Rotherham () is a large
minster and
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
in
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
, England. The town takes its name from the
River Rother which then merges with the
River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of the
Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham
The Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its largest town, Rotherham, but also spans the outlying towns of Maltby, South Yorkshire, Maltby, Swinton, South Yorkshire, Swinton, ...
. Rotherham is also the third largest settlement in South Yorkshire after
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
and
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
, which it is located between.
Traditional industries included glass making and flour milling. Most around the time of the
industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, it was also known as a
coal mining town as well as a contributor to the steel industry.
The town's
historic county is
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. From 1889 until 1974, the County of York's ridings became counties in their own right, the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
was the town's county while South Yorkshire is its current county.
Rotherham had a population of 109,691 in the
2011 census. The
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle A ...
, governed from the town, had a population of , the
most populous district in England.
History
Early history
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
settlements are known in the area covered by the district. This includes a small Roman fort to the south-west in the upper flood meadow of the Don at
Templeborough
Templeborough (historically Templebrough) is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The area takes its name from the remains of the ...
.
Rotherham was founded in the very early
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. Its name is from Old English ''hām'' 'homestead, estate', meaning 'homestead on the Rother'. The river name is of Brittonic origin for 'main river', ''ro-'' 'over, chief' and ''duβr'' 'water'. Another river that also came to be called the
Rother Rother may refer to:
General
*Rother (surname) (also sometimes spelled Röther)
*Rother District, a local government district in East Sussex, England
*Rother FM, an independent local radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England
*Rother Kup ...
is in
East Sussex. The
Anglo-Saxon settlement, with an
ecclesiastical parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
, was established on a Roman road's
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
over the River Don and the area around it.
The 1086
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
records a manor previously held by
lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
Hakon in 1066 tenanted by
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
's half-brother,
Robert de Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hasti ...
. The 1086 record shows an absentee lord who held the most inhabited
manor,
Nigel Fossard. Today's
town area also includes eight outlying Domesday estates. Eight adult male householders were counted as villagers, three were smallholders and one the priest, three
ploughlands were tilled by one lord's plough team and two and a half men's plough teams were active. The manor also had a church, roughly four acres of meadow and seven woodland acres. Rotherham had a mill valued at half a pound sterling.
[
Nigel Fossard's successors, the De Vesci family, rarely visited the town and did not build a castle. However, they maintained a Friday ]market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
and a fair. In the mid 13th century, John de Vesci and Ralph de Tili gave all their possessions in Rotherham to Rufford Abbey
Rufford Abbey is a country estate in Rufford, Nottinghamshire, England, two miles (4 km) south of Ollerton. Originally a Cistercian abbey, it was converted to a country house in the 16th century after the Dissolution of the Monasteries ...
. It was part of a period of growing wealth for the church. The monks collected tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") 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 or cheques or more ...
s from the town and gained rights to an extra market day on Monday and to extend the annual fair from two to three days.[David Hey, ''Medieval South Yorkshire'']
The townsmen of Rotherham formed the "Greaves of Our Lady's Light", an organisation which worked with the town's three guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s. It was suppressed in 1547 but revived in 1584 as the feoffees
Under the feudal system in England, a feoffee () is a trustee who holds a fief (or "fee"), that is to say an estate in land, for the use of a beneficial owner. The term is more fully stated as a feoffee to uses of the beneficial owner. The use o ...
of the common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person who has a ...
s of Rotherham, and remains in existence.
In the 1480s the Rotherham-born Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
, Thomas Rotherham
Thomas Rotherham (24 August 1423 – 29 May 1500), also known as Thomas (Scot) 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 C ...
, instigated the building of a College of Jesus or Jesus College, Rotherham to rival the colleges of Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
and Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. It was the first brick building in what is now South Yorkshire and taught theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, religious chant and hymns, grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
and writing
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
.
