Everything you need to know about Royston in Barnsley - the history, local amenities and even the origins of the unique local dialect!
About Royston
Royston is located just a few miles North of Barnsley. The area offers a range of properties, from traditional cottages and terraced homes to more modern developments, making Royston suitable for a variety of budgets and lifestyles. Whether you’re a first-time buyer, looking for a family home, or seeking a quieter place to retire, Royston has something for everyone.
What is the Population of Royston?
According to the 2021 Census, Royston has a population of 11,354 people, 5,502 of whom are men and 5,857 of whom are women.
Royston Location
Royston to Barnsley Town Centre is 17 minutes (4.7 miles) via B6132.
Royston to Meadowhall is located 33 minutes (21.2 miles) via M1.
Royston to Manchester Airport is 1 hour 16 minutes (45.1 miles) via A628.
Royston to Leeds City Centre is 39 minutes (22.9 miles) via M1.
Royston to Leeds Bradford Airport is 57 minutes (34.1 miles) via M1.
Royston to Manchester City Centre is 1 hour 15 minutes (59.7 miles) via M62.
Royston to Sheffield City Centre is 46 minutes (25.1 miles) via M1.
Royston to Cannon Hall is 20 minutes (8.1 miles) via B6428 and A635.
Royston to the National Coal Mining Museum for England is 25 minutes (11.8 miles)
via A637.
Royston to The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is 15 minutes (7.1 miles) via Woolley Edge Ln.
The shopping area has two distinct retail areas. The Wells, and Midland Road. The Wells is home to a cluster of retail uses, with some of the traditional buildings fronting onto the main junction being subject to improvements. Midland Road is inter-mixed with retail and housing.
Royston Leisure Centre offers a wide range of activities for all ages and abilities. Facilities include a Technogym fitness suite, 25 metre swimming pool, four court indoor sports hall and a variety of workout classes. Offering a range of memberships available to suit all needs. Visit website here.
Civic Hall (the Albert Shepherd Centre) is the perfect venue for any event. Whatever event you are planning, Royston Civic Hall can make any occasion a unique and special experience for you and your friends and family, catering for up to 250 guests.
Looking for a function room with a warm and welcoming environment with space for up to 120 guests? The function room at Royston Civic Albert Shepard Hall is available for parties and private hire all year round. Royston Civic is also available for children's parties all year round. A fully licensed bar which is exclusive to the room is also available.
Royston Library is getting ready for a major makeover that will turn it into a modern and welcoming space for everyone to enjoy. The library will temporarily close on Wednesday 20 December 2023 and reopen in early February 2024 with a fresh new look and exciting features.
Little Nipper Pre-School will continue to operate as normal during the library closure.
The makeover will include an enhanced children’s area, more comfortable seating, and a new local history wall. The wall will showcase the rich heritage of Royston, including a recently donated sign from the old Royston railway signal box that has been restored and is on loan from Barnsley Museums.
The Royston Library makeover is part-funded by £48,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund via the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority as part of Barnsley Council’s Libraries Refurbishment Programme.
However, the face of Royston is due for a dramatic uplift in the form of a regeneration and investment programme, thanks to Barnsley Council and its partnership with developers and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA). Who are investing in Barnsley.
It follows that Royston's inclusion in the Principal Towns Investment initiative, which attempts to revitalize the town and several other towns in South Yorkshire, creating job security, attracting business growth, and promoting a healthier and better place to work and live, is a viable decision.
AS well as the SYMCA regeneration and investment programme, Royston is also receiving a further masterplan framework to regenerate the area. The masterplan framework is a strategic document that sits beneath the Local Plan and will inform future planning applications. It is not a planning application.
Two new Masterplan Frameworks and Design Codes created by Gilespies’ were recently approved by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Hoyland South and Royston Masterplan Frameworks aim to promote sustainable projects that are fully integrated with the surrounding landscape and existing communities. They will suggest the construction of up to 2,000 new houses, new local shops, primary schools, and various local facilities. A net-zero carbon approach and economic growth throughout Barnsley are two of the Council's broader aims that are reflected in both Masterplan Frameworks.
Featuring 994 new residences, a direct active transport strategy, a new community hub, and a new primary school, the Royston Masterplan Framework serves as the entry point to Royston. Especially noteworthy is how well the development blends in with the surrounding area, utilising the abandoned railway to the north of the site as a strategically located green infrastructure for active transportation.
A new mixed-use development with 994 dwellings, a primary school, and a small store has been approved for the Royston allocation. To the north, west, and south of the designated site lies the Green Belt, and it is situated west of Royston town centre.
