Wombwell () is a town 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 ru ...
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 in the 2011 census was split between a ward called Wombwell, as well as small parts that fell under two other wards called Darfield (specifically the area south of Pitt Street, including Broomhill) and Stairfoot (specifically the area south of Aldham Crescent). Added together, these list the town's population as roughly 15,316.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
within 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 ...
, its name's origin may mean "Womba's Well", or "well in a hollow".
Wombwell railway station
Wombwell railway station is a railway station serving the town of Wombwell in South Yorkshire, England. The station is north of Sheffield on the Hallam and Penistone Lines. The station was opened by the Midland Railway on 1 July 1897, and bet ...
(formerly Wombwell West) serves the
Penistone
Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...
and
Hallam lines. Until 1959 it had another station (
Wombwell Central) on the Barnsley-Doncaster line that was closed when that line lost its passenger service. Wombwell was home to two
collieries
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
; Wombwell Main and Mitchells Main. Wombwell is close to the large shopping and leisure facilities of
Cortonwood
Cortonwood was a colliery near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The colliery's proposed closure was a tipping point in the 1984-85 miners' strike. The site is now a shopping and leisure centre.
History
Cortonwood colliery was sunk in 1873 ...
, and also has a number of local business from cafes to travel agents and high street chains like
Wilko store on High Street.
Wombwell has one main
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
, tended to by a voluntary group named the Friends of Wombwell Cemetery. The cemetery houses two chapels that are
Grade II listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
: one of which was transformed into an outdoor "
Peace Garden" without a roof due to a fire before the group materialised; the other renovated into a "Community Hub".
Churches
The parish church, St Mary's, located on Church Street, is a
Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
. The parish also contains the
Anglican church of St George, St Michael and All Angels
Roman Catholic
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 let ...
church,
Wombwell
Pentecostal Church
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement , a
Salvation Army Hall and a
Methodist Church.
Education
*
Netherwood Academy
Netherwood Academy (formerly Netherwood Advanced Learning Centre) is a secondary school located next to Netherwood Country Park, between Wombwell and Darfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England.
The school was f ...
established in 2012 from a merger of Wombwell High School and
Darfield Foulstone School
* St Michael and All Angels Catholic Primary School, located on Stonyford Road, was established in 1903
* Kings Oak Primary Learning Centre, established in 2007 from a merger of Kings Road Infant School and Oakfield Junior School
* High View Primary Learning Centre, established in 2007 from a merger of Highfields Junior School and Wood View Infant School
* Park Street Primary Learning Centre
Sport
Football
The town has had a number of football teams –
*
Wombwell Town (I) – The first to represent the village in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, in 1896. Won the inaugural
Yorkshire League in 1899. Dissolved in the 1900s.
* Wombwell Rising Star F.C. – Defunct team who entered the FA Cup just once, in 1904
*
Wombwell
Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The town in the 2011 census was split between a ward called Wombwell, as well as small parts that fell under two other wards called Darfield (specifically ...
– Formed in 1920. Played in the
Midland League
The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid.
History
T ...
and reached the 1st Round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
in 1930, but dissolved in 1934.
*
Wombwell Town (II) – Three times
Yorkshire League champions, dissolved in 2000. Previously known as Wombwell Athletic, Wombwell & Darfield and Wombwell Sporting Association.
* Wombwell Town F.C. Formed in 2018 and play at the Recreation Ground on Station Road. They compete in the
Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League
The Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior Football League is an English football league that was founded in 1983 by the merger of the former Sheffield Association League and Hatchard League. The league has three divisions – the Premier Div ...
*
Wombwell Main – competing in the
Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League
The Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior Football League is an English football league that was founded in 1983 by the merger of the former Sheffield Association League and Hatchard League. The league has three divisions – the Premier Div ...
.
Mark Jones, one of the eight
Manchester United players who died in the
Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958, is buried in Wombwell Cemetery, having been born in Wombwell in 1933.
Other sports
Roy Kilner
Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin.
In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...
, Yorkshire CCC and England cricketer was born in Wombwell and is buried in Wombwell Cemetery.
The
South Yorkshire Sports Stadium
South Yorkshire Sports Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium on Station Road in Wombwell, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. It was one of two greyhound tracks in the town; the other was called the Wombwell Greyhound Stadium.
Orig ...
on Station Road existed from 1928 to 1965 and hosted
greyhound racing and
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
.
The
Wombwell Greyhound Stadium
Wombwell Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing and football stadium on Hough Lane in Wombwell, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. It was one of two greyhound tracks in the town; the other was called the South Yorkshire Sports Stadium.
Origins ...
on Hough Lane existed from 1934 to 1972 and hosted
greyhound racing. It had previously been a football ground.
Floods
Parts of Wombwell were affected by the
2007 floods in the UK. The
River Dove breached its banks on Friday 15 June and then again on Monday 25 June. Many homes and businesses were flooded.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Wombwell
References
Further reading
*Basterman, T. (1924), ''Crystal gazing: a study in the history, distribution, theory and practice of scrying'', London:
William Rider.
External links
{{authority control
Towns in South Yorkshire
Unparished areas in South Yorkshire
Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley