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Welcome to Wickersley...
Where the past meets the future
By Brian Elliott
 Wickersley is a vibrant, forward looking community proud of its heritage. That’s not a bad opening statement on a very wet May morning. The prospect of a walk through one of the largest villages of Rotherham was by no means daunting; in fact my mood contrasted to the dismal weather as I had grown to like the area over many years, and looked forward to a new visit. New, because from the mid-1980s until 2000, when employed by Rother Valley College, I was responsible for helping to develop adult and community education in the south Rotherham area, and my first base was at Wickersley Comprehensive School.
On arrival I could not help noticing a number of notable changes to the built environment in the busiest part of Wickersley. From the Stephen Shore Memorial Garden, by the Masons’ Arms I looked across the ever busy Bawtry Road. Tanyard Way corner has been transformed by a tall, dual-purpose shopping and housing structure completed only last year. A handsome modern building created with optimism, perhaps. Another new feature was evident nearby: The Courtyard, a small welcoming area of shops and a bar/restaurant, an attractively designed facility bound to be popular on better weather days. Lovely to sit outside and chill out, I guess. It was also interesting to see the relocation (from Rotherham) of the Philip Howard Bookshop, now housed in the former barber’s shop, it’s bright and modern interior very attractive. It is good for any community to have a convenient and totally independent bookshop, a great rarity these days. Let’s hope it gets the support it deserves. I’ve always wondered why a place the size of Wickersley, with a large school population had to rely on a mobile and micro library service. Maybe it’s something to do with boundaries and regulation; but, by the Methodist Church a notice board in front of an open space displays the good news about Wickersley’s new community centre and library which I’m sure will be very well-used once it is built. By the time you will be reading this the church will have celebrated its 40th anniversary, with a hog roast, Maypole dancing and other activities.
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 Undoubtedly the greatest change is at the comprehensive school. My FE office was based in A-block, in the stone-built part of the former west Riding boys’ and girls’ school. We ran some daytime classes in an adjacent temporary classroom: dressmaking, local history, art and a senior citizens’ lecture and discussion group. I remember the relatively new sports hall which in the evening we used for children’s gymnastics but the conversion - with eye-catching new buildings and facilities - into Wickersley School and Sports College is amazing. A lot of investment, true, but well deserved as it has always been a popular and leading Rotherham school with an excellent academic and sporting reputation. Its mission statement: ‘We want to send every young person into the world able and qualified to play their full part in it’ is proclaimed with confidence on the name boards of the main buildings. The school has about 1,800 pupils and over 120 staff, a small village in its own right.
Getting to know the area and the local community was an extremely important part of my role in adult education. What did help was being made so welcome by the staff at the school which made my job far easier. It also enabled me to discover parts of the area which I didn’t know. I was soon a member of the aptly-named Wickersley Bog Trotters AC, a motley collection of staff who went for a run at lunchtime in all sorts of weather. We were often led by ‘Doc’ Humphreys, now retired but who, I would expect, has not abandoned his Rotherham Harriers’ vest. Noel Ward was one of our star performers, cunningly avoiding hills and damp ground if at all possible, and notable for his shortcuts and crafty rests. We ran on footpaths and tracks whenever possible, across fields, through woods, up and down muckstacks and along scrubland, contrasting environments within half an hour of the school. This activity included ventures in the direction of Flanderwell, Dalton Magna, Listerdale, Brecks, Bramley, Cumwell Lane and Silverwood, near the colliery.
Running helped me to get to appreciate wonderful countryside gems such as Wickersley Gorse. This ‘secret valley’, reached via Bawtry Road, stretches towards Shrogs Wood and is partly owned by the parish council. Here, the mix of grass, bracken and woodland serves as a special habitat for a variety of plants and wildlife. To the south, beyond Sitwell golf course is another delightful spot: Pinch Mill, reached via Little Common Lane at Whiston or Sandy Flat Lane from Morthen Road, with its stream, woodland and water features; and where, I believe, Edward Fillingham farmed in the 1930s. Does anyone remember?