The college and new parish church of All Saints 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 VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
, its assets stripped for the crown to grant to its supporters. Very little remains of the original building in College Street. Walls of part of the College of Jesus are encased within number 23 and Nos 2, 2A, 4 (later for a time ''Old College Inn'', a beerhouse), 6 and 8 Effingham Street. A doorway was rescued from the demolition and relocated to nearby Boston Park in 1879. Fragments of walls are the earliest surviving brick structure in South Yorkshire and are remains of the key institution to Rotherham's growth into a town of regional significance. Sixty years after the college's dissolution Rotherham was described by a wealthy visitor as falling from a fashionable college town to having admitted gambling and vice. The history of Thomas Rotherham and education in the town are remembered in the name of Thomas Rotherham College
(Lest We Should Appear Ungrateful)
, established =
, closed =
, type = 16–19 academy
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label = Interim Principal
, head = David Naisbitt
, r_head_label =
...
.
Industrial Revolution
The region had been exploited for iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
since Roman times, but it was coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
that first brought the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
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 Navigation
The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation (S&SY) is a system of navigable inland waterways (canals and canalised rivers) in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England.
Chiefly based on the River Don, it runs for a length of and has 27 locks ...
system of navigable inland waterways.
In the early Industrial Revolution major uses of iron demanded good local ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
and established processing skills for iron strength, qualities found in Rotherham's smelting plants and foundries. Iron, and later steel, 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 cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
, including some for the ship of the line HMS ''Victory'', and cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s, one of which was commissioned by Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
.
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 founder An iron founder (also iron-founder or ironfounder) in its more general sense is a worker in molten ferrous metal, generally working within an iron foundry. However, the term 'iron founder' is usually reserved for the owner or manager of an iron foun ...
s 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. G & WG Gummer Ltd exported brass products across the world, supplying fittings for hotels, hospitals, Turkish baths and the RMS Mauretania. Their fittings could also be found on five battleships used in World War II and HMS Ark Royal.
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 Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...
's famous steamship the SS ''Great Eastern''. In 1864, the ironworks was taken over by the Parkgate Iron Co. Ltd, becoming the Park Gate Iron and Steel Company
The Park Gate Iron and Steel Company was a British company that smelted iron ore and turned it into rolled steel and semi-finished casting products. Its works was at Parkgate, South Yorkshire on a triangular site bounded on two sides by the main ...
in 1888. The company was purchased by Tube Investments Ltd in 1956 and closed in 1974. Steel, Peech and Tozer's massive Templeborough steelworks (now the Magna Science Adventure Centre) was, at its peak, over a mile (1.6 km) long, employing 10,000 workers, and housing six electric arc furnace
An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a furnace that heats material by means of an electric arc.
Industrial arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one-tonne capacity (used in foundries for producing cast iron products) up to ...
s producing 1.8 million tonnes of steel a year. The operation closed down in 1993.
The first railway stations, Holmes
Holmes may refer to:
Name
* Holmes (surname)
* Holmes (given name)
* Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland
* Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer
Places
In the Uni ...
and Rotherham Westgate both on the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway
The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was a railway line in England, between the named places. The North Midland Railway was being promoted but its route was planned to go through Rotherham and by-pass Sheffield, so the S&RR was built as a connecti ...
opened on 31 October 1838. Holmes station was located close to the works of Isaac Dodds and Son, pioneers in the development of railway technology. Later railway stations included Parkgate and Aldwarke railway station
Parkgate and Aldwarke railway station was a railway station situated in Parkgate a district of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England on the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway company's line between Rotherham Road and Kilnhurst Centr ...
on the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...
, which opened in July 1873, the Parkgate and Rawmarsh railway station
Parkgate and Rawmarsh railway station, originally named Rawmarsh was situated in Parkgate, adjacent to the Park Gate Iron and Steel Company's works. It served the communities of Parkgate and Rawmarsh, in South Yorkshire, England.
The station w ...
on the North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840.
