38-602: The Greasbrough Canal was a private canal built by the Marquess of Rockingham to serve his coal mining interests in and around the village of Greasbrough , near Rotherham , South Yorkshire , England. It opened in 1780, and the Newbiggin branch was built some time later. The main line to Greasbrough closed in 1840 with the coming of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway , and the canal ceased to carry commercial traffic during
76-409: A bus-only lay-by on the northern side of the eastbound carriageway of Greens Way, a single stand (numbered B1) at a right angle to these accessed from John Street, and three stands (numbered HS1–HS3) situated a short distance away at the side of Hartley Street. The three sets of stands are in close proximity, linked by car parks and pathways. The majority of bus routes traverse Mexborough town centre on
114-541: A concept known locally as Mexit. In December 2023, a meeting was held and jointly hosted by Bev Chapman and Glenn Bluff, from opposing parties to push forward the concept of a town council that has since received local support and has a facebook page. Mexborough railway station is located on the south bank of the River Don on Station Road, a short cul-de-sac off the A6023 Greens Way dual carriageway on
152-697: A one-way loop, with the Greens Way stops serving routes heading generally eastbound towards Doncaster and the Hartley Street stops serving westbound services towards Barnsley and Rotherham . Mexborough Interchange was built by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive in the early 1990s, replacing bus stops in both directions on the High Street which was subsequently pedestrianised . When
190-652: A plain green with a leaf design impressed "Reed". Before 2010, Mexborough was in the Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency. Since then, it has been in the Doncaster North constituency, whose current MP is Ed Miliband , former leader of the Labour Party . Local party Mexborough First did hold all three seats in the Mexborough ward on Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council but following
228-472: A swing bridge to reach the Park Gate Iron Works, and the canal crossed under the railway just beyond the works, to reach some lime kilns. There is no evidence of the original main line on the 1892 map, although it ran broadly parallel to the stream which runs from the bottom of Mill Dam at Greasbrough. Download coordinates as: Marquess of Rockingham Marquess of Rockingham , in
266-605: Is a combination of an Old English or Old Norse personal name, which may be Meke , Muik , Meoc or Mjukr , and the suffix burh , meaning a fortified place in Anglo-Saxon Old English. Mexborough is located at the north-eastern end of a dyke known as the Roman Ridge , which is thought to have been constructed either by the Brigantian tribes in the 1st century AD, perhaps as a defence against
304-624: Is a town in Doncaster , South Yorkshire , England, between Manvers and Denaby Main , on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne , and the A6023 road . It is contiguous with Swinton to the southwest and Conisbrough to the east. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire , Mexborough had a population of 15,244 at the 2011 Census. The name of Mexborough
342-485: The Emley Moor TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Sheffield , Heart Yorkshire , Capital Yorkshire , Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (formerly Trax FM ), TX1 Radio , Hallam FM , and Rotherham Radio, a community based station which broadcast from the town. The town is served by the local newspapers, Dearne Valley Weekender and Doncaster Free Press . Mexborough has been represented in
380-593: The First World War . Most of it has been filled in, but a small section near the River Don Navigation remains in water. Collieries to the south of Wentworth Park and near Bassingthorpe had been connected to the River Don Navigation by a waggonway, which had been completed by 1762. In order to improve transport of the coal, the Marquess of Rockingham asked John Varley to survey a route from
418-504: The Peerage of England as Baron Rockingham . The third Baron served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent . In 1714 he was created Baron Throwley , Viscount Sondes and Earl of Rockingham in the Peerage of Great Britain . His eldest son Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes , predeceased him and he was succeeded by his grandson, the second Earl (the eldest son of Lord Sondes). The second Earl was Lord-Lieutenant of Kent before his early death in 1745. He
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#1732781082352456-791: The Roman invasion of Britain , or after the 5th century to defend the British kingdom of Elmet from the Angles . The earliest known written reference to Mexborough is found in the Domesday Book of 1086 ( Mechesburg ), which states that before the Norman Conquest of England the area had been controlled by the Saxon lords Wulfheah and Ulfkil. Following the Conquest, the area fell under
494-578: The demise of coal-mining in the 1980s, Mexborough, like many ex-mining towns and villages, is still in the process of economic and social recovery. The Rock Pottery originally operated as Beevers & Ford. In 1839 it was bought by James Reed, whose son John renamed the business the "Mexborough Pottery", and expanded the works. On the bankruptcy of the Rockingham Pottery in 1842, John Reed bought many of its moulds and continued their production, though with different transfer prints and also in
532-513: The Bull's Head and the Red Lion. Most of the buildings in the town are post-1800. Throughout the 18th, 19th and much of the 20th century the town's economy was based around coal mining , quarrying , brickworks and the production of ceramics , and it soon became a busy railway junction . These industries led to an increase in industrial illness and an increase in the mortality rate . Although
