Rotherham

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There is also a Rotherham, New Zealand.

Rotherham

Coordinates: 53.4272° N 1.3452° W Rotherham shown within South Yorkshire
Population	117,262 (2001 Census^[1])
OS grid reference	SK4392
Metropolitan borough	Rotherham.
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ROTHERHAM
Postcode district	S60-S63, S65-S66
Dial code	01709
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
European Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England, built upon the River Don near the confluence of the Don and the Rother. It lies in the Don Valley between Sheffield and Doncaster. The town is six miles from Sheffield city centre. It is the main town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. The population of the borough of Rotherham is 248,175, and that of the Rotherham urban sub-area 117,262.^[2]

1 History
- 1.1 Industry
- 1.2 Buildings
2 Town centre, shopping and entertainment
3 Culture
4 Sport
5 Politics
6 Twin towns
7 References
8 Famous people from Rotherham
9 External links

[edit] History

While there were Iron Age and Roman settlements in the area now covered by the town, Rotherham itself was not founded until the Early Middle Ages. It soon established itself as a key Saxon market town, lying, as it does, on a Roman road near a forded part of the Don.

In the 1480s the Rotherham-born Archbishop of York, Thomas Rotherham, instigated the building of a college (The College of Jesus) to rival the colleges of Cambridge and Oxford. This and the stylish new parish church of All Saints made Rotherham an enviable and modern town at the turn of the 16th century. But the college was dissolved under the reign of Edward VI, its assets stripped for the crown. By the end of the 16th century, Rotherham had fallen from a fashionable college town to a notorious haven of gambling and vice. Nevertheless, the history of Thomas Rotherham and education in the town continues to be remembered in the name of Thomas Rotherham College.

[edit] Industry

The region had been exploited for iron since Roman times, but it was coal that first brought the industrial revolution to Rotherham. The seams were the driving force behind the improvements to navigation along the Don, the various cuttings eventually forming the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

However, the iron resources were soon exploited, most notably by the Walker family, who built up something of an iron and steel empire in Rotherham. Throughout the 18th century, the Walker foundries produced high quality cannons, in addition to several early cast iron bridges, one of which was commissioned by Tom Paine.[1] Meanwhile, Joseph Foljambe established a factory to produce his Rotherham plough, the first commercially successful iron plough. The first Rotherham glassworks was set up in 1751, and went on to become Beatson Clark & Co., one of the town's largest manufacturers, exporting glass medicine bottles worldwide. In the 19th century other successful industries included pottery, brass making and the manufacture of cast iron fireplaces.

Rotherham iron was very highly regarded for its strength. Iron, and later steel, became the principal industry in Rotherham, surviving well into the 20th century. Steel, Peech and Tozer's massive Templeborough steelworks (now the Magna Science Adventure Centre) was, at its peak, over a mile long, employing 10,000 workers, and housing six electric arc furnaces producing 1.8 million tonnes of steel a year. The operation finally closed down in 1993.

The 1800s saw a massive expansion of Rotherham's cast iron industry, starting with the opening of the Effingham Ironworks in 1820, later becoming Yates Haywood & Co. Other major ironfounders 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 first established in 1823 by Sanderson and Watson, and changed ownership several times. In 1854 Samuel Beal & Co produced the cast iron armour plating for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's famous steamship the SS Great Eastern [2] In 1864 the ironworks was taken over by the Parkgate Iron Co. Ltd, becoming the Park Gate Iron and Steel Company in 1888. The company was purchased by Tube Investments Ltd in 1956 and finally closed in 1974.

Beatson Clark & Co. was a family business until 1961, when it became a public company. The glassworks is still operating on the same site, although the family connection has ceased and the company is now owned by TT Group plc. Its main activities are still the manufacture and sale of glass containers for the pharmaceutical, food and drinks industries.

Rotherham continues to be amongst the leaders in advanced manufacturing in the UK. The Corus Engineering Steels (CES) plant in Rotherham continues to produce steel for a number of products worldwide, including Renault Formula 1 cars and the new Airbus A380 "super jumbo" aeroplane. It currently produces approximately 1.1 million tonnes of engineering steels each year.