At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at wha ...
and the Rotherham Masborough railway station
Rotherham Masborough railway station was the main railway station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England from the 1840s until 1987, when most trains were rerouted via Rotherham Central. It had four platforms, with a large sandstone stati ...
also on the North Midland Railway.
Rotherham Forge and Rolling Mill occupied an island in the river known as Forge Island. Its managing director was Francis Charles Moss of Wickersley before his death in 1942. The site was later occupied by a Tesco superstore and is set to be the location for a new leisure development with a proposed cinema, food and drink outlets and a hotel.
Joseph Foljambe established a factory to produce his Rotherham plough, the first commercially successful iron plough.
A glass works
Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass.
Glass container ...
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 company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...
. 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
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...
, food and drinks industries. In the 19th century, other successful industries included pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
, brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
making and the manufacture of cast iron fireplaces. Precision manufacturing companies in the town include AESSEAL, Nikken Kosakusho Europe, MTL Advanced, MGB Plastics and Macalloy
McCalls Special Products Ltd is a British manufacturer of steel bar and cable components for tensioned concrete, ground anchors, curtain walling, and steel structures. It operates under the Macalloy brand and claims to be a world leader in th ...
. Rotherham is the location of the Advanced Manufacturing Park
The Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) is a manufacturing technology park in Waverley, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund, and developed by thHarworth Group previously the prop ...
(AMP), which is home to a number of world-class companies including Rolls-Royce and McLaren Automotive.
Milling grain into flour was a traditional industry in Rotherham, formerly in the Millmoor
The Millmoor Ground, commonly known as Millmoor, is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was the home ground of Rotherham County F.C. between 1907 and 1925 and then its successor Rotherham United F.C. until 2008. Th ...
area, hence Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
's nickname "The Millers". Flour milling continued at the Rank Hovis
RHM plc, formerly Rank Hovis McDougall, was a United Kingdom food business. The company owned numerous brands, particularly for flour, where its core business started, and for consumer food products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...
town mill site on Canklow Road until September 2008. The site of the mill is now a warehousing and distribution facility for local logistics company 4S Distribution.
Enterprise Zone 1983
In 1983 Rotherham became a designated Enterprise Zone with benefits and incentives given to attract new industry and development in the area. Within the first year ten new companies were established within the zone. The former chemical works at Barbot Hall, which had been empty and derelict, was developed into a new industrial estate and named 'Brookside', after Mangham Brook, running alongside it.
Floods of 2007
Rotherham was affected by flooding in the summer of 2007, which caused the closure of central roads, schools, transport services and damaged residential and commercial property, including the Parkgate Shopping complex and the Meadowhall Centre
Meadowhall is an indoor shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It lies north-east of Sheffield city centre, and from Rotherham town centre. It is the largest shopping centre in Yorkshire, and currently the eleventh-largest i ...
, which suffered considerable internal water damage. Ulley Reservoir caused major concern and forced the evacuation of thousands of homes when its dam showed signs of structural damage, threatening to break and release water into the suburbs of Treeton
Treeton 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
There is evidence of Mesolithic and N ...
, Brinsworth
Brinsworth is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated close to the River Rother between Rotherham (to the north-east) and Sheffield (to the south-west). At the time of ...
and Canklow
Canklow is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Canklow is less than south from Rotherham town centre and approximately north-east from Sheffield city centre. It forms part of the Boston Castle ward for the Metropolitan Borough of ...
as well as potentially flooding the Junction 33 electrical sub-station. Rother FM
Rother FM was a local radio station serving Rotherham. The station was folded into Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire, as part of a rebrand, on 1 September 2020.
Studios and coverage
Rother FM was originally based in Rotherham but later moved to Don ...
evacuated its studios, passing its frequency temporarily to neighbouring station Trax FM. A stretch of the M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...
was closed for three days owing to the flood risk in the event of a breach of the reservoir. 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 Riverside park, has since been built by Rotherham Council and the Environment Agency to prevent flooding in the future. The Wildlife Trust for Sheffield and Rotherham
Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering Sheffield and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It has 15 reserves with its base in Sheffield.