The framework, referred to as MU5, is a component of a larger initiative to advance economic development and revitalization throughout Barnsley, including Royston. This covers the enhancements suggested by the Transport Strategies and related Implementation Plans for the Sheffield City Region, Barnsley Transport Strategy, Local Plan Spatial Strategy, and Sheffield City Region Transport Strategy. Although the precise Local Plan site allocations are the main emphasis of this Masterplan Framework, it is indicative of these broader initiatives that the Council and its partners are putting forth.
Type and tenure: The planned homes inside the development should range in size from two to three stories for detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses to blend in with Royston's surrounding residential area.
Many of the homes should be family homes with two to four bedrooms, with a few higher density three-story blocks along Lee Lane allowing for smaller flats (perhaps one to two bedrooms) with a local shop or mixed use on the ground floor. These smaller residences near the Lee Lane entrance may be ideal for first-time buyers or those wishing to downsize.
The development's planned housing will offer a variety of options, including accessible and Lifetime houses (LTH), starter houses, and affordable homes for seniors, families, and young people. Ten percent of the Royston construction is anticipated to provide affordable housing, in accordance with Barnsley Local Plan Policy H7. The suggested Lifetime Homes must be of the highest calibre, impeccably kept, and equipped with options for senior and specialty housing.
Tenure-blind neighbourhood: As previously mentioned, a variety of housing types can contribute to a more diversified and harmonious neighbourhood.
What are Lifetime Houses (LTH)?
The idea of Lifetime Homes is to create homes that are versatile and adjustable. Moreover, adding components that assist families' and people's evolving requirements throughout various life stages. As a result, many planning authorities mandate that new construction dwellings adhere to the LTH criteria.
Read more about the plan on Gillespie's website here: www.gillespies.co.uk/projects/hoyland-south-royston-masterplan
The Ward Alliance have identified 4 priorities for Royston (Environment, The Local Economy, Health & Well Being, Youth Engagement), which align closely to the challenges and opportunities identified in the plan.
There are a variety of Community Groups within Royston who already deliver various community events and support the different priorities of the ward.
Ad Astra are a young people’s charity and have worked closely with the Area Team in supporting out of school activities in the past. Not only do they entertain young people, but their work is also designed to be educational, they help with growing young people’s citizenship skills.
An extensive network of footpaths comprised mainly of non-bonded crushed material. Most are more than 2.5 metres wide, but there are narrower trails through wooded areas which are unsurfaced. Paths vary in gradient from flat to 1:10 or steeper. There are a limited number of seating areas at varied intervals throughout the woodland, most more than 500m apart. Access onto site is through access control barriers which permit motorised buggies.
Walking - extensive path network offers a variety of walks suitable for differing levels of fitness. There are benches around the site offering a place to rest and enjoy wonderful views across the borough.
Cycling - The hard surfaced paths are ideal for a family cycle while the hill provides for those looking for more of a challenge! There's a winding bike trail from the top of the hill down the western slope that offers a thrilling ride.
Horse riding - There is easy access on to site for horse riders at each entry point as well as a bridleway. Further to this, there is a grass canter track on the North slope where you can stretch the horse's legs a little.
Den building - the woodland habitat offers a great place for young people to learn how to make their own shelter.
Pond dipping - Learn what fascinating creatures live under the water at the classroom pond.
Minibeast hunt - Sweep netting in our extensive grasslands can turn up all sorts of interesting bugs, from colourful beetles to slimy snails!
Sports pitches – there are three football pitches and an event field by the car park that can be hired.
There is access to two changing rooms and a referee’s room: Classroom & meeting room - a heated room with tables, chairs, projector space and tea & coffee facilities available for workshops, conferences, and staff away days.
Geocaching - Rabbit Ings has several Geocaches established, why not see if you can find them.
School trips - rangers are available to lead guided walks and activities on the park for your school.
Staff away days - meeting room are offered for use, to host team building activities, as well as volunteer conservation work, such as tree planting.
Containing many fine features, Royston parish church is an inspiring building of architectural as well as spiritual significance which it is important to preserve for future generations. Built by the monks of the nearby Priory of St Mary Magdalen at Lund (Monk Bretton Priory), the present building can be dated back to before 1234. The association of this church with the monks would have ended abruptly when their Priory was seized by the Crown and dissolved in 1539.
There was possibly an Anglo-Saxon church here, evidenced by some early foundation work, and the discovery of a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon cross, now displayed to the right of the altar.
On the opposite side of the sanctuary, the solid sacristy door with its original iron work is particularly fine. The eastern part of the chancel is probably the earliest part of the present building, the masonry of the north and south walls being part of the church described in 1240 as newly built. The proportions of the chancel would seem to agree with those of a mid-13th century structure, though it is uncertain if it was originally flanked by aisles and containing a peal of six bells.
