Rotherham ( ) is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. According to the 2001 Census the population of the Borough of Rotherham is 248,175, and that of the Rotherham urban sub-area 117,262.

History

Early history

While there were Iron Age and Roman settlements in the area now covered by the town, Rotherham itself was not founded until the Early Middle Ages. It soon established itself as a key Saxon market town, lying, as it does, on a Roman road near a ford part of the River Don.

By the late Saxon period, Rotherham was at the centre of a large parish on both sides of the River Don. Following the Norman Conquest, an absentee lord, Nigel Fossard, was put in place. His successors the De Vescis also rarely visited the town and so did not build a castle or contribute to the town's civil life, but did maintain a Friday market and a fair. In the mid-thirteenth century, John de Vesci and Ralph de Tili gave all their possessions in Rotherham to Rufford Abbey. The monks collected tithes from the town and gained rights to add Monday as an additional market day and to extend the annual fair from two to three days.

The townsmen of Rotherham formed an organisation, the "Greaves of Our Lady's Light", which worked closely with the town's three guilds. This was suppressed in 1547 but revived in 1584 as the Feoffees of the Common Lands of Rotherham, an organisation which remains in existence.

In the 1480s the Rotherham-born Archbishop of York, Thomas Rotherham, instigated the building of a college (The College of Jesus) to rival the colleges of Cambridge and Oxford. This was the first brick building in what is now South Yorkshire and taught theology, singing, grammar and writing.

The College and the stylish new parish church of All Saints made Rotherham an enviable and modern town at the turn of the 16th century. But the college was dissolved in 1547 under the reign of Edward VI, its assets stripped for the crown. Much of the College building remains intact but hidden from view in Rotherham town centre.

By the end of the 16th century, Rotherham had fallen from a fashionable college town to a notorious haven of gambling and vice. Nevertheless, the history of Thomas Rotherham and education in the town continues to be remembered in the name of Thomas Rotherham College.

Industrial history

Iron and steel

The region had been exploited for iron since Roman times, but it was coal that first brought the industrial revolution to Rotherham. The seams were the driving force behind the improvements to navigation along the Don, the various cuttings eventually forming the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

Rotherham iron was very highly regarded for its strength. Iron, and later steel, became the principal industry in Rotherham, surviving well into the 20th century. The Walker family built up something of an iron and steel empire in Rotherham. Throughout the 18th century, the Walker foundries produced high quality cannon including some manufactured for H.M.S. Victory, in addition to several early cast iron bridges, one of which was commissioned by Thomas Paine.

The 1800s saw a massive expansion of Rotherham's cast iron industry, starting with the opening of the Effingham Ironworks in 1820, later becoming Yates Haywood & Co. Other major ironfounders included William Corbitt and Co.; George Wright and Co. of Burton Weir; Owen and Co., of Wheathill Foundry; Morgan Macauley and Waide, of the Baths Foundry; the Masbro’ Stove Grate Co., belonging to Messrs. Perrot; W. H. Micklethwait, and John and Richard Corker, of the Ferham Works.

The Parkgate Ironworks was first established in 1823 by Sanderson and Watson, and changed ownership several times. In 1854 Samuel Beal & Co produced the wrought iron plates for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's famous steamship the SS Great Eastern. In 1864 the ironworks was taken over by the Parkgate Iron Co. Ltd, becoming the Park Gate Iron and Steel Company in 1888. The company was purchased by Tube Investments Ltd in 1956 and finally closed in 1974. Steel, Peech and Tozer's massive Templeborough steelworks (now the Magna Science Adventure Centre) was, at its peak, over a mile long, employing 10,000 workers, and housing six electric arc furnaces producing 1.8 million tonnes of steel a year. The operation finally closed down in 1993.

Joseph Foljambe established a factory to produce his Rotherham plough, the first commercially successful iron plough.

Rotherham continues to be amongst the leaders in advanced manufacturing in the UK. The Corus Engineering Steels (CES) plant in Rotherham produces steel for a number of products worldwide, including Renault Formula One cars and the new Airbus A380 "super jumbo" aeroplane.

