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Barnsley

Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAR : Barnsley

For other uses, see Barnsley (disambiguation)}}}.
Barnsley
Barnsley's location
Geography
OS Grid Reference:
Administration
Borough: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber
Nation: England
Other
Ceremonial County: South Yorkshire
Traditional County: Yorkshire (West Riding)
Post Office and Telephone
Post town: Barnsley
Postcode: S70, S71, S72, S73, S74, S75
Dialling Code: 01226
Barnsley is a large town in South Yorkshire, England, lying on the River Dearne, approximately twenty kilometres north of Sheffield. It is between junctions 36 and 37 of the M1 motorway and has a railway station served by the Hallam and Penistone Lines. It is the main town in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley. It has three MP's - Eric Illsley for Barnsley Central, Michael Clapham for Barnsley West and Penistone and Jeff Ennis for Barnsley East and Mexborough. They are all members of the Labour Party. The town itself has a population of just over 72,000 and the borough of around 223,500.

Contents

History

The first historical reference to Barnsley occurs in 1086 in the Domesday Book, in which it is called 'Berneslai' with a total population of around 200. The exact origins of the name Barnsley is still subject to debate, but, Barnsley Council claims that its origins lie in the Saxon word Berne, for barn or storehouse, and Lay, for field. In 1249 a Royal Charter was granted to Barnsley permitting it to hold a weekly market and annual fair. Left undisturbed by the Civil Wars of the 17th century Barnsley was allowed to develop into a prosperous market town and was profiting from its privileged position on the route between Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and London. The traffic generated as a result of this location fuelled trade with hostelries and related services also prospering. A principal centre for linen weaving during the 18th and 19th century Barnsley grew into an important manufacturing town. Barnsley also has a long tradition of glass making, but is most famous for its coalfields. The town is briefly mentioned in The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. Orwell 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 council's 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.

Industry

The town is famous for coal mining, although most of the pits were actually in the surrounding villages, rather than in the town itself. The proportion employed in mining varied hugely, even before recent times[link]. The "Barnsley Main" colliery was in the town, but was fairly small; it closed in 1991. All of 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 two large companies still operating. Barnsley is twinned with Schwäbisch Gmünd in Germany, and Gorlovka in Ukraine. The coat of arms for the town includes a coal miner and a glass-blower. It is now moving towards a service economy.

In 2002, Barnsley Council and partners launched a major consultation exercise called "Rethinking Barnsley". This led to a regeneration programme centred on Barnsley Town Centre called "Remaking Barnsley". Developments include a new transport interchange, a new cultural centre in the old Civic Hall, a Digital Media Centre, and new offices and apartments throughout the Town Centre. At the same time, housebuilding has taken off and major new housing areas have been developed. Business Parks on the M1 at Junctions 37 and 36, and in the Dearne Valley, have also expanded the job opportunities locally. Unemployment is now below the national average but a large number of local people are on incapacity benefit.

Barnsley's Central Markets and main shopping centre (the Metropolitan Centre) are due to be redeveloped over the next few years, aimed to be complete by 2011. Meanwhile there are proposals to redevelop part of the town hall into a museum and community heritage facility. This project is called Experience Barnsley.

Buildings, Landmarks and Institutions

Alhambra Centre
Barnsley College
Locke Park
Cannon Hall Museum, Park & Gardens
Wentworth Castle & Gardens
Cooper Gallery
Barnsley Town Hall and Experience Barnsley
Oakwell football ground, home of Barnsley Football Club
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Famous People From Barnsley

Famous people from Barnsley include:

Culture

Barnsley is home to a proud tradition of Brass Bands, originally created as social clubs for the mining communities. Grimethorpe Colliery Band - located in a village 5 miles to the east of Barnsley - is perhaps the best 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. They have performed in Hyde Park during the Last Night of the Proms.

