Ulley
Ulley is apparently derived from 'Olleie', or in Saxon English an forest-glade with owls. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English place names gives it as the Old English wulf-leah or wolf wood; either way it has a nice ring to it. The area around Ulley is rich in history. A circular earthwork and burial mounds dating from Pre-Roman times were discovered on Guilthwaite Common. A Stone Age axe was found by a farmer near Morthen.
Two Roman roads ran through Ulley Village and Roman coins have been found. A Saxon cross still stands at Morthen which is said to commemorate those slain at the battle of Brunanburgh, whilst within the ward of Ulley were found battle-axes and spurs from about the 10th Century. From the earliest period the township of Ulley was split, with part within Aston parish and part within Treeton. All or part of the estate was owned by the Saxon Morcar and was granted to the Earl of Mortain who let them to the same Richard who also held Treeton, Aston and Aughton. The area was recorded in the Domesday Book as Ollei in the parish of Lactone (Laughton) and was worth only forty shillings: another source says the manor was of no value, being waste. So perhaps one part was valueless and the other was not.
Ulley was later held by the Paganels and Luterels, with the Horburys and Bernakes under them. At some time in the Middle Ages, Ulley was given to Worksop Priory. In the late 14th Century the population of Ulley was about 90 persons with the franklin, John de Ullay and his wife Margaret being the wealthiest inhabitants.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1530s) the land changed hands many times before it was purchased in 1722 by Samuel Buck. Buck and Robert Poynton were the main landowners at the time of the Enclosures Act. In the early 19th century the lordship of the manor passed by marriage to the Woods of Hemsworth (later Viscounts Halifax.) and the Cookes of Warmsworth.
Both Ulley Manor and Ulley Hall are 18th Century houses. As far as I know neither are open to the public. In 1851 Ulley and Brampton-en-le-Morthen were constituted a new parish and the church of Holy Trinity was built soon afterwards near the site of a monastic chapel. The lake at Ulley was constructed in 1874 as a main water supply reservoir for Rotherham and was created by damming Ulley Brook. This is now part of Ulley Country Park.
Throughout the centuries Ulley remained a small, agricultural settlement, with quarrying the only notable industry. The population varied over the years according to the availability of work but was usually about 200. I think that there has been some modern housing development there but no vast estates.
Holy Trinity, Ulley
The church was built in 1851 for Viscount HaliFax. There was an earlier Medieval chapel here or hereabouts but Ulley was not a separate parish until Victorian times. The church is open from dawn to dusk every day contact 44 (0)114 287 5448.