Reserves
The trust manages fifteen reserves:
: Agden Bog
: Blacka Moor
: Carbr ...
manages the site as a local nature reserve. The site is home to the massive sculpture Steel Henge, a Stonehenge replica which is in fact made from iron ingots.
Child sexual exploitation scandal
Following a 2012 article published in ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' alleging the cover-up of organised, large-scale sexual abuse of young children by gangs of people of Pakistani origin in Rotherham, Rotherham Council commissioned Professor Alexis Jay
Alexandrina Henderson Farmer Jay, OBE (born 25 April 1949) is a British academic. She is visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde and the independent chair of thCentre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection(CELCIS).
Follo ...
, a former chief social work adviser to the Scottish government, to lead an independent inquiry about the handling of the cases and a suspected child exploitation network. She issued an exploitation report stretching beyond police-level investigated cases. Her report of August 2014 revealed an unprecedented scale of reported child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
within an urban area of this size over a 16-year period. Subsequently, Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, commissioned Louise Casey to conduct a Best Value investigation of Rotherham Council. She issued a report of her findings in February 2015.
Both reports stated that a majority of the known perpetrators were of British Pakistanis, Pakistani heritage, and reported a denial of severity which was to a large extent the responsibility of Councillors. Casey's report concluded that at the time of her inspection the council was not :wiktionary:fit#Verb, fit for the purpose, and identified some necessary measures for preventing further repetition.[ On 4 February 2015, after receiving Casey's report, Pickles said that commissioners would be appointed to run the council pending new elections, and the council leader and cabinet resigned en masse to allow for a 'fresh start'. The National Crime Agency was called in to investigate whether Rotherham councillors were complicit in hiding the depth and scale of the child abuse (the figure of 1,400 children is now said to be conservative) due to a "fear of losing their jobs and pensions" following a concern that they might be considered "racist" if they spoke out. Also, according to the new report, the councillors were driven by "political correctness".
Jayne Senior, a former youth town worker, was reported to have worked for more than a decade to expose rampant child sexual abuse in Rotherham, but she was met with "indifference and scorn". Senior was awarded an Order of the British Empire, MBE in the 2016 Birthday Honours.
]
Landmarks
Rotherham Minster or All Saints' Church in All Saints Square built largely of ashlar, neat-cut pieces of sandstone and low-pitch lead roofs dates from the 15th century and includes parts from earlier Saxon and Norman structures. Clayton and Bell working to George Gilbert Scott's designs constructed the east window. Stained glass makers and designers A. Gibbs, Camm Brothers, Heaton, Butler and Bayne and James Bell are known makers of the other windows. Gargoyles flank its clock on each face. It has a "recessed octagonal spire with crocketed arrises and pinnacled shafts rising from corner faces and a gilded weathervane." Architectural critics Nikolaus Pevsner and Simon Jenkins considered it "the best perpendicular [style] church in the country" and "the best work in the county", respectively. It is a listed building in the highest category of architecture, Grade I.
Close to the town centre is the 15th-century Rotherham Bridge, Chapel of Our Lady of Rotherham Bridge (or "Chapel on the Bridge"), beside River Don Navigation#Bridge Street Bridge and Chantry Bridge, 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 tobacconist's shop.
Built in the 18th century, Clifton House houses Clifton Park Museum. 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 Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham between 1773 and 1774 to mark his opposition to British attempts to crush the Americans in their American Revolutionary War, war for independence. It is named after Boston, Massachusetts, the scene of the Boston Tea Party.
