Whiston
There is a small old centre to the village of Whiston with narrow lanes, alleyways and flights of steps. I recently re-acquainted myself with some parts of this and I had forgotten just how steep some of the steps are. The main roads through the village are very busy but many of the side streets here are very quiet and pleasant. There is some lovely old property and I can see why it is such a popular and pricey place. There are newer developments west, north and east of the old village but to the south there are still open fields until you get to the M1.
The name of the village is reckoned to come from 'white stone'. There is no trace now of this stone but it may have been one of the standing stones used by our ancestors to indicate the way of ancient footpaths and tracks for the packman and the drover. You can still find them about in other places if you look for them. Although the main route from Rotherham to the West Riding changed over the centuries it always passed through Whiston which must have been busy with packmen, carters and drovers. In the 18th Century the roads through Whiston crossroads were turnpiked (Tinsley and Bawtry Turnpike in 1760 and the Rotherham and Pleasley Road Turnpike in 1764) and there was a toll house here.
The Manor of Whiston
Whiston is mentioned in the Domesday Book as a settlement, variously called Widestan or Widestha. It was a manor joined with Handsworth (now in Sheffield) with 11 villeins, 11 smallholders and 8 freemen. There were 7 plough teams which indicates that there was a considerable area of land under arable cultivation. Before 1066 most of the area had been held by a Saxon called Thorketill. By 1086 the land was owned by the Earl of Mortain who let it to Richard, and William de Warenne whose land in Whiston was part of his Honour of Conisbrough.
Kirkby's Inquest of 1285 variously refers to Whiston as Westam, Whistan, Wystan, and Wytstan. During the Middle Ages the manor of Whiston passed was owned by Pagenal and Luteral families before coming to the Lovetots, who held extensive estates in Hallamshire, including the manor of Sheffield. In the time of King John, Maud de Lovetot married Gerard de Furnival and the Lovetot estates passed to William de Furnival who was her third son. On his death without heirs, the manor passed to his nephew Thomas who had inherited the bulk of the family estates.
In 1293 Thomas de Furnival claimed to have free warren, ingfangthief, gallows and a free court at Whiston. In the Poll Tax return of 1379, the Whiston return is headed by Johanna, widow of Sir Thomas Furnyvall, described as 'baronesse'. Johanna was the daughter and heir of the lord of Swinton, Sir Thomas de Mountenay. She had no children by Thomas de Furnival who died in 1366 but did have a son whom she called John de Mountenay. All told there were 128 people liable to pay the Poll Tax in Whiston which indicates a large and thriving community. The tradesmen in the village included a chapman, a cook, two tailors, a glover, a carpenter, two smiths and a mower. Whiston descended with the main Furnival estate, passing eventually to the Earls of Shrewsbury.
Early in the 17th Century Whiston was amongst the manors which were inherited by the three daughters of the th Earl of Shrewsbury. These were held in trust for various family members and passed into the Howard family being inherited by Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel later Duke of Norfolk (1660). The South Yorkshire estates were managed aggressively by his brother Henry Howard who succeeded to the Dukedom in 1677. Records from this century indicate that wood was cut for making charcoal (used to smelt iron ore) and that coal was mined in the manor of Whiston.
In 1823 the then Duke of Norfolk sold Whiston to Sir George Sitwell of Renishaw.
Whiston Manor House is shown on the 1840s Ordnance Survey Map and appears to have been situated in the angle made by Worry Goose Lane and Moorhouse Lane but I have found no trace of it and no mention of it in any of my books.
Whiston Manorial Barn
The Medieval Manorial Barn on Chaff Lane has been restored and is used as a village hall and is available for hire. It dates in part back to the 13th Century and was use by the Lord of the Manor to store the grain collected from his serfs and peasants by way of tax. The wood for it was felled some time after 1214 and the barn is an example of a post and truss structure. Originally there were two storage bays at either end with the threshing floor in the middle. Additional bays were added in the Middle Ages and in more modern times a wheelhouse was added for a threshing machine. The barn ceased to be used and fell into disrepair before it was bought by Whiston Parish council in 1985. It was extensively restored and is a Grade 2* listed building.
Whiston Parish & the Church of St Mary Magdalene
The oldest dated stone in the graveyard is from 1696. Behind the churchyard is an old quarry which I understand is being redeveloped for housing. The Lychgate in front of the church was built in 1919 as a war memorial and is inscribed with the names of those who gave their lives in the World Wars. The parish stocks, dated 1786, stand in the churchyard next to the lychgate.
A bit further off to the side is the Old Rectory which ceased to be used by the rectors in the 1960s in favour of a more modern and modest house. From the size of the rectory and the coachhouse it is obvious that the rectorship of Whiston was very valuable indeed. The Rev. William Howard, third son of the first Earl of Effingham, who died in 1881 was rector here for 40 years and it was his sister, Lady Charlotte Howard who paid for the bulk of the church's restoration.
Although St Mary Magdalene was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages and many churches were named after her, she fell out of favour in the more Puritan times in the 18th and 19th Centuries. During these centuries the church at Whiston was usually described as the Parish Church of St James. In this politically correct 21st Century the church seems to prefer to call itself St Mary's rather that St Mary Magdalene, which is a pity. Mary Magdalene was the first person to whom Christ appeared after his Resurrection and as such holds a very special place amongst the saints, but unfortunately has had a lot of bad press.
Lychgate Hall
Next to the churchyard is Lychgate Hall. This was formerly the Church Institute built in 1913 with monies donated by Eliza Rowden Hall of Sydney Australia, who was born in Morthen. It was sold in the 1980s and is now a private home.
Whiston Hall
Next to the barn is Whiston Hall which was the local farm, Clay's Farm it used to be known when I was young. The original hall dated from about 1500 but has been extended and altered and is now an old folk's home. It is an odd rambling building with several low wings but doesn't seem to have any grand entrance. Next to it is the old dairy which is now a private house.
Whiston Methodist Church
Between 1771 and 1822 the Methodists of Whiston met in Stanley Cottage on Hollowgate. A small chapel was constructed on High Street in 1822, and replaced by the present Methodist Church in 1865/6. The church tower contains the Parish Clock installed there in 1874 and financed by public subscription. The present tower is a concrete one raised in 1949 to replace an earlier wooden spire.
Whiston's Population
At the time of the first census in 1801 the population of Whiston was 672. The population increased steadily throughout the 19th Century, reaching 1,317 in 1871 and rising again to 1,982 in 1901. By 1931 the figure had risen to 2,508 but the loss of territory to Rotherham in 1936 almost halved the population of Whiston. By 1951, with increased house building in Whiston, the population of the reduced civil parish had climbed to 2,780 and by 1991 it had reached 4,907.
Whiston Schools
The first mention of education in Whiston is in the will of Joseph Hammond dated 1794: he left money for the education of children. The cottages opposite the former Parish Church Institute once housed a boarding school that attracted pupils from a wide area. The National School formerly stood below the churchyard off School Hill. The original School was constructed in 1838 and replaced with a new building in 1874. The school closed when the new school on Saville Road opened in 1961. A second primary school was erected on Worrygoose Lane in 1968-9.
In 2005 Whiston Heritage Society has produced a leaflet 'A Walk Round Whiston' which is available from Rotherham Visitor Centre.