Beighton

Beighton

Shown within Sheffield
District: Sheffield
UK Parliament constituency: Sheffield Attercliffe
Ceremonial county: South Yorkshire
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber
Population (2001): 17,800
Councillors
Helen Mirfin-Boukouris (Labour Party)
Christopher Rosling-Josephs (Labour Party)
Ian Saunders (Labour Party)

Beighton ward ( /ˈbtən/ or /ˈbtən/)[1]—which includes the districts of Beighton, Hackenthorpe, Owlthorpe, and Sothall—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the eastern part of the city, on the border with Rotherham and covers an area of 5.7 km2. The population of this ward in 2001 was 17,800 people in 7,200 households.

Prior to 1967, the districts of this ward formed part of Derbyshire. In that year an extension of the then County Borough of Sheffield took in the area, which was consequently transferred to the West Riding of Yorkshire.[2] In 1974 the area became part of the City of Sheffield, in the metropolitan and ceremonial county of South Yorkshire.[3]

Contents

Districts of Beighton ward

Beighton

Beighton (grid reference SK440835) is now a suburb of Sheffield after much expansion from a village in the last 100 years. The village was mentioned three times in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bectun[4]—the name meaning a farmstead beside a stream (or beck). Some remnants of the old village have survived including the church of Saint Mary the Virgin, which was built in the 12th century. The population in 1931 was 5,553.

Being primarily a coal mining area, many of the houses erected in the first part of the 20th century were by the National Coal Board. Later expansion in the last 30 years has been in private housing.

The Rother Valley Country Park is just outside the eastern edge of the village and is a local centre for water sports. A number of artificial lakes have been created for this purpose.

Beighton railway station was on the Great Central Main Line.

The parish church St. Mary the Virgin was restored in 1868 and a clock was erected in the tower in 1921 as a memorial to parishioners who gave their lives in the Great War.

Sothall

grid reference SK440825 Sothall also includes the Meadowgate estate.

Brook House Junior School is the main junior school in Sothall, with 304 pupils. It serves from Year 3 to Year 6 (7-11 year olds). Beighton Nursery Infant School is the main nursery and the main infant school in the area. The nursery section serves 0-4 year olds and the infant school serves Reception to Year 2 (4-7 year olds).

Owlthorpe

grid reference SK418825

Owlthorpe[5] is a mainly residential area with the areas of Hackenthorpe, Birley and Waterthorpe. Sheffield Supertram circulates around the estate and can be easily accessed depending on your location at three tram stops, Birley Moor Road, Hackenrhorpe or Donetsk Way. It was mostly rural until the late 1980s when major development was planned and followed through for the area.

Hackenthorpe

grid reference SK408838

Hackenthorpe is a village 5 miles south east of Sheffield and a historical township of Sheffield. Noted for its steelmaking and the famous Hackenthorpe sword. The Hackenthorpe Hall was once well known for hauntings by ghosts. It has since moved to Main Street and is now a famous nursery. Hackenthope was once a part of Derbyshire in the parish of Beighton but is now part of South Yorkshire.

References

  1. ^ G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 13.
  2. ^ Youngs, Frederic A., Jr (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. II: Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. 512. ISBN 0117508470. 
  3. ^ Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 21. ISBN 0117508470. 
  4. ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.1313
  5. ^ Owlsthorpe is spelt Dwestorp in Domesday where is it briefly mentioned in a list of manors belonging, in Yorkshire, to the Bishop of Durham