The future of this steel industry in Rotherham lies in doubt in light of the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Rotherham's economic reliance on supplying the automobile industry with raw steel has led to the announcement of a significant scale-back of operations in January 2009. This, combined with the closure of Rotherham's Burberry clothing factory has led to the most significant economic crisis in this part of South Yorkshire since the 1980s.

Other industries

The first Rotherham glass works was set up in 1751, and went on to become Beatson Clark & Co. one of the town's largest manufacturers, exporting glass medicine bottles worldwide. Beatson Clark & Co. was a family business until 1961, when it became a public company. The glass works is still operating on the same site, although the family connection has ceased and the company is now owned by TT Group plc. Its main activities are still the manufacture and sale of glass containers for the pharmaceutical, food and drinks industries. In the 19th century other successful industries included pottery, brass making and the manufacture of cast iron fireplaces. Precision manufacturing companies in the town include; AESSEAL, Newburgh Engineering, Precision Magnetics and Orkot Composites. Rotherham is also the location for the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

Flour Mills

The milling of grain into flour was also a traditional industry in Rotherham, formerly in the Millmoor area (hence Rotherham United F.C. nickname "The Millers") This industry continued at the Rank Hovis town mill site on Canklow Road until September 2008.The site of the mill continues to function as a warehousing and distribution facility for Premier Foods plc.

Rotherham Renaissance

From 2007 the town centre underwent an extensive urban regeneration project known as the "Rotherham Renaissance": the buildings include apartments, retail units, outdoor cafés, and a new theatre.

Completed

The project is well into work and is starting to show. two of the largest buildings 'The Old Market' on Domine Lane which is the main apartment and shopping building is now complete and open and is now dominating the skyline of the town centre alongside the nearly completed Keppel Wharf. Keppel Wharf is also mixed apartment and commercial space is now nearing completion. The Imperial Buildings has also had its renovation and is now fully open.

The following are the completed buildings in the regeneration:

The Old Market Domine Lane (Apartments and Shops)

The Old Market on Domine Lane, which is one of the project's key sites, was completed late 2008 and is part of the All Saints Quarter in the town centre. The new building includes 44 apartments as well as commercial space on the ground floor which is likely to be used as a large store. The new building is now a major dominating feature of the Rotherham skyline alongside nealy built Keppel Wharf.

Keppel Wharf

Keppel Wharf is now up and is near completion and is another key building in the project. The Wharf is on the waterfront and includes waterfront cafes and bars on the ground floor with 53 apartments above. It is currently up with just internal work needed to be finished before fully opening. It stands next to the newly built old market (see above) dominating the skyline in the All Saints Quarter of the town centre.

Imperial Buildings

The Imperial Buildings is one of the town centre's oldest and most historic buildings and has now been restored to include 19 apartments and cafes, bars and shops below on the ground floor and it reopened late 2008.

This building has been empty since the beginning of restoration. All business properties are vacant (November 2009). It once housed a tobacconist that had probably the oldest traditional shop interior in Rotherham, this part of the building now has been ruined and gutted back to the brick like the rest of the business premises.This was once a fine building that required attention. It is now an empty shell.I believe that businesses that were previously based within this building never reopened within Rotherham.

Future and ongoing construction

The Guest and Chrimes factory site will include the Civic Quarter with new council offices. The site is currently been cleared for building to commence. Forge Island (current Tesco site) is planned to form an anchor project containing a new Cultural Quarter with retail, apartments and a new theatre, library and arts centre. This will go ahead once Tesco has moved to its new base which is in the Commercial Quarter. In late 2008 the new St. Anne's Leisure Complex was completed and is now open. Plans have been announced for a new railway station which is planned to open in 2010. All Saints Building is currently in the middle of demolition. There are also currently plans for a new cinema near the current market. RCAT Collage have announced plans for a rebuild of its campus. But funding for this was lost with the failure of the Learning Skills Council to honor its promises.

