Rotherham is a town in
South YorkshireSouth 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...
,
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, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the
River RotherThe River Rother is a river in the northern midlands of England, after which the town of Rotherham and the Rother Valley parliamentary constituency are named. It rises near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, and flows through the centre of Chesterfield, where it feeds the Chesterfield Canal...
, between
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and
DoncasterDoncaster 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"...
. Rotherham, at 6 miles (10 km) from
Sheffield City CentreSheffield City Centre—often just referred to as town—is a district of the City of Sheffield, and part of the Sheffield Central ward. It includes the area that is within a radius of roughly of Sheffield Cathedral, and is encircled by the Inner Ring Road—a circular route started in the late 1960s...
, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider
Metropolitan Borough of RotherhamThe Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. It is named for its largest town, Rotherham, but also spans the outlying towns of Maltby, Rawmarsh, Swinton, Wath-upon-Dearne, as well as a suburban and rural element composed of hills, escarpments and...
. According to the
2001 CensusA nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
the population of Rotherham is 117,262.
Early history
Although there were
Iron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
and
RomanRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
settlements in the area covered by the town, Rotherham was not founded until the early
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. It established itself as a key
SaxonAnglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
market town, lying on a Roman road near a
fordA ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
ed part of the River Don.
By the late Saxon period, Rotherham was at the centre of a large parish on both sides of the River Don. Following the
Norman ConquestThe Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, an absentee lord, Nigel Fossard, was put in place. His successors the De Vescis rarely visited the town and did not build a castle or contribute to the town's civic life, but maintained a Friday
marketA market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
and a
fairA fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
. In the mid 13th century, John de Vesci and Ralph de Tili gave all their possessions in Rotherham to
Rufford AbbeyRufford Abbey is an estate in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. It was originally a Cistercian abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century it became a country house...
. The monks collected
titheA tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s from the town and gained rights to an additional
marketA market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
day on Monday and to extend the annual fair from two to three days.
The townsmen of Rotherham formed the "Greaves of Our Lady's Light", an organisation which worked with the town's three
guildA guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s. It was suppressed in 1547 but revived in 1584 as the Feoffees of the Common Lands of Rotherham, and remains in existence.
In the 1480s the Rotherham-born
Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
,
Thomas RotherhamThomas Rotherham , also known as Thomas de Rotherham, was an English cleric and statesman. He served as bishop of several dioceses, most notably as Archbishop of York and, on two occasions as Lord Chancellor...
, instigated the building of
The College of Jesus to rival the colleges of
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and
OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. It was the first brick building in what is now South Yorkshire and taught
theologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
,
singingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
,
grammarIn linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
and
writingWriting is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
.
The College and new parish
church of All SaintsAll Saints Church, Rotherham, also known as Rotherham Minster, is in Church Street, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England .-Background:It is a Grade I listed building....
made Rotherham an enviable and modern town at the turn of the 16th century. The college was dissolved in 1547 in the reign of
Edward VIEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, its assets stripped for the crown. Much of the college building remains intact but hidden from view in the town centre. By the end of the 16th century, Rotherham had fallen from a fashionable college town to a notorious haven of gambling and vice. The history of Thomas Rotherham and education in the town are remembered in the name of
Thomas Rotherham CollegeThomas Rotherham College is a college for 16 to 19 year olds, founded in 1967. It is located in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.-Admissions:...
.
Industrial Revolution
The region had been exploited for
ironIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
since Roman times, but it was
coalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
that first brought the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
to Rotherham. Exploitation of the coal seams was the driving force behind the improvements to navigation on the River Don, which eventually formed the
Sheffield and South Yorkshire NavigationThe Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation is a system of navigable inland waterways in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England....
system of navigable inland waterways.
Rotherham iron was very highly regarded for its strength. Iron, and later
steelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, became the principal industry in Rotherham, surviving into the 20th century. The Walker family built an iron and steel empire in the 18th century, their foundries producing high quality
cannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, including some for the ship of the line
HMS VictoryHMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
, and
cast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s, one of which was commissioned by
Thomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
.
