Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley 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. I ...

, 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, a ...

(formerly Wombwell West) serves the Penistone and Hallam lines. Until 1959 it had another station (

Wombwell Central Wombwell Central railway station was a railway station situated on the South Yorkshire Railway company's line between Mexborough and Barnsley. The station lay between Wath Central and Stairfoot. The station was built to serve the mining town of ...

) on the Barnsley-Doncaster line that was closed when that line lost its passenger service. Wombwell was home to two collieries; Wombwell Main and Mitchells Main. Wombwell is close to the large shopping and leisure facilities of Cortonwood, 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 bu ...

, tended to by a voluntary group named the Friends of Wombwell Cemetery. The cemetery houses two chapels that are Grade II listed buildings: 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 I ...

. 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 letter ...

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 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 competit ...

, 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 – Formed in 1920. Played in the Midland League and reached the 1st Round of the

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 * Wombwell Main – competing in the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League. Mark Jones, one of the eight

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

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 ...

, Yorkshire CCC and England cricketer was born in Wombwell and is buried in Wombwell Cemetery. The South Yorkshire Sports Stadium on Station Road existed from 1928 to 1965 and hosted greyhound racing and speedway. The Wombwell Greyhound Stadium 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.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in South Yorkshire Unparished areas in South Yorkshire Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley