Holmes
Psalters Lane in Holmes is part of the remains of the one of the old salt roads on which salt was carried from Cheshire all over the country. The road seems to have passed through Kimberworth then along the Don Valley via Holmes into Rotherham.
At the end of the 16th Century there is reference to pastures called the Holmes at Kimberworth. In 1598 the Earl of Shrewsbury was operating two blast furnaces in South Yorkshire one of which was in the Holmes/Kimberworth area using the waters of Holmes Head Goit which left the River Don at Jordan. In 1639 land at the Holmes was leased by Lionel Copley and others for the purpose of setting up a forge. By the 1720s there was a slitting mill there powered by the water from Holmes (Tail) Goit.
The industrialisation of the area continued apace during the 18th Century. Posh families like the Howards moved further out of town and works were built on the sites of their old homes. There seems to have been a similar pattern ever since with Holmes being an area of works and workers housing. The Holmes estate was bought by the Walkers in 1782. I am told that these derelict buildings were the remains of the Holmes Blast Furnaces. They were there in 2002 but have since been demolished.
We went for a comprehensive walk around Holmes in 2002 and I have to say that the whole area looked incredibly shabby. Along Holmes Lane and Steel Street where many companies have shut down other firms have moved in and there were warehouses, scrap yards, recycling and transport firms. Some of the old areas of housing have been demolished leaving derelict plots, whilst new slums have been built on others. I recently met up with an old acquaintance who has lived on Psalters Lane for the last thirty years. She tells me I am being much too gloomy about Holmes - the area might be shabby, the housing might be tatty, but for the most part the people are great.
Holmes Hall
Holmes Hall was owned by the Dukes of Norfolk and in the 17th Century was part of the Dower Estate. In 1684 Jane Bickerton, widow of the fifth Duke of Norfolk established her household at the Holmes, Masbrough. The hall came into the hands of another branch of the Howard family, the Earls of Effingham. In the late 18th century the area was becoming increasingly industrialised and the Howards moved out to their new property at Thundercliffe Grange.
By 1783 Holmes Hall had been sold to the Walker family. It was a comparatively modest house very close to the mills and furnaces so consequently suffered from the noise and smells.
I am making the assumption that this was the property later known as The Holmes which came into the hands of the Habershon family. Later they moved further out of town to Ferham House. In 1842 Holmes Hall was sold to Peter Stubs and Co, a firm of high grade steel makers from Warrington. It was demolished and the Warrington Works was erected on the site.