Region Yorkshire and the Humber | Population 81,251 (estimate 2010) | |
Points of interest Cannon Hall Farm, Cannon Hall, Monk Bretton Priory, Wortley Hall, Leach Pottery | ||
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Dearne. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and its administrative centre. The metropolitan borough had a population of 231,900 at the 2011 UK Census; Barnsley urban Area had a population of 71,599 (2001census) .
Contents
- Map of Barnsley
- Barnsley 02 middlesbrough fa cup third round goals highlights
- Birmingham city 11 barnsley championship 201314 highlights
- History
- Geography
- Economy
- Culture
- References
Map of Barnsley
Barnsley is notable as a former industrial town centred on coal mining and glassmaking although in the town few factories remain, notably the glassworks and coking plant. Although the industries declined in the 20th century, Barnsleys culture is rooted in its industrial heritage; Barnsley has a tradition of brass bands, originally created as social clubs for its mining communities.
Barnsley 02 middlesbrough fa cup third round | goals & highlights
The town is accessed from junctions 36,37 and 38 of the M1 motorway and has a railway station on the Hallam and Penistone Lines. Barnsley F.C. is the local football club.
Birmingham city 11 barnsley championship 201314 highlights
History
The first reference to Barnsley occurs in 1086 in the Domesday Book, in which it is called Berneslai and has a population of around 200. The origin of the name Barnsley is subject to debate, but Barnsley Council claims that its origins lie in the Saxon word "Berne", for barn or storehouse, and "Lay, for field.
The town was in the parish of Silkstone and developed little until in the 1150s when it was given to the Pontefract Priory. The monks built a town where three roads met: the Sheffield to Wakefield, Rotherham to Huddersfield and Cheshire to Doncaster routes. The Domesday village became known as "Old Barnsley", and a town grew up on the new site.
The monks erected a chapel of ease dedicated to Saint Mary, which survived until 1820, and established a market. In 1249, a Royal charter was granted to Barnsley permitting it to hold a weekly market on Wednesdays and annual four-day fair at Michaelmas. By the 1290s, three annual fairs were held. The town was the centre of the Staincross wapentake, but in the mid-16th century had only 600 inhabitants.
From the 17th century, Barnsley developed into a stop-off point on the route between Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and London. The traffic generated as a result of its location fuelled trade, with hostelries and related services prospering. A principal centre for linen weaving during the 18th and 19th century, Barnsley grew into an important manufacturing town.
Barnsley became a municipal borough in 1869, and a county borough in 1913. The towns boundaries were extended to absorb Ardsley and Monk Bretton in 1921 and Carlton in 1938.
Barnsley has a long tradition of glass-making, but is most famous for its coal mines. George Orwell mentioned the town in The Road to Wigan Pier. He spent a number of days in the town living in the houses of the working class miners while researching for the book. He wrote very critically of the councils expenditure on the construction of Barnsley Town Hall and claimed that the money should have been spent on improving the housing and living conditions of the local miners.
Geography
Ardsley, Athersley, Carlton, Cundy Cross, Gawber, Honeywell, Kendray, Kingstone, Lundwood, Monk Bretton, New Lodge, Oakwell, Old Town, Penistone, Pogmoor, Smithies, Stairfoot, Ward Green, Wilthorpe, Worsbrough Bridge, Worsbrough Common, Worsbrough Dale, Worsbrough
Economy
The town was known for coal mining, although most of the pits were in the surrounding villages, rather than the town. The proportion employed in mining varied. All the mines in the borough are now closed; Goldthorpe was the last to close in 1994. Wire, linen and glass making were also major industries, but only glass making remains, with one company still operating. The coat of arms for the town has both a coal miner and a glass-blower supporting a shield and depicting local families and other industries, above a ribbon bearing the towns motto, Spectemur agendo. It is now moving towards a service economy. In July 2007, unemployment stood at 2.8% in Barnsley West & Penistone, 4.2% in Barnsley Central and 4.0% in Barnsley East & Mexborough, compared to the national average of 3.1%. Between 1997 and 2007, unemployment fell by 55.2%, 52.5% and 52.5% in the three areas respectively.
Culture
English author Chris Roberts quips that the "small town" of Barnsley is "a couple hundred miles north of London geographically, but several time zones away culturally".
Barnsley is home to a tradition of brass bands, which were originally created as social clubs for the mining communities. Grimethorpe Colliery Band, located in Grimethorpe, 5 miles to the east of Barnsley, is perhaps the best known brass band in Britain. It rose to fame in the film Brassed Off and is now the artist in residence at the Royal College of Music, London. The band has performed in Hyde Park during the Last Night of the Proms. Other event include things such as Picnic In The Park, being held on 28 June 2014 to celebrate 20 years of Barnsley Hospice
The Bard of Barnsley Ian McMillan writes a column in the Barnsley Chronicle. He was nominated for a chair of poetry at Oxford University, and appears on BBC Radio 4. The Barnsley accent is starting to wear off amongst the younger generation, but it has generally been better maintained than most other Yorkshire accents. Barnsley has long been known as Tarn by locals however this seems to be heard less as the Barnsley accent seems to be spoken less amongst the younger age group.
Ken Loachs film Kes was set and filmed in several villages in Barnsley, including Lundwood and Monk Bretton, using local actors such as Freddie Fletcher.
There is a live rock and hip hop music scene, which reached its height in the Britpop years, around 1997, due to its close proximity to Sheffield and Manchester. Barnsley metal band Saxon were famous in the 1980s. Two of the Arctic Monkeys studied music at Barnsley College and Barnsley has its own rappers Yes Sir. Barnsley is the home of several live music venues such as the Underground, Shambles St and hosts BOMfest, an outdoor summer music festival which caters for local and national artists which made the Daily Telegraph top 100 U.K. Summer festivals in 2009.
Barnsley Council operates four museums, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Cannon Hall, the Cooper Gallery and Worsbrough Mill. There are plans for a fourth museum in the town hall, a project known as Experience Barnsley. Other museums in Barnsley include the volunteer-run Darfield Museum and the Cawthorne Victoria Jubilee Museum. Other heritage sites include Wortley Top Forge, Wortley Hall, Wentworth Castle, Monk Bretton Priory and Pot House Hamlet.
HIVE Gallery is a contemporary art gallery founded in 2007 by Creative Barnsley and Patrick Murphy. It is situated in Elsecar Heritage Centre and curates eight contemporary art exhibitions per year. The HIVE programme ranges from supporting emerging contemporary artists to exhibiting the work of nationally and internationally known artists. Previous shows have included famous artists such as Sir Peter Blake and Patrick Caulfield.
The Lamproom Theatre has four theatrical companies, and showcases theatre in the town.
The Academy Theatre is part of the Take 2 Centre where performances range from comedy, West End performers, musicals and the traditional "An Evening With. ... ". The Take 2 Centre houses The Take 2 Performing Arts Academy, The Academy Cafe, The Take 2 Music Centre and Lynx Training and Development.
The Civic, in Barnsley town centre, is a multi-purpose performance venue in a grade II listed building, The Civic was re-opened in March 2009 after a major redevelopment. The Civic has hosted high profile acts such as Al Murray and Russell Howard. The Civic houses a contemporary art gallery that hosts touring exhibition from the V&A and the Flow Gallery in London. The Civic also curates its own work for touring, such as Little Black Dress and most recently Brazil +55.