Rotherham The Unofficial Website An unofficial website about the Town and Borough of Rotherham

Dinnington
including Throapham

For the purpose of postal addresses Dinnington and Throapham are situated in Sheffield, the telephone dialling code is for Worksop, but none the less they are in Rotherham. Dinnington is situated about ten miles (16 kilometers) to the south east of Rotherham and since it has a market I think it perhaps ought to be considered a small town in its own right. Certainly the good burghers thought so too as they have officially declared it to be a town, doubtless in order to qualify for whatever central government grants are being allocated to 'towns'.

Dinnington

The name means Dinna's ton or farmstead. Possibly also 'Dynes Ton' referring to a local 'barrow'. It is likely to have been founded in Saxon time. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 the parish was divided into two estates, one held by Roger de Busli as part of his manor of Laughton and Throapham. The other part was held by William de Warenne and contained sufficient for three plough teams with 3 freemen and 6 villeins.

Dinnington Parish Church originally dedicated to St Nicholas, was in existence in by 1139 when the advowson was granted to Lewes Priory. The earliest recorded priest is John in 1240. The church was destroyed by fire in 1318 and a new one built. The Poll Tax return of 1379 indicates that there was no resident lord of the manor. There are 43 names listed, including two carpenters and a tailor. In 1241 Stephen de Segrave bought an estate in Dinnington and surrounding villages from Alice, Countess of Eu, who held the Honor of Tickhill, and became lord of the manor of Dinnington. In the 14th Century John de Segrave married Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk and the manor passed to their son John, Lord Mowbray. The lordship of Dinnington eventually passed to the Talbots, Earl of Shrewbury, and from them to the Howards, Earls of Norfolk.

In 1678 Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, sold Dinnington to John Athropp. The Athropps which came to be spelled Athorpe were the first lords to reside in the manor. The present Dinnington Hall was erected by Henry Athorpe in 1756. In the 1780s Robert Athorpe had the church pulled down because it was in poor condition and had a new church built dedicated to St Leonard. This was extended in 1842 but must have been inadequate as it was demolished in 1868 and another new one built.

There was a Wesleyan chapel in Dinnington by the 1850s which was replaced by St Andrew's Methodist Church on Laughton Road in 1902. There was a Primitive Methodists chapel and the Catholic church of St Josephs built for the many Irish labourers who came to work the mines. The National School, was opened in 1874 when it had only 38 pupils enrolled.

The village of Dinnington was a small very quiet rural place (population 285 in 1900) until the beginning of the 20th Century when the coal deposits beneath the land began to be exploited. In 1902 the sinking of the shafts of Dinnington Colliery begun and changed the settlement forever. By 1911 the population of the village was 4898. The first sinkers and miners were housed in tin huts which rejoiced in the name 'Tin Town'. They were the first houses in the village to be supplied by the colliery generator so perhaps they weren't as bad as you think. The Colliery company them began building and leasing houses for its workers. The school soon became inadequate and a new Council School was opened in 1907. The parish church was enlarged twice in 1906 and 1911. The Lyric Theatre opened in 1910 as a roller skating rink, it was later used as a music hall. The Picture Palace was opened in 1913 and was also used for village dances and, for a time, as the Salvation Army Sunday School. The Chelmsford Mining and Technical Institute was opened in 1928 and the secondary modern school in 1935.

By 1940 the population was about 7500. Due to its central position Dinnington developed a shopping centre, bus station and market and is now the site of Rother Valley College (previously the Chelmsford Mining and Technical Institute). From being a village Dinnington declared itself a town at a date I have been unable to discover but likely to have been late 20th century.

Throapham

Ham for hamlet is obvious - I have not yet found any clean meanings of Throap. The village of Throapham is north of Dinnington on the Oldcotes Road. Throapham was part of the manor of Laughton in 1086 when the Domesday Book was published. The parish of Throapham covered Letwell and Gildingwells and the settlement was then large enough to qualify for its own parish and church. I have found varying opinions about the date on which the parish church of St John the Baptist was founded. one source says that there are early Norman remains whilst another dates the building from the early 13th Century. There were additions in the 15th Century and the church was substantially restored in 1906. The importance of St John's declined after the church at Letwell was rebuilt and Throapham was absorbed into Laughton parish.

Throapham's 1840 tithe award that the largest landholder in the parish was Henry Gally Knight. Other landowners were Rev. JC Lawe and Anthony St Leger. In 1861 Throapham had a population of 75 who lived in the small settlement centered around Throapham Manor. By the 1960s the manor and its outbuildings were in a ruinous condition and were removed, though I understand that the Manor Orchard is protected.

The civil parishes of Dinnington and Throapham St John were united in 1954 so Throapham is now a township in the parish of St John's. The present village has some old remains but much of it is now modern housing estates.

Village Links

Other Useful Information

Top of Page