The Worsbrough district includes three parishes; St James's originally included the Suburbs of Worsbrough Bridge and Ward Green. St Thomas's included Worsbrough Dale, Swaithe and Bank End. St Mary's included Worsbrough Village, Birdwell, Blacker Hill, Worsbrough Park and Rockley.
Worsbrough Common estate is a suburb of the Barnsley town centre area. It takes its name from the old common above Highstone Lane, which was the border betwixt Worsbrough and Barnsley. Although it takes its name from the old Worsbrough common, the modern Worsbro Common council estate was never part of the Worsbrough Urban District or Parish, but part of the County Borough of Barnsley. Furthermore, approximately one third of the common ground and fields used to build the Kendray council estate was on land within the Worsbrough Urban District, which was later swallowed up by the County Borough of Barnsley after the estate was constructed.
Stainborough C.P. was formerly a sub division of the Worsbrough Urban District.
The River Dove flows through Worsbrough and the reservoir before joining the River Dearne . The A61 traverses this large valley, before passing through Birdwell and junction 36 of the M1, in the direction of Sheffield.
A railway line, the Worsbrough Branch line, linked to the former Woodhead Line, passed along the valley. It is now part of the Trans-Pennine Trail.
The Worsbrough Branch railway line was primarily a coal freight line and started at Aldham from Wath and ended at West Silkstone Junction, where it joined the Barnsley-Penistone line.
The Worsbrough Bank, sometimes referred to as the Worsbrough Incline, was a steep bank on the Worsbrough Branch of the Great Central Railway (GCR) freight-only line from Wath to Penistone, climbing for 7 miles (11 km), with a stretch of 3 miles (4.8 km) at a nominal gradient of 1 in 40 (2.5%). Sections of this incline also suffered from colliery subsidence, making it infamously difficult to restart a stalled train on these severe sections. The main traffic on the line was loaded trains carrying coal from the southern Yorkshire coalfields to Lancashire via the Woodhead Tunnel.
The LNER Class U1 was designed soley for the Worsbrough Branch line, prior to electrification in the early 1950s.
The Worsbrough Branch line was closed in 1981.
The only passenger railway station in the Worsbrough District was at Dovecliffe, on the South Yorkshire Railway's Barnsley to Sheffield line .The station was originally named Smithley for Darley Main & Worsborough. The road from Worsbrough Dale to Dovecliffe is called Station Road. The Station closed in 1953, but freight traffic on the line operated for Rockingham Colliery until the late 1960s and the nearby Barrow Colliery, until the mid 1980s. The line was closed in 1986.
The current Hallam Line and Penistone Line between Barnsley-Sheffield, both run through the Worsbrough area at Swaithe.
Landmarks
Worsbrough Country Park and Worsbrough Reservoir
Notable landmarks of Worsbrough include Houndhill, Wigfield Farm, Rockley Old Hall, Rockley Furnace, St Mary's Church, also Worsbrough Mill and Worsbrough Reservoir, which are within Worsbrough Country Park. There is also remnants of a canal which was a branch of the Dearne and Dove Canal.
In Wircesburg Gerneber and Haldene had five carucates of land and a half to be taxed where there may be four ploughs. Gamel and Chetelber now have it of Ilbert, themselves two ploughs, and four bordars, and one mill pays two shillings. Wood pasture half a mile long and half a mile broad. Value in King Edward's time four pounds, now thirty shillings.[1]
The name 'Worsbrough' means 'Weorc's fortified place'.[2]
The historic centre of Worsbrough was what is now known as Worsbrough Village. It was colloquially referred to as Wusber/Wusper up until recent times, and is spelt as such on old maps.
Worsbrough was a largely farming and agricultural settlement prior to the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution, there was a growing coal mining industry, plus iron foundries and several quarries across the Worsbrough District. The railway, canal system and better road links between Barnsley and Sheffield, also led to increased industry and migration to Worsbrough from other parts of the North, Britain and Ireland, and to the wider area as a whole.
Several coal mines in the industrial era were located in Worsbrough, more so in the east of the area, such as Swaithe Main, Martin's Main, Worsbrough Park, Bell Ing, Kendall Green, Barrow, Mount Vernon, Edmunds Main and Darley Main.
With the rise of industry in the area and migration, came risks and due to unsafe and treacherous working conditions, many men and boys lost their lives, and families their breadwinners.
Several large pit disasters rocked the local community.
In 1862, another massive pit disaster occurred this time at Edmunds Main Colliery. Fifty-nine men and boys died in the explosions.
Then, in 1875 at Swaithe Main Colliery, another explosion that led to the deaths of 143 men and boys, this was the biggest loss of life since the Oaks Disaster near Hoyle Mill, Barnsley.
There was several 'lesser' pit disasters in the Worsbrough area, including the 1907 Barrow Colliery disaster, among others.
Today there are several memorials to those who lost their lives in local pit disasters, at churchyards in the area.
Places of worship
St Thomas & St James' ChurchSt Mary's Church
Church of England
The Worsbrough Dale (St Thomas) e parish covers the majority of the population of Worsbrough north of the river including Swaithe. It stretches up Hunningley Lane (B6100) as far as Birk Avenue.
Worsbrough Village (St Mary) church, south of the river near Worsbrough Hall and the parish covers most of the area of Worsbrough south of the river and includes Birdwell and most of the M1 between the river and junction 36.
