Catcliffe

Infobox UK place
map_type= South Yorkshire
country = England
official_name= Catcliffe
latitude = 53.39163
longitude = -1.36240
scale = 10000
population=
metropolitan_borough= Rotherham
metropolitan_county= South Yorkshire
region = Yorkshire and the Humber
post_town= ROTHERHAM
postcode_area= S
postcode_district= S60
dial_code= 01709
constituency_westminster= Rotherham
os_grid_reference= SK425885

Catcliffe is a village on the north-west bank of the River Rother in South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the metropolitan borough of Rotherham, about 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the town of Rotherham and 4.5 miles (7 km) east of Sheffield City Centre.

History

Catcliffe is mentioned in the Domesday book, its name is presumed to mean "the cliff where the cats live". In 1740 William Fenney established a glassworks here. The site was chosen, amongst other reasons, for being 10.5 miles away from Fenney's a glassworks in Bolsterstone, formerly owned by his mother-in-law—the terms of her will prevented him from setting up a glassworks within 10 miles of the town. One of the cones of this glassworks still exists and is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Western Europe. It is a Grade I listed building [cite web | title=The Glassworks Gone | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=335632 | accessdate=2007-06-26] and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

On 25 June 2007 the village was evacuated because of fears that cracks in the dam at Ulley reservoir could lead to widespread flooding in the valley.

Catcliffe railway station opened on 30 April 1900 and closed on 11 September 1939.

References