Swinton is a town in 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, ...

, in

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. ...

, England on the west bank of the River Don. It has a population of 15,559 (2011). The town is five miles north-northeast of the larger town of

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, 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 ...

and directly west-southwest of

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguous ...

. The original junior and infant school building built 1852 on Church Street formerly Fitzwilliam School still exists being converted into residential apartments called 'Fitzwilliam Lodge'

History

The town was once a centre for the manufacture of

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 ...

of international importance, and deep

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

glassmaking 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 contain ...

, canal barge-building and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. It is known for the Rockingham Pottery, a world-renowned manufacturer of porcelain. Although the factory closed in 1842, its name defines a style of

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

porcelain. There were several other potteries in the area during the 19th century. One of the original kilns, the Rockingham, or Waterloo, Kiln, a small part of the factory, a gatehouse (both now private residences) and the pottery flint millpond remain today in Pottery Ponds, a small park off Blackamoor Road near the ''Woodman'' public house. Swinton was also the site of the important but lesser known Don Pottery. The village lies between the Roman Ridge (extending approximately from Wincobank to the north east of Sheffield, to Mexborough) and the south west Roman road from Doncaster (the Roman fort and minor settlement of Danum). A coin hoard dating to the early 3rd century was excavated during the construction of a house cellar in the village in 1853. In June 2014, Andrew Allen uncovered a number of pottery sherds whilst gardening at home. Preliminary observations found that it comprised approximately 90 pottery sherds, including high status Samian ware, traditional cooking wares and rusticated pottery, as well as possible metal and glass working waste products. In October 2014, South Yorkshire's first crowd-funded archaeological projec

commenced with an archaeological excavation in the area of the pottery finds. It found evidence of a Roman ditch and a possible Roman field system and numerous pieces of pottery from the late 1st to mid 3rd centuries. Further archaeological excavation was undertaken in spring 2015 and a comprehensive geophysical survey of Swinton Fitzwilliam school playing fields. Further work is planned with Elmet Archaeology and the local community.

Topography

The town is situated on a hillside. The higher areas generally contain older dwellings, and the lower, newer build properties. The lowest part of the town contains two main rail lines, the River Don, 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 lock ...

canal and the derelict

Dearne and Dove Canal The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through South Yorkshire, England from Swinton to Barnsley through nineteen locks, rising . The canal also had two short branches, the Worsbrough branch and the Elsecar branch, both about two ...

Economy and transport

Following the decline of traditional industries and after the 1980s miners' strike, employment is provided predominantly by service and

light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...

in the Manvers area. Surviving in the area of railway lines and canals is a boat yard with a limited barge repair and transport business, and timber milling and woodworking facilities. The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation canal, once a major transport route between

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 ...

and

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...

, underwent substantial modernisation in the mid-1980s and is capable of accommodating large vessels as far as

, and pleasure craft through to Sheffield. Limited bulk freight has returned to the canal with use of the modern Swinton Lock. The town was without a

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 Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

between January 1968, when the

old station Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

was closed as part of the Beeching cuts, and 1991, when a new station was opened after the restoration of the double track "Swinton Curve" (also known as the "Foundry Curve"), enabling trains to travel from Sheffield 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 ...

. Increased passenger usage led to the provision of a portable building staffed for morning peak times only. It was replaced by a brick building housing a ticket office and waiting room. Some local bus services connect with trains at this facility.

Education

Swinton's secondary school, with sixth form college, is Swinton Academy. It teaches pupils from age 11 to 18. The school was scheduled to be rebuilt on the current site but the scrapping of the rebuilding schools programme by the coalition government of the time meant that the school will not have a new building. There are also several primary schools and nurseries, including Swinton Fitzwilliam Primary, Swinton Queen Primary School and Brookfield Primary School. Swinton Queen Primary School was rebuilt and opened in March 2011 with the old school buildings being demolished. On the outskirts of Swinton are

Dearne Valley College Dearne Valley College is a further education college situated in the Manvers Park area of Wath-upon-Dearne, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It also has a campus near Wath-upon-Dearne Wath upon Dearne (s ...

and the empty

Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for ...

House which was used for nursing studies by

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

Amenities

Swinton has 14

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s commonly called "The Swinton Mile", which range from typical Yorkshire pubs serving food, modern bars, 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 ...

Local issues

Industrial premises on Swinton's boundary with

Kilnhurst Kilnhurst is a village in South Yorkshire, England, on the banks of the River Don and the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. It grew up around the coal mining, ceramics, glass, brick-making and locomotive industries; none of these ind ...

were occupied by Croda

Hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

, who took over the works from Midland and Yorkshire Tar Distillers. The site is controversial owing to pollution during the plant operations. Despite this planning permission was granted to build domestic dwellings. A Validation Certificate has been issued and work by Gleeson Homes started.

Notable people

Frederick William Hulme Frederick William Hulme (22 October 1816 – 14 November 1884) was an English landscape painter and illustrator. Hulme was born in Swinton in Yorkshire, the son of Jesse Hulme and Elizabeth Trewolla. His mother was a porcelain painter and ...

(1816–1884), landscape artist. * Charles Green (baptised 26 December 1734 – 29 January 1771), astronomer.

References

External links

Swinton Community School
{{authority control Towns in South Yorkshire Unparished areas in South Yorkshire Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham