Thurcroft Area
Brampton-en-le-Morthen - Brookhouse - Carr - Hardwick - Morthen - Slade
Hooton - Thurcroft
These villages are situated to the south east of Rotherham Town Centre. Thurcroft itself is a decent-sized village but the other settlements loosely gathered around it are very small indeed.
Brampton-en-le-Morthen
The name Brampton-en-le-Morthen is possibly derived from Brantone, a farmstead in the broom. It does not have its own church, so technically it is a hamlet rather than a village, and is part of the Ulley parish two miles away. Brampton is also Old English for a steep enclosure or area covered in brambles. It is situated south west of Thurcroft not far from where the M1 and M18 cross and consists of a few farms and the Rising Deer public house, once famous for its ales. It might still be famous but I haven't drunk there for along time. For the meanings of Morthen see below.
Brookhouse
The house by the brook. It is situated to the east of Thurcroft. There are a few houses and a rather nice pub and restaurant. Quarrying used to take place here but these are now disused and include the wonderfully named Doodiddles Quarry.
Brookhouse
There is a downer to this bucolic idyll in the shape of the railway that runs round the back of the village and was pretty busy with goods traffic on the day we walked through.
Carr
Carr signifies an area of boggy land. It is north east of Thurcroft and again is a tiny settlement.
Hardwick
Wick signifies a dairy farm, so hard may be a personal name. It is situated north of Junction 31 on the M1 and on the south side of Brampton Common but is otherwise quite remote from anywhere. There is Hardwick Grange, farms and cottages, and a plant nursery but precious little else.
Morthen
Morthen is a tiny hamlet west of Thurcroft and somewhat cut off from it by the great junction of the M1 and M18 at J32. There's more than one theory for the origin of Morthen:–
- Morthen may derive from the Old Norse terms Morthyng meaning moorland district with a common assembly.
- It is also possible that Morthen was part of the site of the Battle of Brunanburgh around 936. A Saxon cross still stands at Morthen which is said to commemorate those slain at the battle where 50000 warriors are reputed to have died. It would therefore mean the field of slaughter.
- Morthen possibly comes from the French 'morte' meaning death. Morthen bring the place of death for the reason above or others.