On the outskirts of Rotherham, a brick-built glass making furnace, the Catcliffe Glass Cone, is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Western Europe and one of four remaining in the United Kingdom – the others being the Red House Cone in the Wordsley centre of the Dudley Glassworks in the West Midlands, Lemington Glass Works west of Newcastle upon Tyne and Alloa in Scotland. Threatened with demolition in the 1960s, it has been preserved as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and stands as a focal point in a sheltered housing complex and close to the path leading up the Rother valley.
South of Maltby, South Yorkshire, Maltby in the east of the district, half-way to Worksop are the ruins of Roche Abbey, among the small minority in the United Kingdom bearing multi-storey walls, as most others are no more than foundations or a single storey of ruins following the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s.
Education
Rotherham has three further education institutions and colleges. These are Thomas Rotherham College
(Lest We Should Appear Ungrateful)
, established =
, closed =
, type = 16–19 academy
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label = Interim Principal
, head = David Naisbitt
, r_head_label =
...
, Dearne Valley College and the Rotherham College of Arts and Technology. The Rotherham College of Arts and Technology has a campus in the Rotherham town centre and a second site in Dinnington, South Yorkshire, Dinnington, as well as a nearby, smaller campus for the construction-based subjects taught, such as bricklaying.
Governance
Local governance
The Labour Party, who have controlled the authority since its 1974 incorporation currently hold a two-seat majority of local government seats. Rotherham's shadow cabinet local opposition is currently the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party with 18 of the seats. Independent(s) account for one seat. Although Labour Party (UK), Labour retained control of the council, the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives went from zero to 20 seats at the May 2021 election.
Having had elections by thirds every other year. The method of election is changing to ''whole council elections'' every four years, from 2016.
In 2013, Professor Alexis Jay
Alexandrina Henderson Farmer Jay, OBE (born 25 April 1949) is a British academic. She is visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde and the independent chair of thCentre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection(CELCIS).
Follo ...
published a report about the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal (1997–2013). Following the report's publication, the council leader, Roger Stone of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, resigned – an act of contrition the report said should have been made years earlier – saying he would take full responsibility for "the historic failings described so clearly in the report." Labour Councillors Gwendoline Russell, Shaukat Ali and former council leader Roger Stone were suspended from the Labour Party, as was former Deputy Council Leader Jahangir Akhtar, who had lost his council seat in 2014. Chief Executive, Martin Kimber, said no council officers would face disciplinary action.[ Kimber announced on 8 September that he intended to step down in December 2014, and offered his "sincere apology to those who were let down". The council's director of children's services, Joyce Thacker, also left the authority by mutual agreement. Malcolm Newsam was appointed as Children's Social Care Commissioner in October 2014, and subsequently Ian Thomas was appointed as interim director of children's services.]
Shaun Wright, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for South Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire from 2012, was the Labour councillor in charge of child safety at the council for five years from 2005 to 2010. He initially refused demands to resign as PCC from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, as well as members of his own party and local Labour MP Sarah Champion, saying: "I believe I am the most appropriate person to hold this office at this current time." He resigned from the Labour Party on 27 August 2014, after an ultimatum by the party to either resign or face suspension from the party. Wright stood down as PCC on 16 September, saying that the prominence given to his role distracted from "the important issue, which should be everybody's focus – the 1,400 victims outlined in the report – and in providing support to victims and bringing to justice the criminals responsible for the atrocious crimes committed against them."
The former Chief Constable, Meredydd Hughes, who served from 2004 to 2011 and who had unsuccessfully stood for the Labour Party nomination in the Police Crime Commissioner elections, was told by Labour MP Keith Vaz that he had 'failed' abuse victims.
The inspector, Louise Casey aided by seven assistant inspectors produced the Inspection Report on 4 February 2015.[Report of Inspection of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, February 2015]
HC1050, Louise Casey CB. Following its conclusion that the council was not fit for purpose the minister directed that the powers of the council (RMBC) be transferred to his department and the cabinet would need to resign unless RMBC made sufficient representations within 14 days to contradict the report. The Secretary of State empowered a team of five Commissioners to replace councillors before a full election in 2016 and on the Report's strength, stated that as the authority was not currently fit for purpose its powers would not revert until the dis-empowered councillors could prove their fitness to carry out all of the council's duties without intervention. One of these commissioners was appointed to specialise in child protection.
