| Rossington | |
St Michael's church |
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Rossington
Rossington shown within South Yorkshire |
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| Population | 13,255 |
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| OS grid reference | SK624981 |
| Parish | Rossington |
| Metropolitan borough | Doncaster |
| Metropolitan county | South Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DONCASTER |
| Postcode district | DN11 |
| Dialling code | 01302 |
| Police | South Yorkshire |
| Fire | South Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Don Valley |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Rossington is a civil parish and former mining village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England and is surrounded by countryside and the market towns of Bawtry and Tickhill.
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It has a population of 13,255.[1] Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield is around two miles to the east. The village is demarcated to the north and west by a line of 400kV pylons, as seen from the M18, to the north. The Finningley and Rossington Relief Road Scheme is proposed to allow access to the airport.
To the north-west, the village borders Loversall, with the boundary following the River Torne, passing directly next to the western edge of the former Rossington Main Colliery. It briefly crosses the M18 at the point where the motorway crosses the East Coast Main Line. At this point it meets the Borough of Doncaster and follows Mother Drain, then the River Torne, north of Torne Valley Farm. It passes by a Roman fort and crosses the A638 at Rossington Bridge, north of Rossington Bridge Farm. At Wheatcroft Farm it meets Finningley. Nearby at the junction of the A638 and B6463, there is a park and ride car park. The boundary passes along the west of Hurst Plantation, and meets the A638, a former Roman road, at Warren House Farm. Following the A638 at Mount Pleasant Hotel, it meets Austerfield. In the south-east of the parish is the Northern Racing College (for horse racing), next to Rossington Hall School. At Bawtry Forest, it meets Bawtry. Crossing the B6463 at New England Cottages, it meets Tickhill. At Stancil Bridge, it meets the River Torne and Wadworth.
There are remains of both a Roman fort and Roman pottery kilns in the area. The name Rossington translates from the old Anglo-Saxon name of 'Farm on the Moor'. In later times, Rossington housed a small village and both Rossington Hall and Shooters Hill Hall.
The area known as "Rossington" is actually made up of a number of villages and hamlets, namely "Hesley", "Littleworth", "Old Rossington", "New Rossington", Rossington Bridge and Shooters Hill. The New Village began to be built around the time of the sinking of the Colliery. Rossington Bridge, although now only consisting of a few buildings is the oldest of the four settlements; situated on the crossing of the Roman road from Lincoln (Lindvm) to York (Ebvrscvm) via Doncaster (Danvm) it was once the site of a major Roman fort (the largest between Lincoln and York). Rossington Bridge was also an important staging post on the Great North Road.
It was, however in the mid-twentieth century that saw the largest expansion of the area. The need for workers in and around the Rossington Main Colliery led to the building of large numbers of housing near to the pit in what was called New Rossington. After the end of British Coal in the early 1990s, the mine was able to keep operating and became one of the last in the area to keep producing coal albeit at a greatly reduced scale. However, with the decline of the mine, the village suffered high levels of unemployment and poverty throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. The Colliery finally closed in 2007.
In more recent years, Old Rossington has seen the building of large levels of new, private housing raising the village's affluence. It is claimed that Rossington is the largest village in Britain with a population of 13,248 (9,089 New Rossington, 4,159 Old Rossington) over four times larger than the nearby town of Bawtry (3,198) and making up 4.6% of the total population of the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough[2] The expansion of the Old Village actually makes it newer than the New Village.
The 'Old Village' and 'New Village' are separated by the East Coast Mainline; there are only two crossing points over the railway between the old and new villages. These are the road bridge on Stripe Road and the level crossing at the point where West End Lane becomes Station Road. As the road name suggests Rossington once had its own station, however, this was closed for regular services in 1958 but a few special trains stopped there until the late 1960s. The station buildings and platforms remained in place until the early 1980s, when the platforms, which were to the south of the level crossing were dug up and the old signal box that stood on the north east side of the crossing was demolished. The signalling having been automated and control of the crossing moved to Doncaster PSB a few years before. When the old signal box was in operation the crossing was controlled by a large set of wooden gates, which were operated by the signalman who had to leave the signal box and open and close the gates by hand. By the mid 1950s these gates were opened and closed by a large wheel in the signal box. These gates were replaced by automated barriers controlled from Doncaster PSB at the same time as the signal box was closed; however, some older residents of Rossington still refer to the crossing gates. The only surviving building is the old Station cottages, which stand on the north west side of the crossing and are now private dwellings.
Although there are no really old or historic pubs in Rossington, there two pubs in the village with names that relate to local history, both of which are relatively new buildings (post Second World War). Firstly there is The Styrrup, which is located on the junction of Station Road and Stripe Road, this pub reputedly acquired its name because the infamous Highwayman Dick Turpin once watered his horse Black Bess at the nearby pump on Station Road while on his legendary ride to York. The second Rossington pub with a story behind its name is The Poacher on Radburn Road, this pub was built in the early 1980s and at the time the pub was being built along with the surrounding housing estate, the village was rocked by the murder of a local girl by her uncle. When the murder case was brought to trial the key prosecution witness was a local man who had seen the murder take place while out poaching, it was therefore decided that the pub should be named in his honour.
Correction - in addition there was a coaching inn at Rossington Bridge [known locally as Parrot's Corner] which operated until the late 19th century, after which it became a private house. Within the last 20 years it was again licenced and is now a pub called The Hare & Tortoise.
The village currently supports a number of churches.
The village has many successful schools, including:
Rossington Main Football Club was formed in 1919 as Rossington Colliery, originally playing behind the Colliery offices in New Rossington, before moving to their current home at the end of Oxford Street in 1921. In 1998 the club merged with the latterly formed Rossington FC (formerly Station FC), and the new Rossington Main F.C. currently play in the Northern Counties East League.
Rossington is the home to the 'RASCALS' swimming team based at Rossington Sports Centre. Rossington Swimming Club was founded in June 1966.[3]
Rossington has a long history of local junior and senior cricket. Rossington Main Cricket Club. The Cricket Club has 3 Senior teams that mixes youth and experience and these teams play on a Saturday and Sunday. The Cricket Club also has junior teams from the age ranges under 11's, under 13's, under 15's and under 17's.[4]
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