Rotherham's cast iron industry expanded rapidly in the early 19th century, the Effingham Ironworks, later Yates, Haywood & Co, opened in 1820. Other major iron-founders included William Corbitt and Co; George Wright and Co of Burton Weir; Owen and Co of Wheathill Foundry; Morgan Macauley and Waide of the Baths Foundry; the Masbro’ Stove Grate Co belonging to Messrs. Perrot, W. H. Micklethwait and John and Richard Corker of the Ferham Works.
The Parkgate Ironworks was established in 1823 by Sanderson and Watson, and changed ownership several times. In 1854, Samuel Beal & Co produced wrought iron plates for
Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
's famous steamship the
SS Great EasternSS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steam ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers around the...
. In 1864, the ironworks was taken over by the Parkgate Iron Co. Ltd, becoming the
Park Gate Iron and Steel CompanyThe Park Gate Iron and Steel Company was situated in Parkgate on a triangular site bounded on two sides by the main Rotherham to Barnsley road and the North Midland Railway's main line between Rotherham and Cudworth Stations.- History :...
in 1888. The company was purchased by Tube Investments Ltd in 1956 and closed in 1974.
Steel, Peech and TozerSteel, Peech and Tozer was a large steel maker with works situated at Ickles and Templeborough, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.- History :...
's massive
TempleboroughTempleborough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The area takes its name from the remains of the Roman fort found there which were mistakenly believed to be that of a Roman Temple.-Roman fort:...
steelworks (now the
Magna Science Adventure CentreMagna Science Adventure Centre is an educational visitor attraction, appealing primarily to children. It is located in a disused steel mill in the Templeborough district of Rotherham, England. The site is formerly home to the Steel, Peech and Tozer steel works...
) was, at its peak, over a mile (1.6 km) long, employing 10,000 workers, and housing six
electric arc furnaceAn electric arc furnace is a furnace that heats charged material by means of an electric arc.Arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one ton capacity up to about 400 ton units used for secondary steelmaking...
s producing 1.8 million tonnes of steel a year. The operation closed down in 1993.
Joseph Foljambe established a factory to produce his Rotherham plough, the first commercially successful iron
ploughThe plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
.
A
glass worksGlassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube...
was set up in Rotherham in 1751, and became Beatson Clark & Co, one of the town's largest manufacturers, exporting glass medicine bottles worldwide. Beatson Clark & Co was a family business until 1961, when it became a
public companyThis is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
. The glass works operated on the same site, although the family connection ceased and the company is owned by Newship Ltd, a holding company linked to the industrialist John Watson Newman. It continues to the manufacture glass containers for the pharmaceutical, food and drinks industries. In the 19th century, other successful industries included
potteryPottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
,
brassBrass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
making and the manufacture of cast iron fireplaces. Precision manufacturing companies in the town include AESSEAL, Newburgh Engineering, Precision Magnetics, Orkot Composites and Darron Oil Tools SBO. Rotherham is the location of the
Advanced Manufacturing ParkThe Advanced Manufacturing Park is a manufacturing technology park on the Rotherham/Sheffield border in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, facing the Sheffield Business Park across the Parkway...
(AMP).
MillingA grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
grain into flour was a traditional industry in Rotherham, formerly in the
MillmoorMillmoor is a stadium in Rotherham, England. It was built and was used for football matches, and until the end of the 2007–08 season was the home ground of Rotherham United F.C., until a dispute over ownership forced them to move to the Don Valley Stadium in nearby Sheffield.The stadium was...
area, hence
Rotherham United F.C.Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
's nickname "The Millers". Flour milling continued at the Rank Hovis town mill site on Canklow Road until September 2008. The site of the mill is a warehousing and distribution facility for
Premier FoodsPremier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
.
Floods of 2007
Rotherham was affected by the
floods in the summer of 2007The 2007 United Kingdom floods were a series of destructive floods that occurred in various areas across the country during the summer of 2007. The most severe floods occurred across Northern Ireland on 12 June; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire,...
, which brought disruption to the town, closed roads, schools, the local transport system and damaged personal and commercial property. The Parkgate Shopping centre was flooded, with shops suffering damage and losing stock.
