Harworth is an area in the civil parish of

Harworth Bircotes Harworth Bircotes or Harworth and Bircotes is a town and civil parish in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. The parish includes the settlements of Bircotes and Harworth Harworth is an area in the civil ...

(with

Bircotes Bircotes is an area in the civil parish of Harworth Bircotes (with Harworth) in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the border with South Yorkshire. The population of the civil parish was 7,948. The local school in the area is ...

) in the Bassetlaw district in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, England. It is approximately north of

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from th ...

. The population of the civil parish was 7,948 in the 2011 Census.

History

The Harworth coal mine opened in 1921 and produced coal for the power stations on the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

. A new pit tower was built in 1989 when the pit was at its peak of production but seven years later the colliery was 'mothballed'. In 2015, it was announced that the pit tower would be demolished and the colliery site would be redeveloped for housing which has since been completed. The former freight line and sidings into the colliery have been lifted and left undeveloped. The local football team is called Harworth Colliery F.C. Industrial units, Harworth - geograph

Etymology

The town's name is from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''har'' "grey" (compare modern hoary") and ''worth'' (also ''worō'', ''worþ'') "

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

". Harworth was recorded in the

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 ...

as ''Hareworde''.

Notable people

The town – once a busy coalmining community – is particularly noteworthy as the home of

Tom Simpson Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Simpson began road cycling as a teenager ...

(1937–1967), one of Britain's greatest road racing cyclists, the

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1965. Simpson began his cycling career as a club member at Harworth and District Cycling Club. After his death on

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; oc, Ventor, label= Provençal ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest ...

during the

1967 Tour de France The 1967 Tour de France was the 54th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 29 June and 23 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Thirteen national teams of ten riders compe ...

, his body was brought back to Nottinghamshire and interred in Harworth's cemetery. A small museum dedicated to Simpson's achievements was opened in August 2001 and can be found in the Harworth and

sports and social club. There is also a history of

Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...

s being here during the Second World War. Author

Lindsey Kelk Lindsey Kelk is a bestselling British author, journalist and formerly worked as a children's book editor. She was initially signed up to a three-book deal by publishers HarperCollins following the submission of a manuscript for her first novel. To ...

hails from Harworth, and attended North Border Comprehensive School from 1992-99.

Schools

There is a Church of England primary School in Harworth (Harworth Church of England Academy) and a Catholic primary school in Bircotes (St Patrick's Catholic Primary School). The town is also served by

Serlby Park Academy Serlby Park Academy is a mixed all-through school and sixth form located in the twin villages of Bircotes and Harworth in North Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region o ...

, a 3–18 school in Bircotes.

Places of worship

The Anglican parish church of All Saints is grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

and dates in part to the 12th century. Harworth Methodist Church is a red brick building in Bircotes, having been built as a facility for the 1920s mining population. St Patrick's Catholic Church was a wooden building built in the 1930s and included the stations of the cross carved in coal. It closed at Easter 2018, and the parish merged with that of St Helen, Oldcotes which later formed part of the parish of St Jude, Worksop.

Listed buildings in Harworth

All Saints Church, the war memorial, and six properties in Main Street, Harworth (three barns and three houses) are 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 Irel ...

References

External links

UK Coal HarworthHarworth pit to close in 2006.
*
Harworth & Bircotes Neighbourhood Development Plan 2015 – 2028Understanding Harworth & Bircotes: Harworth & Bircotes Neighbourhood Development Plan 2014 - 2028
{{authority control Towns in Nottinghamshire Bassetlaw District