Cannon Hall Farm - Visit Website
Hemsworth Water Park - Visit Website
Every wondered how people from Royston got their unique accent? The connection between Royston and the Black Country is part of Royston folklore. After studying a PhD in sociolinguistics local lad Andy Cave and later this hypothesis was tested by Kate Burland, who analysed certain vowel sounds, Kate Burland concluded that the connection was genuine and that it impacted dialect and accent, making Royston distinctive from its near neighbours. Popular understanding talks about parts of town known as “Little Staffs,” and perhaps a quarter of the town claim some sort of Black Country ancestry.
The migration of Black Country miners may have been a major factor in the evolution of this distinctive accent.
Mining in the Black Country entered an irreversible decline and never fully recovered from its 1860s peak. The profitability of the coal plummeted as other coalfields opened elsewhere in Britain, and it became increasingly difficult and hazardous to obtain.
One of the new collieries opening in the later 1870s was near the village of Royston, 4.5 miles North-East of Barnsley – in the borough known back then as the West Riding of Yorkshire.
In fact, several were opening here: Monckton Main Nos. 1,2 and 5 in Havercroft, and New Monckton Nos. 1 and 2 in Royston itself, became operational between 1875 and 1878.
The Barnsley Canal, approved by Parliament in 1793, and the Midland Railway passed through these tiny communities, making the area a lucrative site to mine. There was just a minor problem though, the lack of miners.
Just over seven hundred of the 4,397 people who lived in Royston in 1901 (more than 16%) were from Staffordshire or Worcestershire. The majority coming from the Black Country.
A relatively small, detached settlement stood beside the Barnsley Canal at Royston Bridge and included two public houses, The Ship and The Anchor. These public houses served the passing boat trade.
The fifteenth-century, perpendicularly designed tower of St. John's Parish Church dominated the village for centuries prior to the advent of colliery headgear. Originally, the parish of Royston, which encompassed not only the settlement of Royston but also Carlton, Notton, Chevet, Monk Bretton, Cudworth, and Woolley, was serviced by this church. A further uniqueness of the pre-industrial village was the remarkably high quantity of gardens and orchards depicted on the initial six-inch Ordnance Survey map, which was surveyed between 1849 and 1851. These were market gardens.
The population of Royston at the time of the first national census in 1801 was 360. By 1851 it had grown to 587 and on the eve of the sinking of the colliery in 1871 it was 676. The long established seasonal rural rhythm of this small agricultural village was changed following in the registering of the Monkton Main Coal Company on 16 September 1874.
The first sod was cut by the 6th viscount Galway of Serlby Hall, north Nottinghamshire, chairman of the company, on 24 May 1875. Monckton, the name of the new colliery, was one of the family names of Viscount Galway. The 6th Viscount died later that year and he was succeeded by his son, the 7th Viscount, who remained chairman for over half a century.
Production of coal from the Barnsley Seam started in 1878 and the following year the first coke ovens came into production.
There were more than 150 coke ovens in use by roughly 1890. The first colliery company was wound up in 1901, and New Monckton collieries Limited was created as a replacement. Before and after nationalisation, modernization of the colliery and the coke ovens continued throughout the first half of the 20th century. It was not finished until 1959, at which point six shafts were operational, exploiting the Barnsley Seam as well as Meltonfield, Beamshaw, Kent, and Haigh Moor.
More than 2,200 persons were employed at the colliery when it closed in December 1966, but the nearby Monckton Coke and Chemical Works continued to operate until December 2014 by utilising coal that was brought in from elsewhere.
Situated over a mile from the historic village centre, Monckton Main was sunk on farmland between the Midland Railway and the Barnsley Canal on the west and Lundhill Lane on the east. The outcome was, as would be predicted, the formation of an ever-growing annexe of brick-built homes between the colliery and the ancient hamlet to house the families of migrant miners. There was an upsurge in population when the colliery opened.
Between 1871 and 1881, the population nearly doubled, from 676 to 1,128. It increased to 6,237 by 1911, when Royston had 22,14 working males, 1,619 of them were in the coal mining industry. Midland Road emerged as the primary commercial avenue, encompassing a variety of retail establishments and two movie theatres, The Empire, and The Palace, situated between the former hamlet and the colliery.
Over 9,000 people live in Royston, a suburban hamlet, and the former waste heaps have been transformed into Rabbit Ings Country Park, more than 140 years after the first sod was cut at the colliery site.