Ulley ReservoirUlley Reservoir is a reservoir located a few hundred metres to the west and downhill of the village of Ulley, south of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England...
caused major concern when its dam showed signs of structural damage, threatening to break and release the water into
CanklowCanklow is a suburb of Rotherham, England on the Sheffield/Rotherham border. It is about 0.9 miles south of the town of Rotherham and 5.2 miles north-east of the City of Sheffield....
,
CatcliffeCatcliffe is a village and civil parish on the north-west bank of the River Rother in South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, about south of the town of Rotherham and east of Sheffield City Centre.-History:...
,
TreetonTreeton is a village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is located about south of the town of Rotherham and east of Sheffield City Centre.-History:...
,
WhistonWhiston is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 5,115.Originally a small rural village between Sheffield and Rotherham, within the Saxon "Shire of Hallun" , Whiston is now a suburb of Rotherham, close to its border...
areas and an electrical sub-station serving Sheffield. Rother FM evacuated its studios in the danger area, causing its sister station,
Trax FMTrax FM is an Independent Local Radio station that broadcasts to Doncaster and Bassetlaw.-History:The station is owned by the Lincs FM Group...
, to broadcast on the Rother FM frequency. Fire service and police officers used thirteen high-powered pumps to lower the water level in the reservoir and reduce pressure on the dam wall, which was damaged but held. By summer 2008, the reservoir and surrounding country park reopened.
A new wetland and flood storage area, Centenary Washlands, has since been built by Rotherham Council and the Environment Agency to prevent flooding in the future. Sheffield Wildlife Trust manages the site as a local nature reserve.
Governance
Like most of South Yorkshire, Rotherham is a
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
stronghold. Its
seatRotherham is a borough constituency covering the town of Rotherham in South Yorkshire. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
in the House of Commons has been held by Labour MPs continuously since a by-election in 1933.
Denis MacShaneDenis MacShane is a British politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rotherham since the 1994 by-election and served as the Minister for Europe from 2002 until 2005, as well as being a current Policy Council member for Labour Friends of Israel.On 14 October 2010, it was announced...
, the current
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Rotherham, has held the seat since a
by-election in 1994The Rotherham by-election was held on 5 May 1994, following the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament for Rotherham Jimmy Boyce.Boyce had won the seat only at the 1992 general election, but it had been continuously held by Labour since 1933, usually with a large majority...
precipitated by the death in office of
James BoyceJames "Jimmy" Boyce was a British Labour politician.He was a member of Sheffield Council from 1984 and was elected Member of Parliament for Rotherham in 1992, but died less than 2 years later.-Personal:...
.
Economy
Rotherham is amongst the leaders in advanced manufacturing in the UK. The main
CorusTata Steel Europe is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest steel-maker in Europe and is a subsidiary of Tata Steel of India, one of the ten largest steel producers in the world.Corus Group was formed through the merger of Koninklijke...
Engineering Steels (CES) plant produces steel for products worldwide, including
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
Formula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
cars and the
Airbus A380The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
"super jumbo" aeroplane. The smaller (CNS) site based close to the old Templeborough Melting Shop & Rolling Mills site produces hot rolled narrow strip to high tolerances for the aeronautical and agricultural industries. The future of the steel industry in Rotherham is in doubt in light of the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Rotherham's economic reliance on supplying the automobile industry with raw steel led to the announcement of a significant scale-back of operations in January 2009. This, combined with the closure of Rotherham's
BurberryBurberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...
clothing factory led to the most significant economic crisis in the borough since the 1980s.
The town centre has declined since the opening of the 560000 square feet (52,025.7 m²) out-of-town Retail World development in 1987.