Other precision manufacturing companies in the town include; AESSEAL, Newburgh Engineering, Precision Magnetics and Orkot Composites. Rotherham is also the location for the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

[edit] Buildings

Despite its history, Rotherham is rather short on old (secular) buildings. The only surviving timber-framed structure is the empty, dilapidated, and much altered former Three Cranes pub (16th century). In fact much of Rotherham's town centre was knocked down and modernised during the course of the 20th century.

The town centre does, however, contain one of only four bridge chapels in the country: the 15th century Chapel of Our Lady of Rotherham Bridge (or "Chapel on the Bridge") on Chantry Bridge. The chapel was restored in 1923, having spent a good period of time as a tobacconist's shop.

Other buildings of note include the 15th century Minster (formerly All Saints parish church), and the 18th century Clifton House, which now houses Clifton Park Museum.

Boston Castle, which stands in the grounds of Boston Park, was originally constructed as a hunting lodge in 1776 by Thomas, 3rd Earl of Effingham to mark his opposition to British attempts to crush the American war of independence.It is named after Boston, Massachusetts, the scene of the Boston Tea Party.[3]

On the outskirts of Rotherham, a brick glassmaking furnace, the Catcliffe Glass Cone, is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Western Europe and one of only four remaining in the United Kingdom. Threatened with demolition in the 1960s, it has now been preserved as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and stands as a focal point in a sheltered housing complex

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 Woodhouse estate, where the last surviving kiln of the Rockingham Pottery may still be seen.

At Maltby near Rotherham, the medieval ruins of the Cistercian Roche Abbey are a popular tourist destination.

[edit] Town centre, shopping and entertainment

For a large town, Rotherham has a small catchement area, lying close to Sheffield, Doncaster and Barnsley. The large Meadowhall shopping centre lies a couple of miles from the town centre, just over the border in Sheffield, and many leisure facilities are found near it, in the Lower Don Valley. As a result, Rotherham town centre is smaller and less busy than the centre of many other towns its size.

The centre has some high street names, and a large BBC Screen in All Saints Square. The square features a fountain and is surrounded by bars, restaurants and shops.

The town centre is undergoing a transformation known as the Rotherham Renaissance with the aim of regeneration, including apartments, major high street stores, outdoor cafes and a new theatre. This project has already started, with apartments being built on the waterfront.

[edit] Culture

The comedian Sandy Powell was born in Rotherham and the town has produced several entertainers who started on the Working men's club scene, such as Duggie Brown, brother of Coronation Street actress Lynne Perrie, Zulu 440, Paul Shane, Christopher Wolstenholme of Muse, the Chuckle Brothers, and footballer David Seaman also originated from Rotherham.

It is also a thriving haven of Classic and Progressive Rock, helped by the Classic Rock Society, and has spawned many bands, such as Deadline, Saxon, Jive Bunny, Bring Me the Horizon and This Girl. The poet and author A. R. Monday was also born in Rotherham.

Professor John Lee, known for the television shows Anatomy for Beginners and Autopsy: Life and Death is a consultant histopathologist at Rotherham General Hospital.

The Arctic Monkeys grew up in the area with the lead singer's father, David Turner, now teaching music at Rawmarsh School, Rawmarsh, Rotherham.

Since the late 1990s Rotherham has consolidated its reputation as a popular and exciting clubbing destination. The principal clubbing area runs from the "Blu Bambu" nightclub (Now Closed) on Ship Hill down to "Liquid". Interestingly, the local police station is situated between these two locations. Rotherham is also home of Snafu Rock bar, a prime location for the Rock and Metal Community within the area.

The town also has a Civic Theatre and an Arts Centre. Sean Bean made his stage debut at Rotherham Civic Theatre whilst still a student at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology.

Jarvis Cocker and Pulp played their first gig at Rotherham Arts Centre in 1980.

[edit] Sport

Rotherham has a football team in the Football League One, Rotherham United, and a small second flight rugby union team, Rotherham R.U.F.C., currently playing under the name of Earth Titans. Hurdler Chris Rawlinson, Olympic silver medallist Peter Elliott and former England goalkeeper David Seaman are from Rotherham. ChampCar and ex-Formula 1 driver Justin Wilson is from Woodall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham.[4]