines throughout the area.

At this time the Beighton railway station was in use by people entering and exiting the area on the Midland line from Rotherham to Derby.

With coal mining playing a large role on the village, the colliery owners began building terraced housing for local workers.

By this stage the coal mining industry had ceased, with the closure of the Birley Collieries the area saw a drastic change.

As is the case with a number of towns and settlements in the British Isles, Hackenthorpe gets its name from the Old Norse, meaning 'Hachen's outlying farmstead'.

For many years the village was simply split between the parishes of Beighton and Birley, however during the 14th century the modern spelling of Hackenthorpe emerged when local dialects began to have an influence on placenames.