Sprotbrough
Encyclopedia
Sprotbrough and Cusworth is a civil parish
in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
in South Yorkshire
, England
. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north west of Doncaster
town centre and is split by the A1(M) motorway. It lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Scawsby, and has a population of 12,166.
and Scandinavia
n names, with "Sprotte" being a shoot and "Brough" being Scandinavian for a defensible place.
The early Parish contained six settlements:
Those early hamlets
would have been ringed by vast areas of agricultural land and many of the open fields still present today have names that can be traced back to early maps of the area.
The area, and almost all of the land around it, was owned by the Fitzwilliam
family for many years. Sir John Fitzwilliam erected a cross next to the church during the reign of Henry V of England
. Into the cross were carved these lines: "Whoso is hungry and lists to eat, Let him come to Sprotburgh for his meat, And for a night and for a day, His horse shall have both corne and hay, And no man shall ask him when he goeth away."
There are also a number of statues and memorials to the Fitzwilliams and Copleys in the Church of St Mary the Virgin.
family in 1670. The Copley family had married a FitzWilliam heiress and inherited the extensive FitzWilliam holdings. The family lost three sons in World War 1 and the Hall was demolished in 1920s. Doncaster archives hold a copy of the catalogue of the house contents. Little evidence of the Hall remains except some of the street names. Copley Junior School in Sprotbrough village is named after the Copley family.
Second World War hero Sir Douglas Bader grew up at the parsonage in the village when his father was Rector
of St Mary's. The Old Rectory is currently a Guest House and bears a plaque commemorating Bader's residence. Sir Walter Scott completed Ivanhoe
in the village, which is remembered in the name of the village's pub and a small housing estate off Sprotbrough Road.
, which overlooks the parish to the north, was built by William Wrightson between 1740 and 1755 and was the home of the Battie-Wrightson family until 1952. It is now owned by the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
and houses the Museum of South Yorkshire Life.
) to the bridge over the A1(M) is colloquially known as Town End or sometimes in a derogatory manner Bottom Sprotbrough or Upper Bentley. It was developed from farm land in around 1926 and was part of Bentley with Arksey
Urban District
until the formation of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster under the Local Government Act 1972
. The church of St Edmund on Anchorage Lane was built in a converted barn on the former farm land when the area was being developed. Close to the church is the scout hut and Area51 Skate and BMX park, the most popular skatepark in the Doncaster Borough, which is currently looking to extend its facilities.
Town End was formerly the home of Fowlers forge
, which among other things provided parts for tanks and other military vehicles. The works closed in the early 1980s and the site is occupied by a housing estate whose roads bear the names of some of the machines that were built there.
, Cusworth and Scawsby.
A key focal point of Sprotbrough is St Mary's Church, founded in 1176, with a clock tower that has commanding views of the Don Valley.
Schools in the parish include Copley Junior School, Orchard Infant School and Richmond Hill Primary School. The nearest secondary schools are Ridgewood School
in Scawsby, Don Valley High School
, North Doncaster Technology College (formerly Adwick School) and Campsmount Technology College in Campsall.
and First South Yorkshire
respectively, running through Sprotbrough approximately every 15 minutes.
Cusworth is served by Stagecoach
services 42 and 219 and also the 41 service operated by First
, combining to provide a regular service through Cusworth.
follows the river at this point.
Extending to the south-west the River Don flows through Sprotbrough Gorge a site of special scientific interest
(SSSI). The gorge is an important site for rare plants, invertebrates and breeding site for birds. Overall the SSSI covers 76.9 hectares (190.1 acres) and was notified in 1988.
and Cadeby.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire in Yorkshire and the Humber Region of England.In addition to the town of Doncaster, the borough covers Mexborough, Conisbrough, Thorne and Finningley....
in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north west of Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
town centre and is split by the A1(M) motorway. It lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Scawsby, and has a population of 12,166.
Origins and history
It is believed that the name Sprotbrough originates from a mix of EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n names, with "Sprotte" being a shoot and "Brough" being Scandinavian for a defensible place.
