Coordinates: 53°25′48″N 1°21′26″W / 53.4301°N 1.3572°W / 53.4301; -1.3572
Rotherham (
pronunciation ( help · info ) ) 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 6 miles (10 km) 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 forded 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. As of June 2009 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.
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