Masbrough

History and landmarks

Part of its land in the north lay within the manor of Kimberworth, the other contiguous western suburb of Rotherham today — Masbrough did not feature in the Domesday Book survey of 1086.

Masbrough, in the township of Kimberworth, parish and union of Rotherham...½ a mile (N. W.) from Rotherham; containing nearly 5000 inhabitants. This place forms part of the suburbs of the town of Rotherham, with which it is connected by [a bridge, the Chapel of Our Lady of Rotherham Bridge] of five pointed arches over the river Don, on the central pier of which is an ancient chapel of elegant design, [then] used as a prison. It is nearly of equal extent...and has long been distinguished as the [site] of numerous works connected with the manufactures of the district; of these, a few years since, the principal were the extensive foundry and iron-works of the late Samuel Walker, Esq., in which, during the war, immense quantities of cannon and ordnance of the largest calibre were cast, and subsequently, various iron bridges, including that of Southwark in London. Since the establishment here of a station of the Midland railway, by which...sheep and cattle are sent to Manchester, Liverpool, and other towns, a wonderful increase has taken place in the value of landed property; and the facility of [travel to] distant parts...by that line...promises to render this a principal seat of manufacture. It also derives benefit from the Sheffield and Rotherham branch railway. A large tract of land, forming the estate of Benjamin Badger...has been surveyed and laid out in lots for building; and several streets, intersecting each other at right angles, and forming direct approaches from Rotherham and the neighbourhood to the railway station, have been marked out. A spacious hotel for the accommodation of passengers by the railway, and some handsome dwelling-houses, have been built; and a great increase has been made in the number of manufacturing establishments: there are potteries, glass-works, chemical works, a timber-yard, and several forges and foundries. The Independent College, noticed under the head of Rotherham, is...here; and a Roman Catholic chapel has been built.

A commemorative memorial to 50 victims of a boat disaster at Masborough in 1841 by Edwin Smith of Sheffield is in All Saints Church, Rotherham.

Legacies

A large memorial to the celebrated iron magnate, Walker, stands alone behind the site formerly occupied by the 1760 Independent chapel (with a date stone of 1777), the Walker Mausoleum. After being closed as a place of worship, the chapel became a carpet showroom Allens of Rotherham, but was destroyed by fire in 2012. The site is connected by a short foot subway and Chapel Walk to all the historic buildings in central Rotherham. There were further memorials and statues within the chapel building. The chapel's statue to Jonathan Walker (d.1807) at the heart of the iron industry leading to the local area's development depicts the man leaning on truncated column 'with head in hand'.

In 1862, the Masbrough Iron Works was the scene of an industrial disaster when one of the boilers exploded, killing nine people. Traces of the works survive, particularly near to the eastern dual carriageway road and canalised section of the River Don.

Schools

The Masbrough community is served by both Thornhill and Ferham primary schools, with secondary provision being provided by Winterhill School in nearby Kimberworth.

Places of worship

There are three Christian churches in the Masbrough community: St Bede's Roman Catholic Church, St Paul's Church of England Church and Rotherham Assemblies of God. The Jamia Mosque on College Road and two further mosques serve Sunni Muslims.

Demography

The electoral ward largely co-extensive to Masbrough has lately been Rotherham West. Respondents of this ward to the 2011 Census identified themselves with White British, White European and British Pakistani ethnicity as the largest contingents.

People born in Non-UK EU countries numbered approximately 5% of the population: 572 (of which Ireland 35). Residents born in South Asia numbered 591, the Middle East 77, Zimbabwe 69 and Central and Western Africa 60 in this ward — unusually dense communities from these locations on a regional level due to affordability of housing.

Sport

Masbrough is the home of Millmoor, the former stadium of Second Division football club, Rotherham United and less than 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north from its replacement across the riverside nature reserve.

Transport

Rotherham Masborough railway station closed having been opened in 1840 by the North Midland Railway as an interchange with the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway its services combined into Rotherham Central railway station on the parallel line 600 metres to the east, within the riverside neighbourhood of Masbrough, which provides services to Sheffield in 14 minutes.

The M1 motorway passes, at junction 34, the far western neighbourhood of Masbrough, Richmond Park which is sometimes associated with Kimberworth.

Notable people