Visit Rotherham Places

Welcome to Visit Rotherham Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Rotherham

  

Rotherham Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Rotherham

---

Rotherham history

---

Early history

Rotherham was founded in the very early Middle Ages . It established itself as a Saxon market town, on a Roman road near a forded part of the River Don . The name is from Old English hām ‘homestead, estate’, meaning ‘Homestead on the Rother’ The name was carried into Old English from Brittonic branch of Celtic words: ro- ‘over, chief’

Industrial Revolution

The region had been exploited for iron since Roman times, but it was coal that first brought the Industrial Revolution to Rotherham. Exploitation of the coal seams was the driving force behind the improvements to navigation on the River Don, which eventually formed the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation system of navigable inland waterways. In the early Industrial Revolution major uses of iron demanded good local ore and established processing skills for iron strength, qualities found in Rotherham’s smelting plants and foundries. Iron, and later steel, became the principal industry in Rotherham, surviving into the 20th century. The Walker family built an iron and steel empire in the 18th century, their foundries producing high quality cannon, including some for the ship of the line HMS Victory, and cast iron bridges, one of which was commissioned by Thomas Paine. Rotherham’s cast iron industry expanded rapidly in the early 19th century, the Effingham Ironworks, later Yates, Haywood & Co, opened in 1820. Other major iron founders 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. G & WG Gummer Ltd exported brass products across the world, supplying fittings for hotels, hospitals, Turkish baths and the RMS Mauretania. Their fittings could also be found on five battleships used in World War II and HMS Ark Royal. The Parkgate Ironworks was established in 1823 by Sanderson and Watson, and changed ownership several times. In 1854, Samuel Beal & Co produced 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 closed in 1974. Steel, Peech and Tozer’s massive Templeborough steelworks (now the Magna Science Adventure Centre) was, at its peak, over a mile (1.6 km) long, employing 10,000 workers, and housing six electric arc furnaces producing 1.8 million tonnes of steel a year. The operation closed down in 1993. The first railway stations, Holmes and Rotherham Westgate both on the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway opened on 31 October 1838. Holmes station was located close to the works of Isaac Dodds and Son, pioneers in the development of railway technology. Later railway stations included Parkgate and Aldwarke railway station on the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, which opened in July 1873, the Parkgate and Rawmarsh railway station on the North Midland Railway and the Rotherham Masborough railway station also on the North Midland Railway. Rotherham Forge and Rolling Mill occupied an island in the river known as Forge Island. It’s managing director was Francis Charles Moss of Wickersley before his death in 1942. The site was later occupied by a Tesco superstore and is set to be the location for a new leisure development with a proposed cinema, food and drink outlets and a hotel. Joseph Foljambe established a factory to produce his Rotherham plough, the first commercially successful iron plough. A glass works was set up in Rotherham in 1751, and became 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 operated on the same site, although the family connection ceased and the company is owned by Newship Ltd, a holding company linked to the industrialist John Watson Newman. It continues to the manufacture 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, Nikken Kosakusho Europe, MTL Advanced, MGB Plastics and Macalloy. Rotherham is the location of the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), which is home to a number of world-class companies including Rolls-Royce and McLaren Automotive. The district abounds in mineral wealth; coal and iron ore are found in great profusion, and have been wrought from [long ago]. The town was formerly celebrated for its manufacture of edge tools; and in 1160, there were mines of ironstone, smelting-furnaces, and forges in the neighbourhood. But the most extraordinary establishments of this kind, of late years, were the iron-foundries belonging to Messrs. Walker, in which immense quantities of cannon of the largest calibre were wrought for government during the war, till the works were given up by the original proprietors, and let out to small capitalists. The spinning of flax affords employment to about 200 persons; there are manufactories for rope and for starch, a large malting establishment, two large ale and porter breweries, several oil and chemical works, and a glass-[making] house. Some other manufactories and works are noticed in the article on Masbrough. The Don, which is navigable to Sheffield, communicates with the river Aire on the north-east, with the Stainforth and Keadby canal on the east, with the Dearne and Dove canal and the Barnsley canal on the north-west, and consequently with the river Calder; by which means Rotherham enjoys [goods trade] with all the principal towns in the great manufacturing districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire. In 1836 an act was passed for making a railway to Sheffield, with a branch to the Greasbrough canal and coal-field; it was opened [in] 1838, and the distance is about six miles….The market is on Monday, for corn, cattle, and provisions: on alternate Mondays is a celebrated market for fat-cattle, sheep, and hogs, numerously attended by grazers from distant parts of the country; and fairs take place on Whit-Monday and December 1st, for cattle. A court leet is held annually, at which constables and other officers for the internal regulation of the town are appointed— A Topographical Dictionary of England, Samuel Lewis, 1848. Milling grain into flour was a traditional industry in Rotherham, formerly in the Millmoor area, hence Rotherham United F.C.’s nickname “The Millers”. Flour milling continued at the Rank Hovis town mill site on Canklow Road until September 2008. The site of the mill is a warehousing and distribution facility for Premier Foods.