Over the next 20 years, Rotherham is expected to receive £2 billion in investment from private industry. The town's economy, when combined with that of Sheffield, is growing faster than Leeds and Manchester. In July 2010, statistics from
Yorkshire ForwardYorkshire Forward is the regional development agency for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of the United Kingdom. It supports the development of business in the region by encouraging public and private investment in education, skills, environment and infrastructure...
showed that Rotherham had attracted new investment and industry from abroad. The
Advanced Manufacturing ParkThe Advanced Manufacturing Park is a manufacturing technology park on the Rotherham/Sheffield border in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, facing the Sheffield Business Park across the Parkway...
has attracted major companies including
Rolls RoyceRolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
and Castings Technology International (Cti). Technology developed on the AMP is utilised in leading edge projects within Formula One and the next generation of military and commercial aircraft, including the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Because of Rotherham's proximity to the Meadowhall Centre in the
Lower Don ValleyThe Lower Don Valley, or historically the East End of Sheffield, is the mainly industrial north-east quarter of Sheffield, England. Based around the River Don it encompasses the areas of Attercliffe, Brightside, Darnall, Tinsley and Wincobank....
, and
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
city centre, it does not have a wide range of big name stores for a town its size. The town centre includes major high street stores, several independent stores, markets, cafes, restaurants and bars. Shops include a large
TescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
,
JD SportsJD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as just JD, is a sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England with shops throughout the United Kingdom and with one in Ireland...
, New Look and
PrimarkPrimark is a clothing retailer, operating over 223 stores in Ireland , the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium...
. There are indoor and outdoor markets and a street market during the week. There are restaurants, cafes and bars around the town centre. Outside the centre is Parkgate Shopping Park, which is linked to the town centre by a free shuttle bus.
Regeneration
2007 saw the start of an
urban regenerationUrban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
project known as the "Rotherham Renaissance". The project aimed at creating a vibrant town centre and included apartments, shops, outdoor cafés, and a new theatre. The project was developed from European Union Objective 1 funding. , The Old Market and Keppel Wharf on the waterfront are open and include a mix of apartments, with retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. The old market building has won design awards. Also complete is Imperial Buildings which was renovated and reopened. A leisure complex and a
NHSThe National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
health village on the waterfront have opened.
New council headquarters incorporating a Customer Service Centre, Cafe, Library and Gallery Space will open in Riverside House on the former Guest & Chrimes factory site by April 2012. Rotherham United football club is building a new 12,000 seat stadium on the adjacent site.
Rotherham Central railway stationRotherham Central railway station is in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The station was originally named "Rotherham", becoming "Rotherham and Masborough" in January 1889 and finally "Rotherham Central" on 25 September 1950...
is being rebuilt. Forge Island (the current Tesco site) will form an anchor project containing a Cultural Quarter with retail space, theatre, library and arts centre when Tesco has moved to a new base in the Commercial Quarter. All Saints Building has been demolished.
Geography
Beyond the town centre and away from the Don Valley, the Rotherham district is largely rural, containing a mixture of farming and mining communities as well as the large
Wentworth WoodhouseWentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house near the village of Wentworth, in the vicinity of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. "One of the great Whig political palaces", its East Front, long, is the longest country house façade in Europe. The house includes 365 rooms and covers an...
estate, where the last surviving
kilnA kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
of the
Rockingham PotteryThe Rockingham Pottery was a 19th century manufacturer of porcelain of international repute, supplying fine wares and ornamental pieces to royalty and the aristocracy in Britain and overseas, as well as manufacturing porcelain and earthenware items for ordinary use.It is best known for its finely...
can be seen.
Demography
| Census Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
population data for the borough of Rotherham 1801-1891 |
| Year |
1801 |
1811 |
1821 |
1831 |
1841 |
1851 |
1861 |
1871 |
1881 |
1891 |
| Population |
17,191 |
18,283 |
20,872 |
23,024 |
27,635 |
31,386 |
47,728 |
64,070 |
80,412 |
95,602 |
| Source: Vision of Britain - Rotherham District: Total Population. |
| Census Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
population data for the borough of Rotherham 1901-2001 |
| Year |
1901 |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
1941 |
1951 |
1961 |
1971 |
1981 |
1991 |
2001 |
| Population |
119,915 |
150,415 |
167,223 |
185,926 |
197,005 |
208,799 |
225,305 |
243,118 |
250,340 |
254,937 |
248,176 |
| Source: Vision of Britain - Rotherham District: Total Population. |
Landmarks
Rotherham Minster in All Saints Square dates from the 15th century and includes parts from earlier Saxon and Norman structures. It was described by Pevsner as "the best perpendicular church in the country", and by Simon Jenkins as "the best work in the county".
