Rotherham, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  Yorkshire Parishes K-R West Riding  Rotherham

Parish History
ROTHERHAM (All Saints), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York; comprising the chapelries of Greasbrough and Tinsley, and the townships of Brinsworth, Catcliffe, Kimberworth, Orgreave, Rotherham, and part of Dalton; and containing 13,385 inhabitants, of whom 5505 are in the town, 49 miles (S. S. W.) from York, and 159 (N. N. W.) from London. This place, which derives its name from the Rother, is bounded by that river on the west, and on the north-west by the river Don: it is situated partly on the acclivities of an eminence, and partly in a vale near the confluence of these streams.The houses are in general of stone, and many of the mare low and of mean appearance, but great improvements have been made within the last twenty years; in the immediate neighbourhood, several substantial and respectable dwellings have been recently built, and at the east end of the town are two elegant mansions called Clifton and Eastwood. The streets are mostly narrow and irregularly formed; the place is paved, lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water. It is connected with the suburb or town of Masbrough, which is of nearly equal extent, by an ancient bridge over the Don, of five pointed arches, on the central pier of which is anold chapel of elegant design, now used as the town prison. The environs abound with varied scenery; and within a short distance, on the road to Barnsley, is Wentworth House, the magnificent seat of Earl Fitzwilliam. A public subscription library, containing several thousand volumes, is liberally supported.

The district abounds in mineral wealth; coal and iron ore are found in great profusion, and have been wrought from a very remote period. The town was formerly celebrated for its manufacture of edge tools; and in1160, there were mines of iron stone, 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-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 onthe north-west, and consequently with the river Calder; by which means Rotherham enjoys a facility of communication 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 on the 31st of October, 1838, and the distance is about six miles. The Rotherham terminal station is situated in Westgate, and occupies about an acre and a half. There is also a station at the Holmes, whence a branch diverges to join the Midland railway at Masbrough. 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 graziers 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. The powers of the county debt-court of Rotherham, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Rotherham. The adjourned Midsummer-sessions for the West riding are held in the court-house, a handsome stone building in the Italian style, erected at an expense of £4000.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £16. 8. 6.; net income, £170; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Effingham. The church is situated on an elevated knoll near the heart of the town, and is a capacious and venerable cruciform structure in the later English style, with a central tower and spire enriched with panels, canopies, and crockets. The exterior is profusely but correctly ornamented with sculptures of beautiful design, the doorways are richly moulded, and the sides of the building strengthened with panelled and crocketed buttresses; the south porch, of appropriate character, is highly enriched. The interior is lofty, and finely arranged; the roof of the nave, which is of oak elaborately carved, is supported on piers of graceful elevation, and the windows, with a very few exceptions, contain tracery of elegant design. The chancel is separated from the nave by a screen of excellent workmanship. In the transepts are some good monuments; and near the altar is a beautiful one of marble to the memory of Samuel Buck, Esq., a native of the town, and recorder of Leeds, who died in 1806. At Greasbrough, Kimberworth, and Tinsley are other incumbencies. '''There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians. '''The free grammar school was founded in1584, by Lawrence Woodnett and Anthony Collins, of London, who endowed it with a small portion of land; the endowment was subsequently augmented by a grant of £10. 15. 4. per annum, from the revenue of the crown lands. The school, in conjunction with those of Pontefract, Leeds, and Wakefield, is entitled, in failure of candidates from Normanton school, to two scholarships founded in Emmanuel College, Cambridge, by John Frieston, of Altofts. A charity school was founded by Mr.Scott, and the funds for its support are now under the superintendence of the fe of fees of the common lands; the income, increased by subsequent benefactions, is about £97 per annum. Rotherham College, for the education of young men intended for Independent ministers, was removed hither from Heckmondwike, where it had subsisted for nearly 40 years, in 1795: the premises are handsomely built, and occupy a healthy and pleasant eminence. The dispensary, a stone building erected by subscription at an expense of £2000, contains on the ground-floor, in addition to the offices requisite for the institution, a spacious room for the grammar school, and on the upper story an apartment for the library, and a newsroom. The union of Rotherham comprises 27 parishes or places, 26 of which are in the West riding of York, and one in the county of Derby; the whole containing a population of 28,783.In 1480, Thomas Scott, Archbishop of York, usually called Thomas of Rotherham, who was then Bishop of Lincoln, founded a college in the town for a provost, five priests, six choristers, and three schoolmasters, and dedicated it to the Holy Jesus: of this structure, which subsisted for nearly a century, there remain the inn in Jesus' gate, and the opposite buildings now used as stables. Dr. Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln, an eloquent preacher in the time of Charles II., was a native of the town.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 697-703. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51245 Date accessed: 10 October 2011.

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Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

This ancient parish was created before 1813. Church of England records began in 1556.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Yorkshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
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Web sites
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