Governance

Like most of South Yorkshire, Rotherham is a Labour Party stronghold, its seat in the House of Commons having been held by Labour MPs continuously since a by-election in 1933. Denis MacShane, the current Member of Parliament for Rotherham, has held the seat continuously since a by-election in 1994 precipitated by the death in office of James Boyce.

With the exception of West Bromwich, Rotherham is the largest town in the United Kingdom without its own Royal Mail postcode.

Geography

Beyond the town centre and away from the Don Valley, the Rotherham district is largely rural, containing a mixture of farming and mining communities as well as the large Wentworth Woodhouse estate, where the last surviving kiln of the Rockingham Pottery may still be seen.

A large part of Rotherham was hit by the floods in the summer of 2007. The floods brought huge disruption to the town, closing many of the roads, local schools, and the local transport system, as well as damaging personal and commercial property. Rotherham's neighbours Barnsley, Doncaster, and Sheffield were also badly flooded. Rotherham's Parkgate shopping centre was badly damaged, with most of the shops suffering damage, and some losing a large amount of stock to the flood water. The Meadowhall Centre on the border of Rotherham and Sheffield was also affected. A new wetland and flood storage area, called Centenary Washlands, has since been built by Rotherham council and the Environment Agency to prevent flooding in the future. Sheffield Wildlife Trust is to managing the site as a local nature reserve.

The nearby Ulley reservoir caused major concern for the town as the front centre section of the dam collapsed, threatening to break and release the water into nearby areas of Canklow, Catcliffe, Treeton, and Whiston, as well as a major electrical sub-station serving the city of Sheffield. The local radio station, Rother FM, also had to evacuate from their studios based in the danger area. Therefore, its sister station, Trax FM, was broadcast on the Rother FM frequency (96.1 FM) along with the usual Trax FM frequencies providing information for the Rotherham area as well as Bassetlaw (107.9 FM) and Doncaster (107.1 FM), the normal target areas. Rotherham's fire brigade and police officers worked for hours with thirteen high-powered pumps to remove some of the water and lessen the pressure on the dam wall. Eventually they were able to lower the water level by several feet and reduce the immediate danger. The dam, however, remains damaged, and even with more rainfall in the following weeks the dam held, thanks to the efforts of South Yorkshire Police and the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service. By the summer of 2008, much of the reservoir and the surrounding country park were once again open for the public to enjoy.

Demography

Census population data for the borough of Rotherham 1801-1891
Year	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Population	17,191	18,283	20,872	23,024	27,635	31,386	47,728	64,070	80,412	95,602
Source: Vision of Britain - Rotherham District: Total Population. Rotherham District: Total Population. Vision of Britain. Retrieved on 2009-02-02.

Census population data for the borough of Rotherham 1901-2001
Year	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001
Population	119,915	150,415	167,223	185,926	197,005	208,799	225,305	243,118	250,340	254,937	248,176
Source: Vision of Britain - Rotherham District: Total Population.

Town centre and shopping

While the developments of the "Rotherham Renaissance" are expected to attract major high street stores, the town already has well-known brands such as Burtons, Primark, Tesco and a W H Smith . It also has fast food brands like McDonalds and KFC. Further out of town, along Wickersley Road is one of the UKs leading Cartridge World branded stores. As part of the Rotherham Renaissance the town is encouraging an outdoor cafe culture through the town centre.

As of May 2009 parking is free throughout the council car parks after 3 p.m. However, at out-of-town centres such as Parkgate Shopping or Meadowhall, free parking is available all day. Just outside the centre is Parkgate Shopping Park, which has 34 shopping and food outlets and is one of England's busiest retail parks.

Rotherham has a small catchment area, lying close very close to Sheffield and near to Barnsley and Doncaster. The Meadowhall Centre is also only a couple of miles from the town centre, just over the border in Sheffield in the Lower Don Valley. The Valley Centertainment entertainment complex, which includes a cinema and other entertainment facilities, is also based there. As a result, Rotherham town centre is perceived to be smaller and less busy than the centres of many other towns its size.