570-826: The County of Northampton, in the Peerage of Great Britain. He was succeeded by his second but only surviving son, the second Marquess. In September 1750, two months before succeeding his father, he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland in his own right as Baron Malton and Earl Malton . Lord Rockingham was a prominent Whig grandee and served as Prime Minister of Great Britain between 1765 and 1766 and again in 1782. When he died in 1782 all of his titles became extinct. His estates passed to his nephew, William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam . The family seats were Rockingham Castle , Northamptonshire , and Wentworth Woodhouse , near Rotherham , Yorkshire . Mexborough Mexborough
608-466: The County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain . It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton . The Watson family descended from Lewis Watson , Member of Parliament for Lincoln . He was created a Baronet , of Rockingham Castle in the County of Northampton, in the Baronetage of England in 1621. In 1645 he was further honoured when he was raised to
646-544: The Don to either Cinder Bridge or Sough Bridge near Greasbrough. Varley was an assistant to the canal engineer James Brindley . Varley's proposal was for a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) canal, which would require three locks, as there was a fall of around 25 feet (7.6 m) over the route. His survey, which is in the Sheffield Archives Office, was judged to be good by the engineer John Smeaton , but he thought that
684-746: The Interchange first opened, there was a staffed ticket office and indoor waiting area with toilet facilities located in a small building between the Greens Way stands and John Street. However, around the time of the beginning of the Great Recession , the staffed ticket office was closed and all facilities inside were sealed off as an austerity measure. As of October 2022 , the stand allocation is: Mexborough has one secondary school ( Laurel Academy ) and many primary schools. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire . Television signals are received from
722-673: The canal at this point faced on to the newly opened works of the Park Gate Iron Company . The branch is sometimes known as the Newbiggin Branch. Traffic figures for 1834 included 10,452 tons of coal, which originated from Earl Fitzwilliam's colliery at Park Gate, and passed on to the Sheffield Canal . A system of containers was used, where coal was loaded into them in the colliery, and they were then loaded into boats, which could hold around 30 tons. A horse
760-573: The canal. He reduced the number of locks to four, and included a reservoir for water supply. Work began in 1779, and was probably completed the following year. Cinder Bridge was the main terminus, but Sough Bridge was served by a short branch. Tramways connected the canal to the collieries, which were leased from the Marquess by the Fentons. The canal, when opened in 1780, left the River Don Navigation above Eastwood lock, and passed under
798-709: The control of the Norman Baron Roger de Busli . The remains of an earthwork in Castle Park are thought to have been a motte-and-bailey castle constructed in the 11th century shortly after the Conquest. St John the Baptist's Church includes elements that date from the 12th century. A few other pre-1800 buildings remain, including several public houses : the Ferryboat Inn, the George and Dragon,
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#1732781082352836-475: The defection of Bev Chapman to Labour it (Mexborough First) only holds two seats. In late 2023, Glenn Bluff , Doncaster City Councillor for neighbouring Adwick-on-Dearne in the Sprotbrough ward and Parish Councillor for Neighbouring Barnburgh and Harlington announced he was standing against sitting MP Ed Miliband in the next General Election and one of his first priorities was a town council for Mexborough,
874-400: The estate of his maternal uncle, William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford , in 1695. In 1728 he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Baron Malton . In 1733 he was made Baron Harrowden , Baron Wath , Viscount Higham and Earl of Malton in the Peerage of Great Britain. In April 1746, two months after succeeding in the barony of Rockingham, he was created Marquess of Rockingham , in
912-649: The home of James Simpson in Mexborough and decided to form the Mexborough Working Men's Industrial Society (later renamed the Mexborough Cooperative Society). The aim of the Society was to supply (at first to the nine men themselves) the necessary things of life. Membership quickly grew and by the 1890s it stood at 1,200. At one time, there were ten shops across the built-up area of Mexborough. By 1903, land had been purchased in
950-520: The local collieries required railway locomotives to haul it and these locomotives required driving, firing, refuelling, maintenance and stabling. Mexborough was chosen as the site for a large 15-road depot. In its heyday it had an allocation of about 150 locomotives. In the 1920s it was the stabling point for the LNER Garratt , then the most powerful locomotive in the UK. The depot closed in 1964. Following
988-661: The middle of Mexborough on which to build a large and grand new central store, but then suddenly in 1904 the Mexborough Cooperative Society went into liquidation. Soon afterwards it was taken over by the Barnsley British Co-operative Society. One of Mexborough's landmarks is closely associated with the Cooperative Society. This is the former Barnsley British Cooperative Society flour mill, which stands on