Close to the town centre is the 15th century
Chapel of Our Lady of Rotherham BridgeRotherham Bridge crosses the River Don in central Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It is known for its bridge chapel, considered the best preserved in England....
(or "Chapel on the Bridge"), beside Chantry Bridge (a road bridge opened in the 1930s). It is one of four surviving bridge chapels in the country. The chapel was restored in 1923, having been used as the town jail and a
tobacconistA tobacconist is an expert dealer in tobacco in various forms and the related accoutrements .Such accoutrements include pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, pipe tampers, ashtrays, humidification devices, hygrometers, humidors, cigar cutters, and more. Books and magazines, especially ones...
's shop.
Built in the 18th century, Clifton House houses
Clifton Park MuseumClifton Park Museum is a medium-sized municipal museum situated in Clifton House on the western edge of Clifton Park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England...
. The remains of the 16th century College of Jesus are in the town centre. Boston Castle, in the grounds of Boston Park, was built as a hunting lodge by Thomas, 3rd
Earl of EffinghamEarl of Effingham, in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1837 for Kenneth Alexander Howard, 11th Baron Howard of Effingham. This branch of the Howard family descends from the noted naval commander and politician Lord William Howard, eldest son...
between 1773 and 1774 to mark his opposition to British attempts to crush the Americans in their
war for independenceThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. It is named after Boston, Massachusetts, the scene of the
Boston Tea PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
.
On the outskirts of Rotherham, a brick built glass making furnace, the
Catcliffe Glass ConeThe Catcliffe Glass Cone is a glass cone in the village of Catcliffe in South Yorkshire, England. It is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Western Europe, and it is a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument....
, is the oldest surviving structure of its type in
Western EuropeWestern Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and one of four remaining in the United Kingdom - the other surviving cones can be found in
WordsleyThe Red House Cone is located in Wordsley in the West Midlands, adjacent to the Stourbridge Canal bridge on the A491 High Street. It is a high conical brick structure with a diameter of , used for the production of glass. It was used by the Stuart Crystal firm till 1936, when the company moved to...
in the West Midlands,
Lemington Glass WorksLemington Glass Works was the site of glass production in Lemington, Newcastle upon Tyne, England for over 200 years. All that remains now is its iconic last glass cone, a famous local landmark.- History :...
and
AlloaAlloa is a town and former burgh in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on on the north bank of the Firth of Forth close to the foot of the Ochil Hills, east of Stirling and north of Falkirk....
in Scotland. Threatened with demolition in the 1960s, it has been preserved as a
Scheduled Ancient MonumentIn the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
and stands as a focal point in a sheltered housing complex. At
MaltbyMaltby is a town and civil parish of 17,247 inhabitants in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, situated in a rural area about 7 miles east of Rotherham and 12 miles north-east of Sheffield...
near Rotherham, the medieval ruins of the Cistercian
Roche AbbeyRoche Abbey is a now-ruined abbey located near Maltby, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated in a valley alongside Maltby Beck and King's Wood.-Early history:...
are a popular tourist destination.
Museums
The
Magna Science Adventure CentreMagna Science Adventure Centre is an educational visitor attraction, appealing primarily to children. It is located in a disused steel mill in the Templeborough district of Rotherham, England. The site is formerly home to the Steel, Peech and Tozer steel works...
, an interactive science and adventure centre built in a former steel works in Templeborough, has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region.
Clifton Park MuseumClifton Park Museum is a medium-sized municipal museum situated in Clifton House on the western edge of Clifton Park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England...
medium-sized municipal museum situated in Clifton Park. Admission is free.
Entertainment
The Civic Theatre and an Arts Centre is in the town centre.
Sean BeanShaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
made his stage début at Rotherham Civic Theatre whilst a student at
Rotherham College of Arts and TechnologyRotherham College of Arts and Technology is a further education college with two campus locations in South Yorkshire, England, one in Rotherham, and one in Dinnington...
.
The Westgate district of the town centre is home to many pubs, bars and clubs and is the focal point of Rotherham's nightlife. .
