Aston, Aughton & Swallownest
including Aston Common, Fence, Netherthorpe & Woodhouse Mill
These three villages together with Woodhouse Mill, Fence, Aston Common and
Netherthorpe are situated in the south of the borough of Rotherham. For the purpose of postal addresses they are situated in Sheffield, the telephone dialling code is for Sheffield, but
none the less they are in Rotherham. The villages of Aston and Aughton are shown and named quite separately on my maps but for along time were lumped together under the name Aston cum Aughton which I believe is the name of the parish.
The parish was a settled farming area from Saxon times, with a church at Aston and manors at Aston and Aughton. By the 14th century it seems to have been prosperous and well-populated. The rural economy dominated the area until the 19th Century. The common lands within the parish of Aston cum Aughton were enclosed in 1768 when most was awarded to the Earl of Holderness.
The two main roads through the parish, the Rotherham-Pleasley Road and the Attercliffe and Worksop Road, were both turnpiked in 1764. Just to the west of where the two roads met the hamlet of Swallownest grew up. At the end of the 18th century, Aston and Aughton were still villages separated by fields.
Coal was mined in the area from the 18th century from bell-pits and shallow mines. In the mid-19th century the coal reserves under the parish began to be exploited. Collieries in the area were:-
- Aston Colliery was sunk on Aston Common in the 1840s but soon superseded by North Staveley.
- Beighton Colliery on Park Lane, adjacent to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, was sunk in 1920. Though I'm not sure if this was in Rotherham or Sheffield.
- Brookhouse shaft was sunk to the south of North Staveley Colliery in 1929.
- Fence sunk 1842.
- North Staveley Colliery, opened in 1864.
- Pit House West Open Cast site.
- Waleswood Colliery.
Housing for the miners and workers in associated industries was developed in many parts of the parish. The first census in 1801 showed that the combined population of the parish (Aston, Aughton and Swallownest) stood at 586. The population rose gradually to 995 by 1861, and then to 1667 by 1871. The population increased steadily, reaching 4,583 in 1939, 10,489 in 1981 and 14,122 in 1991. During the 20th Century the villages have coalesced into one virtually continuous urban sprawl very convenient for Rotherham and Sheffield and all points north and south along the M1.
The Villages
Aston & Aston Common
Please visit the village of Aston here.
Aughton
Please visit the village of Aughton here.
Fence
The village is presumably called Fence because it was a fortified farmstead. Today there is a farm, some works and a school but no large estates. Fence Colliery was sunk in 1842 and houses were built there for the miners. It was connected by underground tunnels with Treeton Colliery and all coal was hauled from the Treeton shaft after 1887. Coal ceased to be mined at Fence Colliery in 1904 but the shaft remained in use for pumping. In the 1950s the colliery site became the NCB area workshops and stores but these closed in the 1990s. A school was opened in Fence in 1877.
Netherthorpe
The name means the lower village. Actually its upper in my opinion, being north of Aston and north to me is always up earth. Just to confuse you there are two other villages called Netherthorpe within a short distance of each other, one near Thorpe Salvin which is featured here as Netherthorpe another one and one near Killamarsh which is in Sheffield.
Swallownest
Swallownest is named after the Swallow family who had a farm on the site. It came into existence during the 18th century and was a tiny hamlet until the advent of housing estates. As late as 1838 the only buildings around the cross roads at Swallownest were turnpike tollhouse and three farms. I have also seem a spelling on an old map as Olave's Ness which would indicate it came from the norse name Olaf. A school was opened in Swallownest in 1893.
Woodhouse Mill
The name means the mill of the house in the wood. This small area of housing is in the Borough of Rotherham hence its inclusion here but is part of the Sheffield village of Woodhouse.