The early Parish contained six settlements:
- Sprotbrough (Sproteburg)
- Cadeby (Catebi)
- Wildthorpe (Widentorp)
- Cusworth (Cuzenworde)
- Skinthorpe (Scinestorp)
- Newton, first mentioned in 1379 when it was called New Farmstead
Those early hamlets
Hamlets
Hamlets is the name of an open source system for generating web-pages originally developed by René Pawlitzek at IBM...
would have been ringed by vast areas of agricultural land and many of the open fields still present today have names that can be traced back to early maps of the area.
The area, and almost all of the land around it, was owned by the Fitzwilliam
Earl FitzWilliam
Earl Fitzwilliam was a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain held by the head of the Fitzwilliam family. This family claim descent from William the Conqueror. The Fitzwilliams acquired extensive holdings in South Yorkshire, largely through strategic alliances through...
family for many years. Sir John Fitzwilliam erected a cross next to the church during the reign of Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
. Into the cross were carved these lines: "Whoso is hungry and lists to eat, Let him come to Sprotburgh for his meat, And for a night and for a day, His horse shall have both corne and hay, And no man shall ask him when he goeth away."
There are also a number of statues and memorials to the Fitzwilliams and Copleys in the Church of St Mary the Virgin.
Sprotbrough Hall
Part of the village was built on the site of Sprotbrough Hall, a large home built for the CopleyCopley
- People :* Al Copley, American Jazz Pianist* Amber Copley, American beauty queen* David C. Copley, newspaper publisher, descendant of Ira Clifton Copley* Evan Copley, American academic and composer...
family in 1670. The Copley family had married a FitzWilliam heiress and inherited the extensive FitzWilliam holdings. The family lost three sons in World War 1 and the Hall was demolished in 1920s. Doncaster archives hold a copy of the catalogue of the house contents. Little evidence of the Hall remains except some of the street names. Copley Junior School in Sprotbrough village is named after the Copley family.
Second World War hero Sir Douglas Bader grew up at the parsonage in the village when his father was Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of St Mary's. The Old Rectory is currently a Guest House and bears a plaque commemorating Bader's residence. Sir Walter Scott completed Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
in the village, which is remembered in the name of the village's pub and a small housing estate off Sprotbrough Road.
Cusworth Hall
Cusworth HallCusworth Hall
Cusworth Hall is an 18th century Grade I listed country house in Cusworth, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire in the north of England. Set in the landscaped parklands of Cusworth Park, Cusworth Hall is a good example of a Georgian country house.- Introduction :...
, which overlooks the parish to the north, was built by William Wrightson between 1740 and 1755 and was the home of the Battie-Wrightson family until 1952. It is now owned by the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire in Yorkshire and the Humber Region of England.In addition to the town of Doncaster, the borough covers Mexborough, Conisbrough, Thorne and Finningley....
and houses the Museum of South Yorkshire Life.
Town End
The eastern part of Sprotbrough, from where Sprotbrough Road meets York Road, (the A638A638 road
The A638 is a main road in England that runs between the A1 at Markham Moor in Nottinghamshire and Chain Bar Junction 26 of the M62 motorway south of Bradford in West Yorkshire....
) to the bridge over the A1(M) is colloquially known as Town End or sometimes in a derogatory manner Bottom Sprotbrough or Upper Bentley. It was developed from farm land in around 1926 and was part of Bentley with Arksey
Bentley with Arksey
Bentley with Arksey was a civil parish and urban district adjacent to the town of Doncaster in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1866 to 1974.-Civil parish:The civil parish was formed in 1866 by the grouping of the two townships of Arksey and Bentley...
Urban District
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
until the formation of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
. The church of St Edmund on Anchorage Lane was built in a converted barn on the former farm land when the area was being developed. Close to the church is the scout hut and Area51 Skate and BMX park, the most popular skatepark in the Doncaster Borough, which is currently looking to extend its facilities.
Town End was formerly the home of Fowlers forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
, which among other things provided parts for tanks and other military vehicles. The works closed in the early 1980s and the site is occupied by a housing estate whose roads bear the names of some of the machines that were built there.
