In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Rotherham like this:
Rotherham, mun. bor. and market town, par., and township, S. div. West-Riding Yorkshire, on river Rother at its influx to the Don, 6 miles NE. of Sheffield by rail - par., 13,585 ac., pop. 38,997; township, 1271 ac., pop. 16,257; bor., 5995 ac., pop. 34,782; 3 Banks, 1 newspaper. Market-days, Monday and Friday. Rotherham, which is practically by its nearness to Sheffield a suburb of that great town, has extensive iron and chemical works, mfrs. of glass, soap, starch, and ropes, and exports of coal and lime. ...
The fine parish church is of the time of Edward IV., or earlier. A 5-arched bridge over the Don, with an ancient chapel built on the central pier, connects Rotherham proper with Masborough, the seat of the celebrated ironworks where the Southwark, Sunderland, and other bridges were cast. The Independent College is at Masborough, which was the birthplace of Ebenezer Elliott (1781-1849), the Corn Law rhymer. Rotherham was made a municipal borough in 1871.
Rotherham through time
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Rotherham has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of Rotherham. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Rotherham and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Rotherham in West Riding | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/755
Date accessed: 22nd May 2013
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