Maltby, South Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°25′34″N 1°12′36″W / 53.426°N 1.210°W / 53.426; -1.210

Maltby
Cliff Hills, Maltby
Maltby  Maltby shown within South Yorkshire
Population	16,856 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SK524924
- London	145 mi (233 km)  south
Civil parish	Maltby
Metropolitan borough	Rotherham
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ROTHERHAM
Postcode district	S66
Dialling code	01709
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Rother Valley
List of places UK England Yorkshire

Maltby is a former mining town and civil parish of 16,856 inhabitants^[1] (2011) in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is located about 6 miles (10 km) east of Rotherham town centre and 10 miles (16 km) north-east of Sheffield city centre, lying on the A631 between Hellaby and Tickhill at the junction with the A634 from Blyth, close to Junction 1 of the M18 motorway.

History [edit]

Maltby has its historical roots in Roman times, and there are several local examples of Roman roads running through the town. Maltby is mentioned in the Domesday Book as "by-malt", and was for centuries a very small village with the benefits of a fairly large stream nearby and very rich land for farming available. Roche Abbey, on the outskirts of Maltby, was founded in the 12th century, and was ruined during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII.

Coal was discovered in the area in the late 19th century; the last colliery in Rotherham was Maltby Main Colliery, established 1910 and faced with closure in March 2013. In order to house the colliery's workers, the colliery company built a large estate known as the 'Model Village' to the east of the town centre.

From 1900 until 1929, the town was served by Maltby railway station on the South Yorkshire Joint Railway, with services running between Doncaster and Worksop. The station's platforms still remain and the line is an important freight route.

"Little London"

During the Second World War, a munitions factory, ROF Maltby, was established on the outskirts of Maltby close to the colliery; to house these workers, an estate known locally as 'Little London' was built to house its workers, who had moved from Enfield in London.^[2]

Maltby also had a knitwear factory, Byfords, which supplied companies including Pringle - this has long since closed,^[when?] and a police station was built on the site.

Up until the 1900s, Maltby was only a small village of only several hundred inhabitants; in the aftermath of World War II it saw a massive increase in its population. Further housing in the west of Maltby was approved and built in the 1950s through to the early 2000s.

Maltby's main council housing stock went into serious disrepair during the 1980s with areas like "White City" and the "Tarran estate" (now demolished) worst affected. Since Maltby began to benefit from local government funding in 1997, council estates such as White City and Birk's Holt Drive have been rejuvenated and refurbished.^{[citation needed]} New council housing was opened in 2011 on the site of the former Tarran estate.^[3]

Community [edit]

High Street

Before coal was discovered in the area, Maltby was a small agricultural village with a population of around 500 at the start of the 1900s. Maltby has a large Roman Catholic congregation, predominantly first or second generation Irish immigrants, many of whom were navvies who constructed Maltby Colliery in the early 20th century. There is a working men's club for Catholics, Maltby Catholic Club, situated on Millindale.

The town is served by a variety of shops and businesses. There is a large Tesco in the town centre on the site of what was once an indoor and outdoor market.

There are several public houses in the town, the oldest of which is the White Swan dating from the 16th century^{[citation needed]}. which is now closed.

Maltby Academy^[4] on Braithwell Road (B6376) is a secondary school which serves the town and some surrounding villages. It was previously known as Maltby Comprehensive School until receiving academy status in 2010. Permission was granted in 2012 to rebuild the school, to the opposition of some residents.^[5]

The ancient game of "beck ball" was revived in the mid 1980s to some success; this is a sort of rugby game, where opposing teams generally fight a turf war in the local stream, Maltby Dike. This stream runs throughout the bottom end of Maltby along the A631 until it diverges along Maltby Crags and the A634 through Roche Abbey, then emptying into the River Torne a few miles upstream at Sandbeck Hall, the home of the Earl of Scarborough.

Despite the rebuilding/refurbishment of some housing stock at the beginning of the 21st century, the ward of Maltby, particularly the eastern area, (in 2010) included areas of high deprivation, according to data generated by the Department for Communities and Local Government.^[6]

Governance [edit]

Maltby is governed by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, and also has a parish council, Maltby Town Council. Both Rotherham Council and Maltby Town Council are Labour controlled. The political makeup of Maltby Town Council is below:

The town lies in the South Yorkshire constituency of Rother Valley, currently held by Labour MP Kevin Barron, a seat which he has held continuously since 1983.

Transport [edit]

The town is served by high frequency buses (1, 2) to Rotherham town centre, and the 10 which serves Rotherham Hospital, run by First South Yorkshire. Buses also run to Doncaster, Meadowhall and Sheffield. It is situated close to junction 1 of the M18 motorway, allowing quick access by car for commuters to Sheffield and Doncaster, plus the A631 road runs through the town linking it with Rotherham town centre.

Maltby Colliery [edit]

Maltby Colliery - February 2007

Sinking of the original shafts of Maltby Colliery began in 1907, as part of the development a large estate known as the "Model Village" was constructed as housing for the colliery workers.

An explosion in the colliery occurred in 1923, resulting in 27 deaths, and the pit was the site of mass picketing during the 1984-85 miners' strike. Post nationalisation the pit was sold to RJB Mining (later known as UK Coal) in 1994, and later to Hargreaves Services in 2007.

After encountering geological problems when trying to access a new coal seam, colliery owner Hargreaves announced that on health and safety grounds the mine would have to close. Maltby Colliery closed in March 2013, with a march held by former miners and residents of the town to mark the occasion.^[7]

The Miners' Welfare Institute (locally known as the "stute"), a working mens club for miners, is still open to this day.

People associated with Maltby [edit]

• Jonathan and Mark Carratt, formerly the tallest twins in Britain, (1980 Guinness Book of Records).
• Chuckle Brothers, entertainers
• Fred Trueman, cricketer, was educated at Maltby Hall School. He moved to Maltby from Stainton, also worked at Maltby Colliery as also did his father.
• Lynne Perrie, an actress who played the role of Ivy Brennan in Coronation Street for 23 years. She lived in the Cliff Hills area until her death in March 2006.
• Duggie Brown, Lynne Perrie's brother, entertainer (ex Brookside) lived in the Maltby area before moving away during the 1970s.
• Bill Waddington, actor, played Percy Sugden in soap opera Coronation Street

Maltby was the setting for the book Welcome to Everytown, by writer and philosopher Julian Baggini, who lived in the area for six months. This stay was to uncover the English mind as the area is demographically a representation of English.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maltby, South Yorkshire

• Maltby Online
• Rotherham Web