Another popular spot for local people and visitors is Wickersley Wood, situated between Wood Lane and First Lane. This ancient site is, with its networks of paths, a wonderful leisure asset and, like The Gorse, an important habitat for wildlife and plants. Thankfully, it is owned and managed by the parish council, the first in the country to be awarded FSC (Forestry Standards Certification) status. In 2000, the PC was also successful in obtaining a Heritage Fund grant which has enabled a long-term plan to be put in place. Of course, the wood was once of considerable economic importance, supplying, for example, oak bark to local tanneries. Hides were immersed in a series of pits containing various solutions of ‘liquor’ emanating from the crushed bark. This gave the distinctive colour to ultimate pieces of leather. The names Tanfield Way and the Tanyard shopping area (off Bawtry Road) are interesting reminders of this local activity. Some people may be able to remember Tanyard Farm and pond when the Craggs family were resident. The traditional use of leather for farms continued, at least in the interwar period, in the skilled hands of Walter John Wadsworth from his saddlery on Morthen Road. There was also a boot repairer (Andrew Harris) and a blacksmith (Harry Kennon). King’s Pond Plantation is another interesting fragment of woodland, by Slacks Farm.
 Winthrop Park just off Morthen Road (Second Lane/Newall Avenue) is a new development, opened in 2005. Here, Carol Bowser and her husband have transformed the site of an old sewerage treatment plant into relaxing gardens. There is a gift and coffee shop, and excellent disabled access.
One of Wickersley’s most ancient places is extant at Moat Farm, situated off Moat Lane. Here lies the remains of a medieval moated site and an interesting eighteenth century dovecote which was being converted into a dwelling when I visited when researching an article for Aspects of Rotherham back in 1996. The interior of this graceful building had rare plaster and lath nest boxes capable of housing up to about 500 pairs of birds. The young squabs in particular provided an abundance of fresh meat and eggs for the table - and there were useful by-products too!
 An impression of an older Wickersley can be had by a walk along Morthen Road where a number of interesting buildings can be seen, largely created from the attractive local stone. Near the top, not far from the roundabout is Wickersley Hall - though an inscription reads ‘Copeland Cottage’, probably its original name. Like several other older properties it has a splendid Wisteria climbing on one gable, something of a tradition for Wickersley and lovely to see at this time of year. Across the road a slow walk allows nice glimpses of other interesting cottages. Lilac Farm Close caught my eye, as did Homestead Farm and Sitwell Terrace, near the Working Men’s Club. The Old Hall is difficult to see because of trees in its front garden. Wickersley’s two most unusual buildings are also located on Morthen Road: the octagonal tower of the Institute, at the Gillott Lane junction, with its magnificent bowling green and a pair of bow-fronted cottages (Nos 35-37). One of these is shown on an Edwardian photograph as an off-licence shop, run by Selina Webb.
 When I worked at Wickersley I was able to meet a member of the Roddis family who had connections with the area’s most important economic activity: quarrying and the making of grindstones. Before the war at least four manufacturers were still working: Percy Roddis, William Saxton, John Bell and John Wadsworth & Sons. Many of the old quarries were located in the narrow closes between Rollin Lane and Sandy Field Lane, to the west of Nether Morthen Lane (Morthen Road), an area marked as ‘Quarry Field’ on large-scale maps. A few more were sited further north, in Church Field and just south of Bawtry Road. By the early 1800s thousands of grindstones, ranging in size from about a foot to six feet, were conveyed to the edge tool makers in Sheffield. The Roddis family records show that by the 1850s Wickersley grindstones had an international reputation, exported to Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Holland, Norway, Palestine, Sweden and America, an amazing trade for such a small community. It’s appropriate that Wickersley’s welcoming sign incorporates a small grindstone.
Before leaving I paused to look at the war memorial and made the short walk along Church Lane to St Alban’s. It is an interesting building, underrated in most church guides and I could not help thinking back to chats with a former rector, Raymond Draper.
In the 1980s there was certainly great enthusiasm by the local history group to record and celebrate Wickersley’s past and it is good to see The Stone Cutter, the newsletter of Wickersley Community Heritage continuing this tradition.
Published Summer 2007. All information correct at time of print.
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