Representation in the national legislature
Like all of South Yorkshire the area consists of representatives of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party at the Parliamentary level whose seats have been almost universally cast among analysts as 'safe seat, safe', that is having enjoyed 'substantial' majorities over a 'long' period of time; a typecast which heightens the incumbency, incumbency factor present in first past the post elections. The town's seat, including all its near suburbs, has been held by Labour MPs since a by-election in 1933. After the resignation and jailing of Denis MacShane in November 2012 due to expenses abuse, this area required a 2012 Rotherham by-election, by-election in 2012 and Sarah Champion for Labour became the MP at that by-election.
Geography
The town in great part occupies the slopes of two hills; that in the west is the start of a north-west crest topped by Keppel's Column,a folly; that in the east is a narrower crest alongside the Rother known as Canklow Hill, topped by a listed building, protected laid out public area, Boston Park, less than 500 metres east of and 80 metres above the Rother. The Rother here is between 32 and 34 metres above sea level. The south scarp here is slightly higher still, the Canklow Hill Earthworks, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, one of relatively few in the borough, as pre-dating recorded history.
Rotherham's commercial town centre occupies the valley in between these hills on the navigable part of the River Don flowing from the south-west after it has turned approximately due north. The town centre is less than below and north of the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, Rother flowing from the south. The Mid Don Valley continues adjoining towns in the north of the Metropolitan Borough.
Beyond the town centre and away from the Don Valley, the Rotherham district is largely rural, containing a mixture of retired people, larger properties, some farming and tourism and the landscaped Wentworth Woodhouse estate, where the last surviving kiln of the Rockingham Pottery can be seen.
Aside from two regular roads and two bypasses (one being the motorway network), Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
is connected directly by the Trans Pennine Trail which passes the Meadowhall (shopping centre), Meadowhall shopping centre on both sides (which between the two places) as it includes Sheffield as southern detour.
Rotherham Central station has frequent trains connecting to Sheffield in a time of 14 minutes; Manchester through a change in Sheffield is accessible in a similar circa 70 minutes to nearer Leeds and York as many towns and suburbs in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire are all stops on Rotherham's railway – it is Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
which has the East Coast Main Line providing express intercity services.
Green belt
Rotherham is within a Green belt (United Kingdom), green belt region that extends into the wider surrounding counties, and is in place to reduce urban sprawl, prevent the towns in the Sheffield urban area, Sheffield built-up area conurbation from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encourage brownfield reuse, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas, and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building.["]
The green belt was first adopted in 1979, and the size in the borough in 2017 amounted to some , covering 72% of the overall borough. The green belt surrounds the Rotherham urban area, with larger outlying towns and villages within the borough such as Treeton, Swallownest and Thurcroft also exempted. However, smaller villages, hamlets and rural areas such as Morthen, Ulley, Guilthwaite, Hooton Roberts and Old Ravenfield are 'washed over', so minimising unsuitable development in these.
A subsidiary aim of the green belt is to encourage recreation and leisure interests, with rural landscape features, greenfield areas and facilities including the Wentworth Woodhouse estate and temple, River Rother, northern portions of the River Don and Hooton Brook, Pinch Mill Brook, several golf courses, Ulley reservoir, Herringthorpe allotments, Rotherham Roundwalk and Sheffield Country Walk/Trans-Pennine trails, Thurcroft Hall, and Valley Park.
Demography
In 2011, Rotherham had a population of 109,691, this figure is for an urban subdivision and roughly corresponds with ward and output area boundaries. The population in 2001 was 117,262 but the figure includes Catcliffe which was a separate subdivision a decade later, so there may not have been an actual decrease in population.