Events
Rotherhams holds several public event through the year:- A fashion show
Rotherham Rocks in July, takes place in 'All Saints Square' and
Rotherham by the Sea, in August, is held in the same location, where it is transformed into a seaside beach with sand, deckchairs and other traditional seaside attractions.
Rotherham Show is an annual event, held in Clifton Park, with stalls from all sectors of the community, shows and live bands.
Parks
Clifton park, in the town centre, includes sport facilites, an outdoor paddling pool, a small fairground and an adventure park.
Minster Gardens, is an urban park in the heart of the town centre, next to Rotherham Minster and All Saints Square. It has an amphitheater and space for open air events, with stepped seating, lawns, grass terracing and a meadow area.
In popular culture
Jamie OliverJames "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
's television series
Jamie's Ministry of FoodJamie's Ministry of Food was a four part series that aired from 30 September to 21 October 2008.-Premise:The series was based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire...
, broadcast on Channel 4 in 2008 was based in Rotherham. He aimed to make Rotherham "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" by his 'Pass it on' scheme. He tried to teach people to cook fresh food and establish healthy eating as part of daily life.
The town is mentioned in the
Arctic MonkeysArctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
' song "
Fake Tales of San Francisco"Fake Tales of San Francisco" is a song by Arctic Monkeys originally released on the band's first EP Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys in May 2005...
" in the lyric, "Yeah I'd love to tell you all my problem. You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham".
Rotherham has produced many classic and progressive rock bands, supported by the
Classic Rock SocietyClassic Rock Society, also known as the CRS, began life in 1991, originally as a society founded in Rotherham, England at the Florence Nightingale public house, which quickly progressed to become a large and well recognised organisation helping to forward the cause of Progressive rock, and Classic...
, such as Deadline,
SaxonSaxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
, Jive Bunny,
Bring Me the HorizonBring Me the Horizon are a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. Bring Me the Horizon constits of Oliver Sykes as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist Lee Malia, rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Matt Nicholls...
, and
DisarmDisarm were a hardcore punk band from Göteborg, Sweden formed in 1984.-History:Formed under the name Total armsvett around 1983 but after a demo tape they changed their name to Disarm during the recording of their first EP Regeringstödda mord, which was released in 1984...
.
Jarvis CockerJarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
and
PulpPulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
played their first gig at Rotherham Arts Centre in 1980. Christopher Wolstenholme, bass player in the rock band
MuseMuse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
, was born here.
Sport
Rotherham United Football Club play in
Football League TwoFootball League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
. The team currently play at the
Don Valley StadiumThe Don Valley Stadium is a stadium in Sheffield, England and is the home of Rotherham United F.C.. The stadium is an athletics stadium which has hosted major UK Athletic events and the 1991 World Student Games. Sheffield Eagles RLFC and Parramore Sports FC also use the stadium. It was designed by...
in Sheffield whilst
a new stadiumRotherham United are due to relocate to a new all-seater stadium in Rotherham town centre, after the chairman Tony Stewart bought the former Guest and Chrimes foundry site...
is being built on the town centre's Guest & Chrimes site. Historically the town was represented by Rotherham Town and Rotherham County, who both played in the Football League.
Rotherham Titans
rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team reached the
Guinness PremiershipThe English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
in 1999 and 2003 before being relegated. The club plays at the Clifton Lane Sports Ground. The town is also represented in
rugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
by the
Rotherham GiantsRotherham Giants are a rugby league team based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, playing in the Yorkshire Premier of the Rugby League Conference. They play their home matches at Herringthorpe Stadium...
of the
Rugby League ConferenceThe Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...
.
Formula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team
Virgin RacingMarussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four...
are based in
DinningtonDinnington is a town in rural South Yorkshire, England, and part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. It is roughly equidistant from Sheffield, Rotherham and Worksop, and is located at an elevation of about 100 metres above sea level....
in the borough.
ChampCar and former Formula One driver Justin Wilson is from Woodall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. Motorcycle speedway racing was staged in the town about 1930.
Hurdler
Chris RawlinsonChristopher Lee Rawlinson is a track and field athlete who competes in the 400 metre hurdles.He also appeared in the 1995 series of the popular TV series Gladiators....