Barnsley Council operates three museums, Cannon Hall, the Cooper Gallery and Worsbrough Mill. There are plans for a fourth museum located within the town hall. The project to create this is 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 and Monk Bretton Priory.

Barnsley is also the home of Barnsley College, which was at one time Europe's largest Further Education establishment, it attracts students from all around South Yorkshire and offers a range of degree / diploma courses as well as A-Levels. In 2005 more than 61% of students gained 4 or more A-Level passes.

Ken Loach's film Kes was set and filmed in Barnsley, using local actors such as Freddie Fletcher.

There is a live rock music scene, which reached its height in the Britpop years, around 1997, due to its proximity to Sheffield and Manchester. Barnsley rock band Saxon were famous in the 1980s.

The Lamproom Theatre has three theatrical companies, and gives performances ranging from West End musicals to Shakespeare. Its Youth Company presents up to three productions a year and recently performed a critically acclaimed production of 'Les Miserables: School Edition' in November 2005 which was greeted by standing ovations on each performance.

The 'Bard of Barnsley', Ian McMillan, writes in local dialect, and was recently nominated for a chair of poetry at Oxford University.

Future

Barnsley's past as a coal-mining centre came to an end in the era of the Thatcher Government. The Thatcher government decided that the nationally-owned pits were uncompetitive with their European counterparts. They then proceeded to close the pits abruptly and an extended period of mass unemployment began. For a time, Barnsley was classed as the 31st most deprived area of the EU, and was voted the 'worst town in Britain' by the 1998 Guinness survey. However, Barnsley received many EU grants and although regeneration is now underway, it still falls behind the other local towns Doncaster, Wakefield, Sheffield and Leeds. The education system is a large problem. However, crime is lower in Barnsley than in almost all other "metropolitan" areas. Hi-tec business parks such as the Dearne Valley provide EU subsidies for startup firms, but are generally used by call centres setting up in the area because of low salary levels. Recreation is a major industry, with coach parties travelling from nearby towns to access Barnsley's acclaimed night-life. Sheffield's artificial ski slope was created by former miners investing their redundancy money. Slazenger tennis balls [used at Wimbledon] were made in a Barnsley factory that was only recently bulldozed to make way for new housing.

More controversially, Barnsley is currently asking whether to rebrand itself to shed its coal-mining past. Plans are in progress to encircle the town with a living wall; a huge abstract sculpture of shapes and fluorescence. There was a plan to create a 'halo of light' which would surround the town but the proposal was recently knocked back. Another proposal indicates that the 'Halo of Light' would be more suitable for special occasions rather than a permanent fixture. There is also a scheme to remodel much of the town's architecture on a 'Tuscan hill village' theme.

The question of whether to celebrate Barnsley's coal past or to look instead to the future is epitomised by The Plinth. The Plinth was built in the centre of the town for a statue. However there has been disagreement as to what the statue should be of. Traditionalists would like to see a miner, or perhaps Arthur Scargill. Whereas Futurists would prefer to leave those images behind and choose an emblem of the future with suggestions including a symbol of the EU, or of technology. One of the more popular suggestions so far has been to erect a statue of famous Barnsley Cricket umpire Dickie Bird, who many see as a symbol of good will and fair play.

Work on changing the town centre is currently underway, with the construction of new modern council offices at Westgate and the construction of a new transport interchange. In the coming years the entire town centre will be demolished and rebuilt, with the new market development at the centre's heart. There are also proposals called Experience Barnsley to redevelop part of the town hall into a museum and community heritage facility.

Sport

Barnsley F.C. football team play in the Championship of the English league. They play at the Oakwell stadium just outside of the town centre. The club has had a mixed recent history. In the late 1990's they had a brief spell in the premier league, but were relegated after just one season. Subsequent seasons saw them relegated once more to the third tier of English football. They were promoted to the championship after beating Swansea during the promotion playoff finals. They are currently managed by Andy Ritchie.

Nightlife

Pubs

External links

 

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