Athersley is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in the
metropolitan borough of Barnsley
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Penistone, Wombwell and Hoyland.
The borough is bisected by the M1 motorway; it is rura ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
I ...
, England.
History
The site now occupied by the estate was once farmland and woodland. A large area from Lee Lane was known as Athersley Wood, which stretched nearly to Carlton Hill. The name was first recorded in 1379 as 'Hattirslay', probably meaning 'Aethred's forest glade' from the
Old English 'Aethe
ed' and 'leah'.
[On Our Street: Life in Athersley, New Lodge and Smithies, Roundhouse Community Partnership, 2006, p7]
Construction began in post war Britain, near the end of the 1940s, under the direction of the then Building Administrator. The land, originally dense woodland populated by a variety of wildlife, proved difficult to prepare, yet the need for more housing gave rise to an influx of labourers, many of whom stayed on in the houses they helped to build. This undertaking was instrumental in the decision to build more homes around the region, including 'Phase 2' of Athersley, which was later to become known as Athersley North. North and South are separated by a main
B road, Laithes Lane. The adjoining estate of New Lodge is separated by Wakefield Road from Athersley North yet other estates surrounding the area have no noticeable separation, most notably
Smithies and
Monk Bretton.
Although woodland was cleared to make way for construction, remnants remain throughout the surrounding area, home to diverse wildlife, and ponds and creeks. Some of these areas are sanctuaries for the local wildlife, most recently
Carlton Marshes
Carlton and Oulton Marshes is a 151 hectare nature reserve in Lowestoft in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Carlton Marshes is part of the Sprat's Water and Marshes, Carlton Colville Site of Special Scientific Interest, the B ...
, a lake or pond preserving water creatures and birds. This area was once home to
Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery.
Community
The area is served by four primary schools,
Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School (ages 3–16), Athersley North Primary School, Athersley South Primary School and Laithes Primary School. The local secondary schools are
Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School (ages 3–16) and
Outwood Academy Carlton
Outwood Academy Carlton (formerly Carlton Community College) is a secondary school with academy status located in Carlton, near Barnsley, England. It has a mixed intake of boys and girls ages 11–16 with a comprehensive admissions policy, ...
,
The area is served by a variety of shops, many of which are located at the top of Laithes Lane at its junction with Wakefield Road. Shops include
Poundstretcher,
Cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
and
Fulton's Foods stores, cafes, bakers, butchers, a pet store, an alcohol retailer, and a barbers. There is a social club and a
working men's club
Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class m ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Housing estates in England
Geography of Barnsley