The population of Rotherham is increasing slightly because 110,550 people lived in the town in 2014.
In 2011, 14.4% of Rotherham's population were non-white compared with 8.1% for the surrounding borough. Rotherham town has over double the percentage of Asian people compared with the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham
The Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. It is named after its largest town, Rotherham, but also spans the outlying towns of Maltby, South Yorkshire, Maltby, Swinton, South Yorkshire, Swinton, ...
and a slightly larger percentage of black people.
Culture and attractions
Museums
The Magna Science Adventure Centre, 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 Museum medium-sized museum in Clifton Park. Admission is free.
Entertainment
The Rotherham Civic Theatre and Arts Centre, Civic Theatre and an Arts Centre is in the town centre.
The Westgate district of the town centre is home to many pubs, bars and clubs and is the focal point of Rotherham's nightlife.
In 2019, work began on the former Tesco site on forge island to build a multiplex cinema, 4 restaurants, new urban public space and a hotel. The project is due to open in phases with the cinema opening in 2022.
Events
Rotherham holds several public events 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 Clifton Park, which 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 in September. The Magna Centre also every year also hosts one of the countries largest Real Ale festivals, which is hosted over 4 days.
In 2016 Rotherham's first carnival took place. The People's Parade which included over 400 people including costumes from Rampage, Luton – Batala a 50 piece Brazilian samba band and hundreds of local people, schools and community groups. The parade lead to a festival in the park with flags, decor 'Eh Up Rotherham' sign, rides, stalls Djs and bands, workshops and activities.
In 2022, Rotherham played host to the UEFA Women's Championship, hosting several games at the New York Stadium.
Parks
Clifton Park, in the town centre is a large park and also includes sport facilities, an outdoor paddling pool, a small fairground and an adventure park. It has been voted and nominated several times over the past few years for numerous awards. The park also holds several events annually including the great Rotherham show and annual fireworks display which both attract thousands of people each year.
Minster Gardens is an urban park in the heart of the town centre, next to Rotherham Minster and All Saints Square. It has an amphitheatre and space for open-air events, with stepped seating, lawns, grass terracing and a meadow area.
Music
Rotherham has several Brass band sections in the United Kingdom, Brass band clubs. It has also produced many classic and progressive rock bands, supported by the Classic Rock Society, such as Jive Bunny, Bring Me the Horizon, and Morris Minor and the Majors.
Shopping
Rotherham town centre has various chain stores including Tesco Extra. Following the availability of "Vitality Grants" from 2009 onwards, a number of new independent businesses opened in the town centre such as Yella Brick Road. In 2015, Rotherham won the Great British High Street award for its independent town centre shopping. Judges praised the transformation of key properties and the restoration of its "historic core". A plaque commemorating the award was unveiled by Secretary of State for Local Government & Committees Sajid Javid, Sajid Javid MP in September 2016. As of 2021 the majority of the retail in Rotherham is made up of a thriving independent scene with lots of new start up businesses opening in the town centre. Due to the close proximity of Sheffield City Centre, Meadowhall shopping centre and the towns Parkgate Retail Park Rotherham has struggled to attract major brands. This has created the opportunity for Rotherham to proposition itself as an independent alternative.
In film, art and literature
In film
Chef-writer Jamie Oliver's television series ''Jamie's Ministry of Food'' (2008) was based in Rotherham. He aimed to make Rotherham "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" by his 'Pass it on' scheme, teaching groups some of which went on to work in restaurants.
The Arctic Monkeys' song "Fake Tales of San Francisco" has a tribute line: "Yeah I'd love to tell you all my problem. You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham".
The 2013 film ''Five Pillars'' was largely set and filmed in Rotherham, which is also the hometown of the writer and director.