1026-647: The north side of the River Don Navigation , close to the Church of St John the Baptist. It started off as the "Don Roller Mills". It was owned by James White, who sold it to the Barnsley British Cooperative Society in 1912. For more than a hundred years the railway locomotive maintenance and stabling depot (colloquially known as " Mexborough Loco ") was a major employer. The South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway arrived in Mexborough in 1850. The extensive coal traffic generated by
1064-465: The north, the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was at a higher level, and the fixed bridge remains. The 1892 Ordnance Survey map shows a coal wharf immediately after the bridge, and then a boat building yard, with the swing bridge over the entrance channel. The canal is in water to a point somewhere near where the main line and the Newbiggin branch diverged. Railway sidings crossed the Newbiggin branch on
1102-529: The road to Rawmarsh , to reach a terminal from where the coal was loaded, on the eastern side of the village of Greasbrough. This section was just under 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length. A short branch, around 500 yards (460 m) in length, left this canal and, travelling in a north-easterly direction, terminated by Taylors Lane at Parkgate, near to its junction with School Road. Here it met with tramways from New Park Colliery, Swallow Wood Colliery and other coal interests in and near Rawmarsh. From 1823 one side of
1140-419: The scheme lacked an adequate water supply. No action was taken, and Smeaton was asked to re-survey the route in 1775. He suggested using five locks, rather than three, and estimated the cost of the project to be £5,952, which included £2,500 for the locks. Again, no action was taken, but a third survey was commissioned in 1778, this time by William Fairbank. The engineer William Jessop was then asked to construct
1178-749: The south side of the town. It is served by local stopping trains towards Doncaster and Sheffield , operated by Northern Trains , with generally an hourly service in each direction. Mexborough also has a bus station in the town centre, Mexborough Interchange , operated by Travel South Yorkshire . The Interchange is located between the A6023 Greens Way dual carriageway, John Street, Main Street and Hartley Street, around 100 m (330 ft) from Mexborough High Street and 500 m (1,600 ft) on foot from Mexborough railway station. The bus station consists of three stands (numbered A1–A3) located in
Greasbrough Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
1216-599: The town boasted a cottage hospital , the lack of suitable facilities led to Lord Montagu donating land for a new hospital to be built. Lord Montagu laid the first stone at the site in 1904. The site is still a working hospital, which now forms part of the Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS trust. The industries that led to the creation of Montagu Hospital not only brought problems to the town but also led to an increase in population and, for some, an increase in wealth and opportunity. Many more public houses and other businesses were created, many of which are still trading today. It
1254-571: The use of the canal system, thus breaking the near monopoly of the Duke of Norfolk in the supply of coal to Sheffield. The tramroads feeding the upper canal were disused by 1840, and much of the main line of the canal was built over to form what is known as the Coach Road soon afterwards. The Newbiggin Colliery branch closed in the late nineteenth century, whilst the lower portion, which still exists,
1292-596: Was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, Thomas. He had previously represented Canterbury in Parliament. He was succeeded in the baronetcy and barony of Rockingham by his first cousin once removed, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton , who became the sixth Baron. He was the son of the Honourable Thomas Watson-Wentworth, third son of the second Baron. He had adopted the additional surname Wentworth when he inherited
1330-540: Was in one of these public houses, the Montagu Arms, that Stan Laurel stayed overnight after performing at the town's Prince of Wales Theatre on 9 December 1907. During the second half of the 19th century, as in many other industrial towns, a Cooperative Society was formed in Mexborough. It was modelled on the consumer cooperative set up by the Rochdale Pioneers in 1844. In 1861, nine working men met at
1368-538: Was itself replaced in the first decade of the 20th century by a new box a short distance further west named Rotherham Road. The entrance to the canal from the Eastwood Cut is still clearly visible, although both the towpath swing bridge and the railway swing bridge has been replaced by fixed structures. Just beyond that, the A633 road has been widened, and the canal is culverted under the embankment. A little further to
1406-524: Was not used by commercial traffic after the end of the First World War . The last boat to use it is thought to be a barge owned by Waddington's, which used the dry dock at Park Gate in 1928. The entry to the canal, after the construction of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway line from Mexborough to Rotherham in the 1860s, was controlled initially by a flagman and later by a small almost square hipped roof signal box, named Parkgate, which
1444-437: Was used to work a train of three such boats. The demise of the canal was rapid, as the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway obtained an act of Parliament in 1836 which allowed them to build a branch to the canal. The branch was completed and opened on 7 August 1839, linking the Sheffield and Rotherham main line at Holmes to the tramways serving the canal. This made it possible to transport Earl Fitzwilliam's coal to Sheffield without
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