Enterprise Zone 1983

In 1983 Rotherham became a designated Enterprise Zone with benefits and incentives given to attract new industry and development in the area . Within the first year ten new companies were established within the zone . The former chemical works at Barbot Hall was developed into a new industrial estate .

Floods of 2007

Ulley Reservoir caused major concern and forced the evacuation of thousands of homes when its dam showed signs of structural damage . Rotherham was affected by flooding in the summer of 2007, which caused the closure of central roads, schools, transport services and damaged residential and commercial property .

Child sexual exploitation scandal

Following a 2012 article in The Times, Rotherham Council commissioned an independent inquiry about the handling of the cases and a suspected child exploitation network . Professor Alexis Jay, a former chief social work adviser to the Scottish government, issued an exploitation report stretching beyond police-level investigated cases . Her report of August 2014 revealed an unprecedented scale of reported child sexual abuse within an urban area of this size over a 16-year period . Both reports stated that a majority of the known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage .

Rotherham landmarks

Rotherham Minster or All Saints’ Church dates from the 15th century and includes parts from earlier Saxon and Norman structures. It is a listed building in the highest category of architecture, Grade I.

Rotherham geography / climate

The town in great part occupies the slopes of two hills; that in the west is the start of a north-west crest topped by Keppel’s Column. In the east is a narrower crest alongside the Rother known as Canklow Hill, topped by a protected formally laid out public area, Boston Park. Beyond the town centre and away from the Don Valley, the district is largely rural, containing a mixture of retired people, larger properties and tourism.

You can visit Rotherham places with Walkfo Rotherham to hear history at Rotherham’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Rotherham has 63 places to visit in our interactive Rotherham map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Rotherham, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Rotherham places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Rotherham & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 63 audio facts unique to Rotherham places in an interactive Rotherham map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Rotherham Places Map
63 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

---

–

Rotherham historic spots	Rotherham tourist destinations	Rotherham plaques	Rotherham geographic features
Walkfo Rotherham tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Rotherham

  

Best Rotherham places to visit

---

Rotherham has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Rotherham’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Rotherham’s information audio spots:

St Bede’s Church, Rotherham Gothic Revival style church was built from 1841 to 1842 . It is situated on the corner of Station Road and St Bede’s Road in Masbrough near the town centre .

C F Booth C F Booth Ltd is a family-owned scrap metal and recycling business . It is based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England .

Rotherham Central station Rotherham Central railway station was originally named “Rotherham” in 1889 . The station has retained its “Central” suffix, despite being the only railway station in the town since the closure of Rotheram Masborough in 1988 .

Magna Science Adventure Centre Magna Science Adventure Centre is an educational visitor attraction, appealing primarily to children . Located in a disused steel mill in the Templeborough district of Rotherham, England .

Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival The Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival is the largest indoor beer festival taking place outside London . Proceeds from the festival are used to support the work of local charities and good causes . Since the festival relocated to Magna in 2011 it has raised in excess of £150,000 for local good causes.

Meadow Hall and Wincobank railway station Meadowhall and Wincobank railway station was a railway station on the South Yorkshire Railway near Sheffield . It was also known in the 19th century as Meadow Hall, at the time of the Meadow Hall Iron Works .

Rotherham Parkgate railway station Parkgate is a tram-train stop on the Sheffield Supertram network . It opened on 25 October 2018, following the opening of the extension from Meadowhall to Rotherham Parkgate . It is situated to the north-east of the town centre, near the border with Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire .

Clifton Grove Clifton Grove was a football ground in Rotherham, England. It was the home ground of the original Rotherham Town club.

South Yorkshire Transport Museum The South Yorkshire Transport Museum (SYTM) is a transport museum of South Yorkshire and surrounding areas. It was formerly known as the Sheffield Bus Museum. Founded in the 1960, STYM is located in Aldwarke in Rotherham.

Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park is a multipurpose sports venue in Sheffield. It is owned and run by Sheffield Hallam University.

Visit Rotherham plaques