Wath Area
Abdy - Brampton - Brampton Bierlow - Cortonwood - Hollowgate - Manvers - Newhill - Wath upon Dearne - Westfield - West Melton
The town of Wath upon Dearne and the surrounding villages in the Borough of Rotherham are situated to the south of the floodplain of the River Dearne and the Dearne and Dove Canal. To the north is the Borough of Barnsley and the villages of Bolton upon Dearne, Dearne, Thurnscoe, Thurnscoe East and Goldthorpe. To the east is the Borough of Doncaster through which the river and canal flow generally eastwards to join the River Don at Conisbrough. These areas of Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster are known as the Dearne Valley.
Until a few years ago the Dearne Valley was home to what was reputed to be the biggest, dirtiest coal complex anywhere in Britain - Manvers Main. The complex consisted of the colliery, tips, slurry lagoons, coal conveyors and a huge set of railway sidings including Wath Concentration Yard. These are all gone now and a lot of money has been spent reclaiming the site. At the eastern end there is now a trading estate; a complex in itself which includes many call centres and Dearne Valley College. The rest of the site was to be developed as a country park with woodlands and walks around the lake. However the site has been either sold or leased to a development company who intend to build housing, shops and recreation facilities including a nine-hole golf course (this is now open).
The ancient parish of Wath-upon-Dearne comprised the five townships of Wath, Brampton Bierlow, Nether Hoyland (now in the Borough of Barnsley), Swinton and Wentworth.
Abdy
How could I have missed Abdy in my initial review of Rotherham Villages? Quite easily really. Despite large lettering on the map there are only a handful of houses there and one of them is the clubhouse for Wath Golf Club. I know nothing of its origins or the meaning of the name. There is an Abdy farm at Whiston and strangely enough during my recent reading I have come across the surname Abdy several times. I am of the humble opinion that it is Adby spelled wrongly; at least I always want to type it that way.
Cortonwood
The first shaft of Cortonwood Colliery was sunk in 1873 and the pit closed in 1986. The name Cortonwood does not appear on any of my maps as a village name but it must have existed as there was Cortonwood Methodist Chapel, called 'The Tin Chapel' and Cortonwood School. The pit owners built the original chapel and a school which closed when the council school opened in 1933. They also built housing for the miners which was very unusual because they were made of concrete: 106 houses that came to be known as 'Concrete Cottages'. These were demolished in the 1950s. The Cortonwood Colliery site is now being developed, and contains houses, an industrial estate, a supermarket, a restaurant, and many more buildings which are appearing by the month.
Hollowgate
Gate comes from the Old English 'gade' which does not mean gate, but street or way. Hence the way into the hollow or valley. The valley in question was that of the River Dearne where until a few years ago there was the huge railway system called Wath Concentration Yard for the coal and coke from Manvers Main and coking plant.
Manvers
The site of the old Manvers Main has been reclaimed and is partly covered by modern trading and office units.
Westfield
The west field. Its basically just a name on a map and not much else. Happen it was the west field used by the people of Wath in the Middle Ages when the three field and strip systems of agriculture were in use.
Famous People from Wath
Dennis Parkin b. 11 January 1916 d. 2009
Dennis Parkin was a miner's son from Wath. He failed the entrance exam for the grammar school so joined his father and brother working at the colliery, first as a telephone boy, whilst he continued his studies at night school. Aged 18 he joined the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards at Chelsea Barracks. He then served with the Maidstone Police but being on the reserve list was recalled to the army in 1939.
By 1943 he had reached the rank of Captain when he was sent with his unit to Burma. He demonstrated outstanding courage as a company commander in action there and as awarded the DSO. He was badly injured during this action and his injuries forced him to retire from the army in 1946. He rejoined the police and in 1964 became chief superintendent and commander of the training centre. After retirement from the police he worked at the Transport Industry Training Board and Dungeness B power station. He died aged 93 on 10 August 2009.
If you want to know more just google on Captain Dennis Parkin; there are lots of articles.