Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire that is built around the River Don.
Rotherham was not founded until the early Middle Ages but soon became a Saxon market town lying on the Roman road.
The town has been widely known for its ironworks but it was coal that bought an industrial revolution to Rotherham. Its iron was strong and it was not long before the iron and steel businesses were to become the towns major industries and were so until well into the 20th century.
During the 18th and early 19th century the town produced good quality cast iron products including bridges. At the height of its business Steel, Peech and Tozers massive steelworks were over a mile long and employed 10,000 workers. They produced 1.8m tonnes of steel a year but were finally closed in 1993.
Rotherham still produces steel for amongst other things, steel for Renault Formula One cars and the new Airbus A380 the factory produces 1.1m tonnes of engineering steel each year.
Glasswork has been in the town since 1751 and still manufactures glass containers for the pharmaceutical plus food and drink industries.
Boston Castle was erected as a hunting lodge in 1776. It is named after Boston Massachusetts, the scene of the Boston Tea Party.
On the edge of Rotherham, a brick glass making furnace, the Catcliffe Glass Cone, is one of the oldest surviving structures of its type in Western Europe and one of only four that remain in the UK. It was to be demolished in the 1960’s but has now been preserved as a Scheduled Ancient Monument that is now a focal point in a sheltered housing complex.
A popular tourist attraction is the ruins of the Cistercian Roche Abbey at Maltby near Rotherham.
The town centre is currently being redeveloped this is called the Rotherham Renaissance with water front apartments and shopping complexes. A large shopping centre is also being built. The Guest and Chrimes factory will become a library and council offices plus a theatre. It will change the skyline of the town as a large dome is in the plans.
The town is home to stores like Primark, JJB, Burtons and a large Tesco. There are also plenty of public houses and restaurants. In the town’s All Saints Square is a large screen that shows major and sporting events.
Sheffield Arena is host to many events with famous acts and artists performing there. It is one of the largest in the country.
Property to rent is readily available in Rotherham with average prices of £420pcm for a l bed flat, £480pcm for a 2 bed flat, £440pcm for a 2 bed house and £525pcm for a 3 bed house.
Much of Rotherham was badly hit by the 2007 storms that flooded road, schools and transport systems. Most of the shops in the Parkgate shopping centre also received damage and many lost a considerable amount of stock. Rotherham’s fire brigade worked tirelessly using thirteen pumps to get rid of the water lessening the pressure of the dam that was threatening to break.
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