Local government and amenities
Sprotbrough and Cusworth Parish Council meets at the Goldsmith Centre on Sprotbrough Road. The council covers Sprotbrough, CadebyCadeby, South Yorkshire
Cadeby is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It is about five miles west of Doncaster, and four miles east of Mexborough.-History:...
, Cusworth and Scawsby.
A key focal point of Sprotbrough is St Mary's Church, founded in 1176, with a clock tower that has commanding views of the Don Valley.
Schools in the parish include Copley Junior School, Orchard Infant School and Richmond Hill Primary School. The nearest secondary schools are Ridgewood School
Ridgewood School
Ridgewood School is a community comprehensive school in Scawsby, Doncaster, England. The school is a specialist Engineering college. It accepts pupils from the surrounding areas including Sprotbrough, Sprotbrough village and Scawsby, pupils from Upper Sprotbrough traditionally went to NDTC, but...
in Scawsby, Don Valley High School
Don Valley High School
Don Valley Academy is a mixed 11-18 comprehensive school located in Scawthorpe, Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The school also has a significant Sixth Form centre.-History:...
, North Doncaster Technology College (formerly Adwick School) and Campsmount Technology College in Campsall.
Transport
Public transport is available in both Sprotbrough and Cusworth. Sprotbrough is served by buses 224 and 49 which are operated by Stagecoach YorkshireStagecoach Yorkshire
Stagecoach Yorkshire is an operating division of Stagecoach UK Bus.It was formed in 2005 to take over the former Traction Group fleets in Yorkshire by Stagecoach Group, which took over Traction from Frank Carter on 14 December 2005; Yorkshire Traction, Yorkshire Terrier and Barnsley & District....
and First South Yorkshire
First South Yorkshire
First South Yorkshire is the largest bus operator in South Yorkshire, England. As a division of FirstGroup the company's legal name was, for a time, Mainline which operated it between 1993 and 1998, following the sale South Yorkshire Transport to its employees.-History:SYT was eventually sold to...
respectively, running through Sprotbrough approximately every 15 minutes.
Cusworth is served by Stagecoach
Stagecoach Yorkshire
Stagecoach Yorkshire is an operating division of Stagecoach UK Bus.It was formed in 2005 to take over the former Traction Group fleets in Yorkshire by Stagecoach Group, which took over Traction from Frank Carter on 14 December 2005; Yorkshire Traction, Yorkshire Terrier and Barnsley & District....
services 42 and 219 and also the 41 service operated by First
First South Yorkshire
First South Yorkshire is the largest bus operator in South Yorkshire, England. As a division of FirstGroup the company's legal name was, for a time, Mainline which operated it between 1993 and 1998, following the sale South Yorkshire Transport to its employees.-History:SYT was eventually sold to...
, combining to provide a regular service through Cusworth.
River
The village is on the River Don and a weir which is bypassed by Sprotbrough Lock, allowing boats to pass safely. It is close to the A1(M) bridge over the Don. The Trans Pennine TrailTrans Pennine Trail
The Trans Pennine Trail is a long distance path running from coast to coast across northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients ....
follows the river at this point.
Extending to the south-west the River Don flows through Sprotbrough Gorge a site of special scientific interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI). The gorge is an important site for rare plants, invertebrates and breeding site for birds. Overall the SSSI covers 76.9 hectares (190.1 acres) and was notified in 1988.
Public houses
Sprotbrough has four public houses:- The Boat Inn - a gastro-pub situated on Nursery Lane by the river
- The Ivanhoe - a medium-sized pub adjoining a cricket pitchCricket pitchIn the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
- The Newton Inn - situated on Sprotbrough Road
- Sprotbrough Country Club - a Private Members' Club in the village area of Sprotbrough
Parks
Sprotbrough has three parks, Anchorage Lane, Sprotbrough Road and New Lane (village). The 'village' (the western part of the parish) has a park which has recently been doubled in size consisting of a football pitch and a children's play area. In June each year, it hosts a gala organised by the local Scout group. The main event in this is the 6.5 km fun run starting and finishing in the park and going through High MeltonHigh Melton
High Melton is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 339.-External links:*...
and Cadeby.