Clifton
The district called Clifton is situated to the east of Rotherham town centre, surrounding Clifton Park. Please do not confuse this with the village of Clifton, which is near Maltby but in the Borough of Doncaster.
Clifton means the farmstead by the cliff or bank and the area was undeveloped until the late 18th Century. Clifton House was built at that time for a member of the Walker Family. In 1822 there were all of two houses in Clifton. From the 1850s onwards the area surrounding the estate attached to Clifton House was designated 'Clifton Villa Suburb' by town planners. Smart suburban villas, detached, semi-detached and terraced, were developed along Doncaster Road and open grounds around the park over a period of time that stretched through the second half of the 19th Century up into the 20th. These villa suburbs (Moorgate was the other one) were characterised by pleasant, often tree-lined streets, and properties with gardens and all the available amenities. They were designed to attract the burgeoning middle classes from the densely populated town centre to areas still within walking distance of town but well away from the heavy industry along the canal and rivers.
Clifton House and the surrounding estate called Clifton Park was acquired by the Municipal Borough of Rotherham (now Rotherham Council) for the people of Rotherham in the 1890s. The park was open to the public in 1891 and the house became the town museum which opened in 1893.
Rotherham High School for Girls was opened in 1910 on a very nice site overlooking the east side of Clifton Park. Although the old school buildings have been kept there has been a massive redevelopment here.
Clifton Comprehensive School New Building
formerly Rotherham Girls' High School
