50 Gems of South Yorkshire The History & Heritage of the Most Iconic Places

The county of South Yorkshire covers Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield districts. Although each are major urban centers with their own range of civic buildings, museums, and galleries, the county also ranges from low-lying farmlands in the east to high moorlands on the edge of the Peak District National Park. It has a rich and diverse landscape including ancient woodlands, rivers, and wetlands alongside the legacy of its history as an industrial powerhouse built on coal, steel, and heavy engineering, including Kelham Island in Sheffield, Wortley Top Forge and Silkstone Tramway in Barnsley, and Clifton Museum in Rotherham. Away from the urban centers there are picturesque market towns and villages, such as Penistone, Tickhill, Bawtry, Bradfield, Thorpe Salvin, and Tankersley, which still serve rural farming communities, and stunning stately homes and parkland, for example at Wentworth Woodhouse, Canon Hall, and Brodsworth Hall. Earlier medieval remains survive at Roche Abbey and Monk Bretton Priory, the castle keep at Conisbrough, the Lady Chapel on the bridge in central Rotherham, and Ecclesfield Church, "the Minster of the Moors." There are also examples of the earliest human settlement and activity at Wharncliffe Crags and Wincobank Hill in Sheffield. Other places have associations with historical figures such as the sculptor Francis Chantrey and William Bradford, one of the Pilgrim Fathers. In 50 Gems of South Yorkshire, authors Christine Handley and Ian Rotherham explore the many places and their history that make this part of northern England so special, including many lesser known gems.

Christine Handley is a local historian interested in industrial history and changing landscapes. She has written chapters in and edited books on the local history of selected Sheffield communities. Professor Ian D. Rotherham, an international authority on cultural and historical aspects of landscapes, is Reader in Tourism & Environmental Change at Sheffield Hallam University. He works with the BBC Radio 4 History Programme, and has appeared in and advised on many documentaries and news programs such as Panorama and Horizon.