Mar
8

Wombwell Town

Wombwell, come discover the town on the outskirts of Barnsley

The advent of Valley Way and Mitchells Way, the new by-pass, in recent years has taken its toll on the centre of Wombwell. But this small town has risen to the challenge.

Wombwell town centres paved plaza area on High Street is a credit to regeneration. It is good to see such an ancient town still growing and thriving. Wombwell dates back to pre-Norman times and is named in the Domesday Book as a small agricultural village, Wambella – the place of the well.

Following the Norman Conquest the whole area of land around Barnsley, which was also only a small village at the time, was granted to Ilbert de Laci. Among many of WIlliam’s compatriots who had taken up arms with him, Ilbert came to England with hopes of accruing plunder and riches. He gained more than that and started a Dynasty with some conscientious heirs. His son, Robert, founded the Cluniac monastery at Pontefract while a John de Laci became Earl of Lincoln. John was also responsible for building several churches in the Barnsley area of which Wombwell’s was possibly one. At the west end of the present church can be seen the preserved stones from the original building which date from 1170.

This original church was rebuilt in the late 13th Century, probably by the Friars of Monk Bretton Priory. In the 15th Century the War of the Roses and the 17th Century Civil War, the area around Wombwell saw many desperate battles, but there is no record of skirmishes actually in Wombwell. Between these two national upheavals coal had started to be mined, but it did not become industrially important and significant until later on. After 1800 though, coal mining became vital to the area and more mines were opened in and around Wombwell to exploit the rich Barnsley coal seam.

Wombwell itself was home to two collieries, Wombwell Main and Mitchells Main, after which the new by-pass is named. As the industrial life of the place increased so did the population, and by the 1830s the church, in particular, was found to be too small for its congregation.

An extension was planned and built in 1835 with the addition of a new south aisle and gallery. The architect was John Whitworth of Barnsley, but his expertise was not too sound as a new church was proposed and the foundation stone laid in 1896. It took another 19 years for it to be finished and the bells were not added until the 1960s. St. Mary’s Church is an imposing building in the centre of Wombwell now seating 800. It is of a perpendicular style indicative of the richest era of church building that lends dignity and veneration to what some feel is one of the richest era of architectural treasure. At the east end of the church, facing the main road, there is a Remembrance Day memorial which has both the 1914-18 and the 1939-45 names and has recently been renovated to its rightful condition.

In terms of transport links, Wombwell has a railway station which was formerly known as Wombwell West and serves the Penistone and Hallam lines. Until 1959 it had another station called Wombwell Central on the Barnsley-Doncaster line, but this was closed when that line lost its passenger service.

At the heart of the shopping centre plaza there is a decorative ironwork with Wombwell’s coat of arms and motifs denoting sports that are played in the area. Speedway used to take place at the South Yorkshire Sports Stadium and Wombwell entered a team in the 1930 Northern League. The sport was revived and operated in 1947 and 1948 when the Colliers raced in the National League Third Division. South Yorkshire Sports Stadium was redeveloped and is now the site of an industrial estate. Wombwell Sports Stadium, just over Mitchells Way, is now the home of the South Yorkshire Kart Club, an MSA affiliated radio control car racing club. Wombwell FC share the same venue and part of the kart track runs parallel to and the length of the football pitch. Wombwell Main CC represent the town at cricket and the 1st XI currently play in the Pontefract section of the Yorkshire Cricket Council.

Opposite the church is the beautifully restored sandstone council building, and round the corner in Station Road is the sister building, Wombwell Library. The windows have just been replaced, but are in keeping with the age of the building. Inside, the shelving took me back to my childhood when I would regularly visit a similar library with one of my aunts. Part of this library is inevitably given over to a bank of computers. However, as a counterpoint to that, there is a brilliant display of a full set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. There are plenty of leaflets on show about local events and a photographic display put together by the Wombwell Heritage Group. This group meets at the library which is also the venue for an art class, a Family History group, an IT class and Age Concern coffee mornings; a true community establishment.

The plaza-like broad retail area of High Street runs through the heart of Wombwell. It is a testament to the area’s regeneration attempts that so many businesses are now situated here. Alongside the mainstays of communities such as a post office, banks, building societies and a fine public convenience, there are eating establishments, kebab houses, takeaways and sandwich shops. Ther are hairdressers, opticians and chemists, while Superdrug occupies the old Burtons building, which still has that company’s distinctive old logo adorning its top facia.

Flowers, jewellery, beds, aquatics, fancy dress hire, shoe repairers, travel agents and newsagents stand beside a very large Co-op and an equally large Wilkinson’s. With an expansive free car park to the rear of High Street, Wombwell provides a welcome variety for anyone looking for a good day out and a pleasant shopping experience.