Parkgate and Meadowhall have attracted mid-market car driving shoppers away from the town centre, which has headed downmarket in the last decade or so. For example, BHS and Marks & Spencer moved out. Parts of the town centre are now being demolished and further building works are being carried out, however, the possibility of new businesses moving into these premises is not assured.

Landmarks

Despite its history, Rotherham is rather short on old (secular) buildings. The only surviving timber-framed structure is the empty, dilapidated, and much altered former Three Cranes pub (16th century). Much of Rotherham's town centre was knocked down and modernised during the course of the 20th century. The town centre does, however, contain one of only four surviving bridge chapels in the country: the 15th century Chapel of Our Lady of Rotherham Bridge (or "Chapel on the Bridge"), beside Chantry Bridge (the name given to the new road bridge opened in the 1930s). The chapel was restored in 1923, having spent a good period of time as the town jail and a tobacconist's shop. The building known as Doncaster Gate Hospital Rotherham was originally called Rotherham Hospital and Dispensary and was built in 1872 with public funding

Other buildings of note include the 15th century Minster (formerly All Saints parish church), the 18th century Clifton House, which now houses Clifton Park Museum, and the remains of the 16th century College of Jesus. Boston Castle, which stands in the grounds of Boston Park, was originally constructed as a hunting lodge between 1773 and 1774 by Thomas, 3rd Earl of Effingham to mark his opposition to British attempts to crush the American War of Independence. It is named after Boston, Massachusetts, the scene of the Boston Tea Party.

On the outskirts of Rotherham, a brick built glass making furnace, the Catcliffe Glass Cone, is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Western Europe and one of only four remaining in the United Kingdom. Threatened with demolition in the 1960s, it has now been preserved as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and stands as a focal point in a sheltered housing complex. At Maltby near Rotherham, the medieval ruins of the Cistercian Roche Abbey are a popular tourist destination.

Culture

Entertainment and nightlife

Nightlife

The principal clubbing area runs from the "Pop" nightclub on Ship Hill down to "Liquid".

Cinemas

The nearest cinemas are the VUE cinema at the Meadowhall Centre and Cineworld at the Valley Centertainment which is one of the largest and busiest cinemas in the country. These are located in Sheffield but have easy transport access from Rotherham town centre.

Valley Centertainment

The Valley Centertainment is just over the border in Sheffield next to the Meadowhall Centre and Sheffield Arena. The Centertainment is a large entertainment complex including Cineworld cinema which is noted as being one of the largest in the country, Hollywood Bowl bowling alley and over nine different restaurants including Nandos, Pizza Express, Frankie & Benny's and Old Orleans.

Sheffield Arena

The Sheffield Arena is only a few miles from Rotherham Town centre and is one of the largest indoor arenas in the country hosting many big name acts including Girls Aloud, The Killers, Beyonce, Muse, McFly.

Music

Rotherham has many Classic and Progressive Rock bands, helped by the Classic Rock Society, and has spawned many bands, such as Deadline, Saxon, Crimes of Passion, Jive Bunny, Bring Me the Horizon, Good Morning Liberty, and Disarm. Jarvis Cocker and Pulp played their first gig at Rotherham Arts Centre in 1980.

Rotherham attractions

The town square, All Saints Square, uses a BBC Big Screen to show major sports and cultural events. The town has a Civic Theatre and an Arts Centre. Sean Bean made his stage debut at Rotherham Civic Theatre whilst still a student at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology.

The Magna Science Adventure Centre which is built in a former steel works, has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region.

In popular culture

Jamie Oliver's television series Jamie's Ministry of Food, is based in Rotherham and was recently broadcast on Channel 4. Jamie aimed to make Rotherham "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" by a his 'Pass it on' scheme. He tried to get the town's inhabitants to learn how to cook fresh food and establish healthy eating as part of daily life.