St Thomas and St James' Church
On Bank End Road in Worsbrough Dale. The church was built in 1858 and consecrated in 1859. The Wentworth family of Wentworth Castle gave a donation of £2,000 and other people provided donations of smaller amounts or helped in other ways. The total cost of the church building was about £3,000.[4] Listed as Grade II by Historic England.
On High Street. The east elevation bears the inscriptions "AD 1903" and "Ebenezer Wesleyan Reform". There are also foundation stones either side of the doorway inscribed with "EBENEZER CHAPEL 1854". This suggests that the chapel was built in 1854 and extended upwards in 1903.[7]
Education
The Barnsley Academy, before 2006 known as the Elmhirst School, provides secondary education to the area. It moved to a new site on Farm Road. Primary schools include Birdwell Primary School (formerly Worsbro Birdwell Junior&Infants), Ward Green Primary School (formerly Worsbro' Ward Green Junior&Infants), The Mill Academy (formerly St Edmunds Primary School, before amalgamation of Our Ladys RC Primary and Worsbro' Lobwood Infant School),[8] Bank End Primary Academy (formerly Worsbrough Bank End Junior&Infants) and Worsbrough St Mary's C of E Primary School. Worsbrough St Mary's C of E Primary School closed on 31 December 2007 as a consequence of falling pupil numbers. Other schools in the area now closed, were, Worsbrough Dale Junior & Infants, Blacker Hill Primary (formerly Worsbrough Blacker Infants), Worsbrough High School (formerly Whitecross Secondary Modern).
Barnsley is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 96,888 in 2021, while the wider borough had a population of 244,600 in the 2021 census.
Penistone is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 24,760 at the 2021 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is 8 miles (13 km) west of Barnsley, 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Glossop, 14.2 miles (23 km) north-west of Sheffield, 27 miles (43 km) south-west of Leeds and 29 miles (47 km) east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines. The town is frequently noted on lists of unusual place names.
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Penistone, Wombwell and Hoyland.
Wombwell is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. In the 2011 census, data for the town was split between the ward of Wombwell and small sections that fell into the wards of Darfield and Stairfoot. Added together, these record the town's population at approximately 15,316.
Dodworth is a village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 5,742, increasing to 5,900 at the 2011 Census.
Birdwell is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England and is located approximately 4.5 miles (7 km) south of Barnsley, 12.1 miles (19 km) north-east of Sheffield. The village falls within the Rockingham Ward of the Barnsley Metropolitan Council. Neighbouring areas include Worsbrough Village, Tankersley, Pilley and Hoyland Common.
The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through South Yorkshire, England from Swinton to Barnsley through nineteen locks, rising 127 feet (39 m). The canal also had two short branches, the Worsbrough branch and the Elsecar branch, both about two miles long with reservoirs at the head of each. The Elsecar branch also has another six locks. The only tunnel was bypassed by a cutting in 1840.
The Hallam Line is a railway connecting Leeds and Sheffield via Castleford in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. It is a slower route from Leeds to Sheffield than the Wakefield line. Services on this line are operated by Northern Trains. Services from Leeds to Nottingham also use the line.
The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards can be used for travel between Huddersfield and Denby Dale and intermediate stations.
The Barnsley and District Electric Traction Co was an electric tramway network serving the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company with lines in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Dovecliffe railway station was situated on the South Yorkshire Railway's Blackburn Valley line between High Royds and Wombwell Main Junction.
The Elmhirst School was a comprehensive school on the B6100 in Worsbrough Dale, south of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England.
The River Dove is a river that extends through the Low Valley in Barnsley, England. It flows from Worsbrough Reservoir to its confluence with the River Dearne.
Moor End goods station was in South Yorkshire, England. It was originally the terminus of the Worsborough branch line which ran from the main line of the South Yorkshire Railway at Wombwell. The lower part of the line to Worsborough was opened in June 1850, reaching Moor End two years later, in March 1852. An inclined plane connected the nearby House Carr Colliery with Silkstone Common. By the end of the 19th century this had been replaced by an ordinary railway line, continuing the Worsborough branch to West Silkstone Junction.
Darley Bridge is a village in Derbyshire, located in South Darley parish in the Derbyshire Dales, bordering the Peak District. The village lies at the bottom of the hill below Wensley where the road crosses the River Derwent. A grade II* listed stone bridge spans the river and links the village with Darley Dale. Close to the bridge, the road winds between terraced stone houses in the oldest part of the village. The only public house in the parish, The Three Stags Heads, is in this area.
The Church of St. Mary is the parish church in the village of Worsbrough in South Yorkshire, England. It is a Church of England church in the Diocese of Sheffield. The building is Grade I listed and was built in the 12th century, however evidence of Saxon stonework suggests an older building on this site. Parts of the chancel are early Norman but the church underwent several alterations in the 14th and 15th century including the installing of the south door with its Gothic inscription which dates to 1480.
Barrow Colliery was a coal mine in Worsbrough, South Yorkshire, England. It was first dug in 1873, with the first coal being brought to the surface in January 1876. It was the scene of a major incident in 1907 when seven miners died. After 109 years of coaling operations, the mine was closed in May 1985.
Worsbrough is a ward in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The ward contains 46 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, four are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The ward contains a central urban area and surrounding countryside. Most of the listed buildings are houses, cottages and associated structures, farmhouses and farm buildings. The other listed buildings include churches and items in a churchyard, a former school, a former corn mill, now a museum, a carved outcrop of sandstone, a bridge, a milepost, and a monument to a colliery disaster.
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