Stairfoot is a ward in

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

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. In N ...

, England. It is perhaps so named because it lies at the bottom of a valley in between the undulations of two small hills on the old road from Barnsley to

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 ...

. Stairfoot is surrounded by the villages of

Kendray Kendray is an area in the S70 postal district of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England that lies between Sheffield Road and Doncaster Road, both of which lead to and from Barnsley town centre. The area takes its name from Kendray Hospital which ...

and Ardsley. Stairfoot is known widely throughout South Yorkshire for its

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

. Controlled by traffic signals, it is notorious for its delays to the local traffic system and has inspired a local song. The ward used to have its own

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, but this closed in 1957 due to competition from local buses. The area supports over 300 businesses, including retail outlets such as

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

, Dunelm Mill and

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

, along with various restaurants and convenience stores. The

Trans Pennine Trail The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...

also passes through Stairfoot using the old railway bridges which cross the roads leading to the roundabout, and the old railway bedding which has been mainly tarmacked. It is suitable for cyclists, pushchairs and wheelchair users, and some parts are open to horse riding.

Hope Glass Works

In 1867,

Ben Rylands Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

founded the Hope Glass Works at Stairfoot on what is now derelict land alongside the

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

supermarket. During 1873, Rylands was heavily involved in perfecting the manufacture process for

Hiram Codd Hiram Codd (10 January 1838 – 18 February 1887) was an English engineer and inventor. In 1872, he patented a bottle filled under gas pressure which pushed a marble against a rubber washer in the neck, creating a seal for soft drinks. Thi ...

's new globe-stoppered mineral water bottle. Codd rewarded him with a licence to manufacture the bottle in April 1874 and the business took off. Orders for the new bottle were so good that Rylands could not meet demand from his original works, so work was commenced on a second factory on land that was occupied by

Beatson Clark Beatson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander Beatson (1759–1833), East India Company office, governor of St. Helena, and experimental agriculturist *Benjamin Wrigglesworth Beatson, (1803–1874), English classical sch ...

. Hiram Codd joined Ben Rylands in partnership at Stairfoot in May 1877. In 1881, after four years together, Ben died leaving Codd to carry on the business alone. In 1882 Codd admitted Ben's son,

Dan Rylands Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

as a business partner. Dan Rylands took over the partnership after his father's death but this new alliance was doomed to failure, even though in 1882 they patented 'the crystal' (valve codd). On October 6, 1884, probably resenting the young Rylands inventive intrusion, Hiram Codd allowed his partner to buy him out of the business and left to pursue other interests. The Hope Glass Works under the stewardship of Dan Rylands was now the largest factory of its kind in the world.

References

Villages in South Yorkshire Geography of Barnsley {{SouthYorkshire-geo-stub

Hope Glass Works

See also

References