Sport

Rotherham is home to Rotherham United Football Club who play in Coca Cola League Two. Their home ground is currently the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield. Rotherham United's manager is Ronnie Moore. The club have over the years played as high as the Coca Cola league Championship but are currently playing in Coca Cola League Two.

The town also has a rugby union team, the Rotherham Titans, who reached the Guinness Premiership in 1999 and 2003 before being relegated. They play at the Clifton Lane Sports Ground. Hurdler Chris Rawlinson, Olympic gold medallist sailor Paul Goodison, Olympic silver medallist Peter Elliott and former England goalkeeper David Seaman are from Rotherham. ChampCar and former Formula One driver Justin Wilson is from Woodall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham.

Speedway racing was staged in the town in the pioneer days of the sport in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Twin towns

Rotherham is twinned with, among others:

• Riesa, Germany
• Saint-Quentin, France
• Shenzhen, China

Freedom of the borough

On Monday 3 August 2009 Rotherham became the first town to bestow the 'Freedom of the Borough' on the Yorkshire Regiment. This gives the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. At a ceremony outside the Town Hall the Regiment paraded two Guards of soldiers, who had recently returned from Iraq and the Colours of the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's), led by the Kings Division Band, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vallings, the Battalion Commanding officer. The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Shaukat Ali, on behalf of the Borough, presented the Freedom Scroll to Colonel Simon Newton, who accepted the honour for the Regiment. The regiment is the only military unit to become 'Honorary Freemen of the Borough.'

Notable people from Rotherham

The comedian Sandy Powell was born in Rotherham and the town has produced several entertainers who started on the Working men's club scene, such as Duggie Brown, brother of Coronation Street actress Lynne Perrie, Paul Shane and Christopher Wolstenholme of Muse. Dean Andrews, star of Life On Mars lived in Rotherham and still visits the town on a regular basis.

The artist Margaret Clarkson was born in Rotherham on 18 May 1941. Her Nostalgic art is exhibited throughout UK and abroad, and her illustrations have appeared in publications, such as the autobiography Life in a Liberty Bodice. Random recollections of a Yorkshire childhood.

Rob McVeigh, a contestant on the BBC's 2007 show Any Dream Will Do, hails from Rotherham, as well as Richard Morgan who reached the finals of ITV's Grease is the Word and can now be seen on the local club circuit. Rotherham is also the hometown of the Chuckle Brothers who are famous for the children's comedy programme Chuckle Vision which has aired for over 20 years on the BBC. Bring Me The Horizon's video for The Comedown was filmed in Wickersley, Hellaby and Maltby, Rotherham.

The poet and author A. R. Monday was born in Rotherham as was Arsenal and England goalkeeper David Seaman. Professor John Lee, known for the television shows Anatomy for Beginners and Autopsy: Life and Death is a consultant histopathologist at Rotherham General Hospital. The TV presenter James May of Top Gear fame moved to Rotherham when he was young and lived in the town for several years. The actress Liz White who starred in Life on Mars and in the BBC remake of 'Fairy Tales' in the Emperor's New Clothes. Ryan Sampson who played Alex Venables in After You've Gone also hails from Rotherham. Former Conservative Party leader and Leader of the Opposition William Hague was born and raised in Rotherham; however, he holds his seat in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

References

1. ONS
2. RotherhamUnOfficial
3. David Hey, Medieval South Yorkshire
4. Cornell.edu
5. [1]
6. [2]
7. Rotherham Town Centre Shopping Directory
8. John Goodchild, ‘Matters of Concern: the Life Story of the Third Earl of Effingham’, Aspects of Rotherham: Discovering Local History, ed. Melvyn Jones (Barnsley: Wharncliffe Publishing Limited, 1995).
9. Information on Margaret Clarkson
10. Christabel Burniston. Smith Settle. ISBN 1858250560

• Rotherham Timeline
• Rotherham Greats

External links

• Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
• Rotherham Renaissance Website
• Know Rotherham local directory
• Rotherham Web community, genealogy and more
• Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society website