Rotherham Archives & Local Studies
Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service has all sorts of books, records and papers relating to life in the Borough of Rotherham. It is the long-term intention that the catalogues, a written description of each record, will be available online, but I don't know when this will be. This is called 'Rolling Out the Archives' and is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Meanwhile you can visit or contact the Local Studies Library (address below).
There are many records available:–
Official Records
The Section is recognised by the Lord Chancellor as a place of deposit of Local Public Records and by the Master of the Rolls for the deposit of manorial records. As a result there are collections of 19th and 20th century Quarter Sessions and Magistrates' Court records and hospital records (including Doncaster Gate, Wath Wood and Swallownest Hospitals).
Local Government
There are extensive collections of records for Rotherham Borough Council and its predecessors and the urban and rural district councils that were absorbed by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in 1974. These include the records of Rawmarsh Urban District Council, Maltby Urban District Council, and Swinton Urban District Council. Minute books, files and plans, building plans, school records etc. as well as the records of the Rotherham Workhouse and Rotherham Police are included. The records of a number of parish councils have also been deposited with the Section.
Business and Industrial
The industries covered include iron and steel (British Steel, Steel, Peech and Tozer and Parkgate Iron and Steel Co), iron founding (Yates and Haywood), glass (Beatson Clark), coal mining, brass founding (Guest and Chrimes), pottery and many smaller businesses. Records of the accountants Hart, Moss and Copley are also available.
Church and Chapel
The Section holds no original Anglican parish records but does have microfilm and/or transcripts of the registers for many of the parishes in the Borough. There is also a sizeable collection of nonconformist records including those of the Dearne Valley Methodist Circuit and Rotherham Methodist Circuit.
Family and Estate
The records of the estates of the Earls of Effingham, Mountforth of Kilnhurst, Verelsts of Aston and include deeds, estate papers and maps. Records for the Bosviles of Ravenfield were mentioned previously but not on the leaflet I picked up in 2006, but I expect than they are still there.
Solicitors' Collections
The Parker Rhodes collection includes medieval manor court rolls, title deeds, plans, estate papers, inclosure awards and work for 19th and 20th century coal owners and other industrialists. There are also collections of deeds, wills etc. from Oxley and Coward of Rotherham and Nicholsons of Wath.
Other Records
- The records of Dorothy Greene, antiquarian.
- The records of the Feoffees of the Common Land of Rotherham.
- The records of Rotherham Police.
- 1992 International Genealogical Index on microfiche.
- British Isles Vital Records Index.
- Census Returns, that for 1881 is on a searchable CDRom. Probably later censuses too but I have not checked.
- Microform and transcripts of Burial Registers.
- Copies of Newspapers.
- Soldiers died in the Great War CDRom and access to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.
- Over 20,000 photographs on microfiche.
- There are also many other sources. Many newspaper clippings, advertising leaflets and other suchlike printed matter are also available on a wide variety of arcane subjects.
- I have also found in the Reference Library a copy of the Hearth Tax Record for the Rotherham area which I think is for the year 1682. Oh the things governments found to tax before Pitt thought of Income Tax!
For more information visit Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Index Page www.rotherham.gov.uk. You will have to hunt through for what you require but there is a search facility.
Or contact Archives and Local Studies Service