Aston, South Yorkshire

Aston
Aston
Aston shown within South Yorkshire
OS grid reference	SK460848
Civil parish	Aston cum Aughton
Metropolitan borough	Rotherham
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SHEFFIELD
Postcode district	S26
Dialling code	0114
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Rother Valley

Aston is a residential village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Holderness ward of the borough.

Etymology

Unlike other places of the same name, Aston does not mean "eastern farm or village," but instead originates from the Old English words tun "farm, village, and estate" with an uncertain first element. The name was recorded as Essetone in 1039, suggesting Old English ǣsc "ash tree" (as in Ashton and Ashton-in-Makerfield), although this is not certain.

Historic structures

At the eastern end of the village is Grade II* listed Aston Hall which was a large country house, then a hospital, and at one time known as Aughton Court before becoming a hotel and restaurant. It gives its name to Aston Hall Cricket Club, which plays home games close to the Hall. The original house was home to the D’arcys, and the Melton family who were lords of the manor before them, but was pulled down following a fire in 1771 and Lord Holderness then had it rebuilt the following year by York architect John Carr. The Verelst family who had previously rented the hall then bought the property and continued to occupy the hall and most of the original Aston estate for many years prior to its eventual breakup and sale in the 1920s.^[1][2] A nearby street named "The Chase" suggests that the surrounding housing estate now occupies land that formed the traditional hunting grounds attached to the hall.

Adjacent to Aston Hall is the oldest surviving structure in the village, the Grade I listed Church of All Saints. It is built on the site of earlier church listed in the Domesday Book, and parts of it date to 12th, 14th and 15th centuries though with restoration works including rebuilding of the chancel in the 19th century. Monuments in the church include two wall plaques to William Mason a former rector of the church.^[2][3] The old rectory building on Church Lane was also worked on by John Carr, it is named High Trees and is Grade II listed^[4] as are a number of other 18th and early 19th century buildings along the main road (Worksop Road) including The Grange and South Farm.^[5][6] To the north of these on Aughton Lane is the William Layne Reading Room, a building that was formally Aston Old School, founded in 1738, next to which stands a war memorial erected in 2011.^[7][8]

History

Aston was traditionally a farming village and some old farm buildings still line the main road. In the early 20th century the population increased because of the opening of coal mines in the area.

It joined local villages Aughton and Swallownest, to form the Aston cum Aughton civil parish.

Geography

Aston is around 2 miles from Rother Valley Country Park.

Education

Aston Academy is the local high school, specialising in mathematics and computing. Most pupils come from the Aston-cum-Aughton area, with others from nearby villages such as Beighton, Woodhouse and Treeton.

Local primary schools are:

• Aston C of E (Church of England)
• Aston Hall Primary
• Aston Lodge Primary
• Aston Springwood Junior & Infant School
• Swallownest Primary
• Aughton Primary
• Aston Fence Junior & Infant

References

External links

• Media related to Aston, South Yorkshire at Wikimedia Commons
• Aston in the Domesday Book