Grimethorpe

Infobox UK place
map_type= South Yorkshire
country = England
official_name= Grimethorpe
latitude = 53.57
longitude = -1.38
scale =
population= 1,900 (approx.)
metropolitan_borough= Barnsley
metropolitan_county= South Yorkshire
region = Yorkshire and the Humber
constituency_westminster= Barnsley East and Mexborough
post_town = BARNSLEY
postcode_district = S72
postcode_area= S
dial_code= 01226

Grimethorpe is a large village which is part of the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of around 1900.

It is located to the east of Barnsley and the south of Hemsworth; until the local government reorganisation of 1974, it was part of both the Hemsworth district and constituency. It is known for its past as a mining village, its brass band, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band and its location for the film "Brassed Off" - a black comedy which tells the plight of the village and the effect on its band.

The 1981 census recorded 44% of Grimethorpe workers as miners [ [http://www.barnsley.gov.uk/docs/census/oldwards/Brierley_Ward_Profile.pdf Barnsley MB report] ] . The two pits in the village were called 'Grimethorpe' and 'Ferrymoor'. The latter merged with 'Riddings' in 1967, which in turn merged with 'South Kirkby' in 1985. Grimethorpe colliery was one of the deepest pits in Britain and, following similar mergers with 'Houghton Main' and 'Dearne Valley', employed 6,000 men at the time of the closure in May 1993. During mid-October of the UK Miners' Strike (1984-1985), there was a series of riots in Grimethorpe and local residents complained that the policing was too heavy-handed. Relations between the community and the police remained very cold for the next decade.

Grimethorpe has gained a reputation as the most long-term deprived community in Great Britain and many of the houses from its coal-mining days have been demolished. In 1994, the European Union's study of deprivation named Grimethorpe as the poorest village in the country and amongst the poorest in Europe. For a village, levels of crime and drug abuse have been chronically high. Unemployment was above 50% for much of the 1990s and a large proportion of the population are disabled, having suffered injuries down the coal mines. Several regeneration projects have caused fortunes to improve in recent years and the village is starting to regain its self-respect, but it still suffers from social poverty.

The Secondary School of the village is Willowgarth High School on Brierley Road.

Grimethorpe Miners Welfare had a football team that played in the Northern Counties East League and the Central Midlands League until it disbanded in 2000. In the 1990s the football team, managed by former Newcastle United and Barnsley player, Stuart Barrowclough, reached the final of a pub team competition played at Wembley Stadium, losing on penalties. In 2006 they formed an amateur rugby league team to play in the Pennine League - Division Six.

It is believed that the name Grimethorpe originates from "Grim's Torp", a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Viking names, meaning a Torp or hamlet owned by a Viking named Grimey.

References

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitext/int_kencapstick.html Interview with former miners' union activist on the recent history of the village]