Masbrough Area
Holmes - Jordan - Masbrough - New York
Ferham House
Holmes
Masbrough
New York
Northfield & Thornhill
The Masbrough area including Holmes, Jordan, Masbrough, New York, Northfield and Thornhill is to the west and northwest of Rotherham. I am not at all sure where one village ends and the next begins as they all adjoin each other. All are all to the north side of the flood plain of the Don, a river that used to change its course regularly at the best of times. At the worst of times after heavy rain and floods much of the area would have been under water. So until our ancestors began to improve (or interfere if you will) with the course of the river some parts of these areas would have been unusable for part of the year and pretty claggy for the rest. These were at one time all part of the manor of Kimberworth hence the various appellations, Kimberworth and Masbrough being, at times, interchangeable.
You many find mention of Ferham which is the area around Ferham Road between Masbrough and Holmes, also Henley which is the housing estate north of New Wortley Road, but neither of these appear as separate area names.
As far as my research has shown this area was agricultural until late Tudor times when there was a blast furnace there. However the area had the advantages of a regular water supply which could be harnessed for use and that it was just out of the centre of town so that noise and noxious fumes would not annoy the good citizens of Rotherham. Increased industrialisation took place in the Masbrough area from the middle 16th Century with forges and a slitting mill. A slitting mill split rod iron into usable lengths which were then supplied to nailmakers for making of different sized nails. The Walker family moved their business to Masbrough in 1746 setting up two reverbatory furnaces, a casting house and a smithy. The goods produced were castings, cooking pots and the like. The firm of Walker and Booth built a steel furnace in 1748 making blister steel. At this time the bosses built large houses close to the businesses so they could keep an eye on things. The history of the Walker family in Masbrough is too long and complicated to cover here but their enterprises made cannon used in the Napoleonic Wars and were famous for their cast iron bridges. From about 1820 it was resolved to close the iron and steel making works in Rotherham and it was eventually wound up in 1833. The assets were sold off and others used this as an opportunity to set themselves up in the iron and steel trade.
The Acts setting up the various companies building the canals and straightening he river were passed in the 1720s and 1730s and there were numerous improvements to the water transport systems as they ran south of the Masbrough area. The history of the canals is complicated but you can find out a bit more at Rotherham - Rivers and Canals - The Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation Canal.
The Masbrough area was one of forges and works with some big houses for the bosses and much poor quality housing for the workers. I have not been able to find any of Masbrough's Medieval past and most of the 18th and 19th Century houses seem to have disappeared under later rebuildings. Long ago I read something about a convent at Masbrough but other than the one fleeting remembrance I have found no information. Masbrough is still an area where industry, housing and dereliction exist side by side. Multi-million plans are afoot to redevelop these areas along with Templeborough and Canklow.
Jordan
Jordan is the name of an area of works between the canal and Meadow Bank Road at the western edge of Masbrough. I think that the area was named after Jordan de Reineville lord of the sub manor of Cowley (Ecclesfield) in the 12th Century. As early as 1371 the name Jordan Feld appears on maps. By 1608 the Jordan Dam was built on the River Don to provide water for the iron-works further down stream. I don't think that there were ever more than a few cottage here so it hardly qualifies as a village at all.