Sport
Football
For the 2022–23 season, the town's association football team, Rotherham United F.C., Rotherham United, will play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English Football. The team currently plays at the New York Stadium. Historically the town was represented by Rotherham Town F.C. (1878), Rotherham Town, and Rotherham County, who both played in the Football League.
Rugby
Rotherham R.U.F.C., Rotherham Titans rugby union team reached the Guinness Premiership in 1999 and 2003 before being relegated. The club plays at the Clifton Lane Sports Ground. The town is also represented in rugby league by the Rotherham Giants of the Rugby League Conference.
Cricket
Rotherham Town Cricket Club is an England, English amateur cricket club with a history dating back to 1846. The club ground is based on Clifton Lane. The club have 2 Saturday senior XI teams that compete in the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League, and a junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Sheffield and District Junior League.
Motor Racing
Former Formula One team Virgin Racing were based in Dinnington, South Yorkshire, Dinnington in the borough. IndyCar and former ChampCar and Formula One driver Justin Wilson (racing driver), Justin Wilson was from Woodall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. Motorcycle speedway racing was staged in the town about 1930.
Greyhound racing
Three Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing tracks existed in or around the town. They were Rotherham Greyhound Stadium (1933-1974); around Millmoor
The Millmoor Ground, commonly known as Millmoor, is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was the home ground of Rotherham County F.C. between 1907 and 1925 and then its successor Rotherham United F.C. until 2008. Th ...
(1930-1933) and in Hellaby#Sport, Hellaby. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) and all three tracks were known as flapping tracks, which was the nickname given to independent tracks.
Notable sports persons
Hurdler Chris Rawlinson, Olympic gold medallist sailor Paul Goodison, Olympic silver medallist Peter Elliott (athlete), Peter Elliott, former England goalkeeper David Seaman, golfer Danny Willett and 2010 FIFA World Cup Final referee Howard Webb are all from Rotherham.
Freedom of the Borough
Individuals
* Gavin Walker : 12 January 2022.
Military Units
* On Monday 3 August 2009 Rotherham became the first town to bestow the Freedom of the City, Freedom of the Borough on the Yorkshire Regiment, giving it the right to march through the town with "flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed". At a ceremony outside Rotherham Town Hall, the Regiment paraded two Guards of soldiers who had recently returned from Iraq and the Colours, standards and guidons, Colours 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 officer. The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Shaukat Ali, 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
Rotherham is the hometown of the Chuckle Brothers, Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and England football team, England goalkeeper David Seaman along with World Cup and English Premier League referee Howard Webb. Sean Bean began his acting career in Rotherham while actors Liz White (actress), Liz White, Ryan Sampson, Dean Andrews and Darrell D'Silva also hail from Rotherham, as does former leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, William Hague, and Sir Donald Coleman Bailey. Presenter James May grew up in Rotherham. His co-presenter on Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson trained to be a journalist at the ''Rotherham Advertiser''.
Comedians Sandy Powell (comedian), Sandy Powell and Duggie Brown were born in Rotherham, as was actress Lynne Perrie. Christopher Wolstenholme of Muse (band), Muse, DJ Kritikal Mass, Dean Andrews of ''Life on Mars (UK TV series), Life on Mars'', artist Margaret Clarkson (artist), Margaret Clarkson, band Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers and singer-actor Rob McVeigh were all born or mostly raised in Rotherham.
Twin towns
Rotherham's official twin towns are:
* Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France
Partner towns
Rotherham has three partner towns:
* Cluj-Napoca, Romania
* Riesa, Germany
* Zabrze, Poland
See also
*Listed buildings in Rotherham (Boston Castle Ward)
*Rotherham Tramway
*Trolleybuses in Rotherham
References
Further reading
Rotherham Timeline
Rotherham Greats
External links
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Boston Castle, Rotherham, website
*
{{Authority control
Rotherham,
Towns in South Yorkshire
Unparished areas in South Yorkshire
Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham
Folly castles in England