Balby is a suburb of
DoncasterDoncaster is a large town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is located about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
located to the south-west of the borough in the north of
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is home to the former secondary school, now sports college
Balby CarrBalby Carr Community Sports College , known to many simply as Balby Carr, is an 11–18 secondary school located in the Balby area of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.-History:...
. The area of Balby stretches south of the town centre from the Balby Bridge area to Loversall, a small village bordering the new Woodfield Plantation residential development (which is still Balby despite what the residents may like to think) which is still expanding eastwards towards the Lakeside Village retail park.
Balby is a suburb of
DoncasterDoncaster is a large town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is located about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
located to the south-west of the borough in the north of
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is home to the former secondary school, now sports college
Balby CarrBalby Carr Community Sports College , known to many simply as Balby Carr, is an 11–18 secondary school located in the Balby area of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.-History:...
. The area of Balby stretches south of the town centre from the Balby Bridge area to Loversall, a small village bordering the new Woodfield Plantation residential development (which is still Balby despite what the residents may like to think) which is still expanding eastwards towards the Lakeside Village retail park. The area has a mixture of housing that has developed in accordance with growth patterns of other similar sized towns, with Victorian terraced housing nearer to the town centre and post-war built suburbs. The range of housing stock available means that there is a wide disarity in the socio-economic profile of the area with pockets of relative affluence of the newer suburbs seemingly juxtaposed with poorer areas, often social housing. Much of this social housing consisted of
council houseThe council house is a form of public or social housing, primarily referred to in the United Kingdom. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well built homes on secure tenancies at below market rents to primarily working class people. Council house development...
s, some of which has been subsequently sold off to become owner occupied under the Conservative Government's "Right to Buy" policy of the 1980s.
The socio-economic profile of the area is said to be one of "developing working class" which is characterised by two-thirds of people being owner occupier of a two/three bedroom house with children who have left the family home or are still at school. Car ownership is relatively high and nearly 1 in 5 residents is aged between 20 to 35 years old. This may explain why crime was well above the national average, apart from robbery which was slightly less in comparison. Council tax for nearly all bands was above the national average. In this regard it can be compared to urban areas such as Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and neighbouring Rotherham.
History
The history of Balby dates back over 400 years with the first known record being in the
Domesday BookThe Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...
with recorded names '
Ballesbi ' and '
Ballebi Balby is most probably named after someone of
NorseNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language. The meaning of Norseman was "people from the North"...
origin, who settled there during the
VikingA Viking is one of the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far...
period of the late 700s to 1000s, who was called Bal. The name
Ballesbi is derived from the Norse Bal (being the person)
By meaning village and
S denoting that the village belonged to him.
Balby is home to many of the early followers of the Quaker religion in
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and has long been associated, along with other areas of
DoncasterDoncaster is a large town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is located about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, as historically having a large Quaker community. One of which is the infamous Paul Armitage.
More recently, the suburbial town has been a centre for
steelSteel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and brass manufacture, especially at the well known Pegler's Brass Foundry and Bridon Ropery. In the early ,
St Catherine's HospitalSt Catherine's Hospital is a mental healthcare hospital located in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, approximately 3 miles from its centre.There are 23 beds for inpatients in the hospital ward with Specialist Education and Day Centres...
was built in the south of Balby, near to the site of St. Catherines Well an ancient site of healing and pilgrimage, and is now a hospital estate.
Future Improvements
Balby is currently in the process of several redevelopment initiatives such as the construction of a new
retail parkIn the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...
and the expansion of its residential area in the form of the 'Woodfield Plantation', the latter also prospectively creating a major link road from the east side of Balby to the Doncaster Lakeside and stadium areas although the final link is yet to be completed. A new public house called the Maple Tree has now opened on the site to the west of the new
TescoTesco plc is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding £3 billion. It is currently the third largest global retailer based on revenue, behind Wal-Mart and...
.
Popular culture
The external scenes for the BBC comedy
Open All HoursOpen All Hours was a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke which ran for four series between 1976 and 1985, with a pilot episode from the Seven of One series in 1973. In 2004, the series was voted eighth in Britain's Best Sitcom....
were set and filmed on Lister Avenue, Balby. The shop which served as Arkwright's grocery store was, and still is, a hairdresser which was converted for the duration of filming.