Dearne Valley

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Denby Dale Viaduct on the Penistone Line Denby Dale viaduct in 2008.jpg
Denby Dale Viaduct on the Penistone Line

The Dearne Valley is an area of South Yorkshire, England, along the River Dearne. It encompasses the towns of Wombwell, Wath-upon-Dearne, Swinton, Conisbrough and Mexborough, the large villages of Ardsley, Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe, Darfield, Stairfoot and Brampton Bierlow, and many other smaller villages and hamlets.

Contents

In 1995 the area became a regeneration area, as it had suffered much from the sudden decline of the deep coal mining industry in the 1980s. In the 2011 census the ONS-identified Barnsley/Dearne Valley built-up area had a population of 223,281, [1] however this region includes Barnsley and certain other smaller towns and villages that might not historically have considered themselves a part of the Dearne Valley.

History

Many high-grade coal seams, including the prolific Barnsley seam, lie close to the surface in this area. This meant that by far the most prevalent industry in the area was deep coal mining, indeed much of the economic activity of the region was either directly related to, or reliant on this industry. It was home to the Oaks Viaduct, the largest man-made rail bridge in Britain until its demolition in 1965.

In the latter half of the 20th century the industry was declining and becoming deeply unprofitable, but was kept alive by government subsidy. As early as the 1960s local politicians voiced concerns about the high level of reliance of the economy of the area on one single industry. In the 1980s there was a marked change of government economic policy: unprofitable heavy industry was no longer to be subsidised. This caused the collapse of the mining industry, with a knock-on effect in many other local industries, leading to much local hardship.

The valley today

Settlements in the area are becoming more dormitory in nature, as those who remained have found the need to commute further afield to the larger towns and cities in the region to work.

Outside the settlements, primary land use is agricultural: a byproduct of the end of the mining industry is that the area looks more rural and green than it once did. Business parks in the area have been created on brown-field land once used by the mining industry, the most notable and largest is at Manvers.

Much of the infrastructure related to the mining industry was demolished in the 1980s and early 1990s and the land changed to other uses and today few remnants of the coal mining heritage remain: the large spoil heaps have been levelled and grassed, and no coal mining remains at all in the area. Wath marshalling yard which served the railway coal traffic closed in 1988 is now the site of Old Moor Wetland Centre RSPB reserve. Other nature reserves in the valley include Gypsy Marsh, Wombwell Ings and Adwick Washlands. [2] [3]

The road and rail links to the villages of the area also were implemented mostly to ferry coal out of collieries and although the rails have been removed, the embankments, cuttings and bridges remain. Several of these former railways are now part of the Trans Pennine Trail between Southport and Hornsea. [4] The Dearne Valley is at the centre of the trail with the main West/East and North/South routes crossing over in the area.

The historic region has a wide range of buildings and areas which are of major archeological interest and include 14 conservation areas, 15 scheduled ancient monuments, more than 249 listed buildings and above 50 landscapes which are considered to have special value. Some of the prominent buildings include Conisbrough Castle, Church of St. John and St. Mary Magdalene, Hickleton Hall, Glassby Arch, etc. [5]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnsley</span> Town in South Yorkshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Dearne</span> River in South Yorkshire, England

The River Dearne South Yorkshire, England flows roughly east for more than 30 kilometres (19 mi), from its source just inside West Yorkshire. It flows through Denby Dale, Clayton West, Darton, Barnsley, Darfield, Wath upon Dearne, Bolton on Dearne, Adwick upon Dearne and Mexborough to its confluence with the River Don at Denaby Main. Its main tributary is the River Dove, which joins it at Darfield. The river was one of those affected by the 2007 United Kingdom floods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worsbrough</span> Area in South Yorkshire, England

Worsbrough is an area about two miles south of Barnsley in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Before 1974, Worsbrough had its own urban district council in the West Riding of the historic county of Yorkshire and it is still counted as a separate place from Barnsley by the 2011 Census, but it is often treated as part of Barnsley as the two settlements run into one another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dearne and Dove Canal</span> Canal in South Yorkshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wath upon Dearne</span> Town in South Yorkshire, England

Wath upon Dearne is a town south of the River Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, 5 miles (8 km) north of Rotherham and almost midway between Barnsley and Doncaster. It had a population of 11,816 at the 2011 census. It is twinned with Saint-Jean-de-Bournay in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor</span> English wetlands nature reserve

RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor is an 89-hectare (220-acre) wetlands nature reserve in the Dearne Valley near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). It lies on the junction of the A633 and A6195 roads and is bordered by the Trans Pennine Trail long-distance path. Following the end of coal mining locally, the Dearne Valley had become a derelict post-industrial area, and the removal of soil to cover an adjacent polluted site enabled the creation of the wetlands at Old Moor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denaby Main</span> Village in South Yorkshire, England

Denaby Main is a village situated between Mexborough and Conisbrough in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Doncaster MBC ward of Conisbrough and Denaby. It was built by the Denaby Main Colliery Company to house its workers and their families, and originally given the name Denaby Main Colliery Village, to distinguish it from the village of Denaby, about ⅔ mile away on the road to Hooton Roberts and Kilnhurst; from that time, the old village became known as Old Denaby. In due course the "Colliery Village" part of the name was lost, leaving the village to be known as Denaby Main.

Wath Main Colliery was a coal mine situated in the Dearne Valley, close by the township of Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, England. The colliery was operated by the Wath Main Coal Company Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnburgh Main Colliery</span> Former coal mine in South Yorkshire, England

Barnburgh Main Colliery was a coal mine situated on the outskirts of the village of Barnburgh, about two miles north of Mexborough in the Dearne Valley, South Yorkshire, England. The sinking of the colliery was commenced in 1911 by the Manvers Main Colliery Company of Wath-upon-Dearne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wath marshalling yard</span>

Wath marshalling yard, also known as Wath concentration yard, was a large railway marshalling yard specifically designed for the concentration of coal traffic. It was set at the heart of the South Yorkshire Coalfield, at Wath-upon-Dearne, approximately halfway between Barnsley and Doncaster, in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and closed in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A6195 road</span> Road in South Yorkshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dearne District Light Railway</span>

The Dearne District Light Railway was a tramway linking Barnsley with the towns of Wombwell, Wath, Bolton on Dearne and Thurnscoe. Opened on 14 July 1924, it was the last street tramway to be built in the UK before the modern era and one of the first to shut. It was granted a Light Railway order in 1915, but World War I delayed its opening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A6023 road</span> Primary route A road in South Yorkshire, England

The A6023 road runs for 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Conisbrough to Wath-upon-Dearne via Mexborough and Denaby Main. In the east, it starts at, and passes Conisbrough Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Dove, Barnsley</span> River in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manvers Main Colliery</span> Former coal mine in South Yorkshire, England

Manvers Main Colliery was a coal mine, sunk on land belonging to the Earl Manvers on the northern edge of Wath-upon-Dearne, between that town and Mexborough in the Dearne Valley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The regional headquarters and laboratories of British Coal were situated in the complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Cycle Route 62</span>

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References

  1. "2011 Census - Built-up areas". Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. "Dearne Valley - Old Moor". The RSPB. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  3. "Finding your way around Old Moor" (PDF). RSPB. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  4. "Rorherham: Trans Pennine Trail". Trans Pennine Trail. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. "Buildings of the Dearne Valley". Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

Coordinates: 53°30′N1°13′W / 53.500°N 1.217°W / 53.500; -1.217