, Olympic gold medallist sailor
Paul GoodisonPaul Martin Goodison MBE is an English sailor.In March 2005, he was ranked 2nd in the world in the Laser, behind Robert Scheidt of Brazil, and ahead of Michael Blackburn of Australia and Mark Mendelblatt of the United States.He won the gold medal in the Men's Laser class at the 2008 Summer Olympics...
, Olympic silver medallist
Peter ElliottPeter Elliott is a former middle-distance runner from the United Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 1988 Olympic Games, and the silver medal in the 800 metres at the 1987 World...
and former England goalkeeper
David SeamanDavid Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
are from Rotherham.
Freedom of the borough
On Monday 3 August 2009 Rotherham became the first town to bestow the
Freedom of the BoroughFreedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
on the
Yorkshire RegimentThe Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...
, giving it the right to march through the town with "flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed". At a ceremony outside the Town Hall, the Regiment paraded two Guards of soldiers who had recently returned from
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and the
ColoursIn military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or Guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago...
of the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's), led by the Kings Division Band, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vallings, the battalion
commanding officerThe commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
. The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor
Shaukat AliShaukat Ali Khan is a Pakistani folk singer.Born into a family of artists in Malakwal, Ali began singing while at college in the 1960s, receiving help from his elder brother Inayat Ali Khan. Since 1970 he has performed ghazals and Punjabi folk songs...
, on behalf of the borough, presented the Freedom Scroll to Colonel Simon Newton, who accepted the honour for the regiment. The regiment is the only military unit to become Honorary Freemen of the Borough.
Notable people
Comedian
Sandy PowellSandy Powell MBE was an English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s and for his catchphrase Can You Hear Me, Mother?-Life and career:...
was born in Rotherham. The town has produced several other entertainers who started on the
Working men's clubWorking men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
circuit, such as
Duggie BrownDuggie Brown is an English comedian and actor. He is the brother of the late Coronation Street actress Lynne Perrie ....
. Christopher Wolstenholme of
MuseMuse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
and
Dean AndrewsDean Andrews is a British actor.He is most famous for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC Television drama Life on Mars...
, of
Life On MarsLife on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, and artist
Margaret ClarksonMargaret Clarkson was born in Rotherham England and trained as an artist at Rotherham School of Art and Bromley College Art. Later she became an art teacher in South Yorkshire...
were all born in Rotherham.
Rob McVeighRobert "Rob" McVeigh, born 28 April 1983, is a singer from Rotherham, United Kingdom. A builder by trade, McVeigh also has a National Diploma in Performing Arts from Rotherham College of Arts and Technology...
, a contestant on
Any Dream Will DoAny Dream Will Do, often known as 'Joseph', was a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.The show...
hails from Rotherham.
Rotherham is the hometown of the
Chuckle BrothersBarry Elliott and Paul Elliott , better known as the Chuckle Brothers, are British comedians. They are best known for their work on their BBC show ChuckleVision, which celebrated its 21st anniversary in March 2010 with a tour called An Audience with the Chuckle Brothers, which started in January...
,
ArsenalArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and England goalkeeper
David SeamanDavid Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
, along with World Cup and English Premier League referee
Howard WebbHoward Melton Webb, MBE, is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2005....
. Actors
Liz WhiteLiz White is an English actress, best known for her regular role as WPC/WDC Annie Cartwright in the BBC time travel drama Life on Mars, which began in January 2006...
and
Ryan SampsonRyan Oliver Sampson is an English actor best known for playing Alex Venables in the British sitcom After You've Gone, where he played the son of Jimmy Venables, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst....
also hail from Rotherham, as does former
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leader
William HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
and Sir Donald Coleman Bailey. Presenter
James MayJames Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
grew up in Rotherham.
Partner towns
Rotherham has three partner towns:
Cluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
RiesaRiesa is a town in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is located at the river Elbe, approx. 40 km northwest of Dresden.The world's first 110 kV power line was inaugurated between Riesa and Lauchhammer in 1912....
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
ZabrzeZabrze is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union is a metropolis with a population of around 2 million...
,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
External links