By examining the 1901 census for just one street—Senior Lane, which had become Midland Road by 1901—that was created following the sinking of the new colliery, one may get an idea of the impact of the colliery's and the associated coke ovens' more than two decades of operation. 68 (84%) of the 81 working men and boys who lived on Midland Road in that year worked at the coal mine or in the coke ovens. These included a pit pony driver, a colliery lap boy, two product oven managers, and the colliery manager. In keeping with the main street's expanding commercial significance across the new section of the hamlet, was the presence of four grocers.
The further interesting fact about Midland Road in 1901, was that out of the 81 men and boys who were employed, only eight of them were Royston natives. Twenty-five of the men and boys living in the road (59 per cent) were from outside of Yorkshire, having been born in sixteen different English counties as well as in north and south Wales. The remaining twenty-five were from Scampston, in the then North Riding, and Castleford, Armley, and Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. A tiny portion of the numerous black country migrants who moved to Royston were from Staffordshire and Dudley, which are located just across the county boundary in Worcestershire, making up six of the English counties.
Probably explaining why, the Royston accent resembles a patchwork quilt of dialects threaded together with a strong linguistic Yorkshire accent.
Parkside Primary Academy is a fully inclusive Academy, catering for children from 3 to 11 years.
St John Baptist Church of England Primary School - Part of St Mary’s Academy Trust.
Summerfields Primary Academy belongs to the family of schools that make up Pioneer Academies Community Trust (PACT), a multi-academy trust based in the Barnsley area.
Outwood Academy Carlton
Samson Haden (17 January 1902 – 1974) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Arsenal and Notts County. He also spent ten years as manager of Peterborough United. Read more on Wikipedia.
Lew Clayton was born on 7 June 1924 in Royston, West Riding of Yorkshire, best known as a professional football player. Read more on Wikipedia.
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, Privy Council and Deputy lieutenant (18 April 1924 – 19 April 2015), was a British Labour politician and Cabinet minister who was Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the 1970’s. Read more on Wikipedia.
Albert Edward Shepherd VC (11 January 1897 – 23 October 1966) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Read more on Wikipedia.
Andy Cave, an accomplished alpinist with multiple impressive first ascents to his name and a certified International Mountain Guide, was raised in a mining family in Royston, South Yorkshire. He received his doctorate in sociolinguistics from Sheffield University. His debut novel, Learning to Breathe (Hutchinson, 2005), was the recipient of the Banff Award for Adventure Travel Writing as well as the 2005 Boardman Tasker Award. This incredible autobiography recounts the tale of a talented young climber who began his career at Grimethorpe Pit in Yorkshire as a miner, following in his father and grandfather's customary footsteps after leaving school at the age of 16. Thin White Line, his second book, was published by Random House in 2008. Read more on Wikipedia.
The office staff are courteous, helpful, and above all, eager to get you to your new home. We provide accompanied viewings seven days a week, bringing buyers to your property or taking you to ours. After everything is said and done, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating,' so if you're considering a move, or simply want to discuss any part of buying, selling, or renting, please give us a call - we're here to assist!
Alternatively, if you would like a rough idea of the value of your property in Royston, you can use our Online Instant Property Valuation Tool.
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What is the Population of Royston?
According to the 2021 Census, Royston has a population of 11,354 people, 5,502 of whom are men and 5,857 of whom are women.
Royston Location
Royston to Barnsley Town Centre is 17 minutes (4.7 miles) via B6132.
Royston to Meadowhall is located 33 minutes (21.2 miles) via M1.
Royston to Manchester Airport is 1 hour 16 minutes (45.1 miles) via A628.
Royston to Leeds City Centre is 39 minutes (22.9 miles) via M1.
Royston to Leeds Bradford Airport is 57 minutes (34.1 miles) via M1.
Royston to Manchester City Centre is 1 hour 15 minutes (59.7 miles) via M62.
Royston to Sheffield City Centre is 46 minutes (25.1 miles) via M1.
Royston to Cannon Hall is 20 minutes (8.1 miles) via B6428 and A635.
Royston to the National Coal Mining Museum for England is 25 minutes (11.8 miles)
via A637.
Royston to The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is 15 minutes (7.1 miles) via Woolley Edge Ln.
The shopping area has two distinct retail areas. The Wells, and Midland Road. The Wells is home to a cluster of retail uses, with some of the traditional buildings fronting onto the main junction being subject to improvements. Midland Road is inter-mixed with retail and housing.
Location
Housing Tenure in Royston According to BMBC’s latest data and statistics profile
Owned
Two thirds of properties are owned with a mortgage or owned outright in Royston. Ownership is higher than the Barnsley and England rates: 3,065 (66.9%) of properties are owned in Royston.Social Rented
Just over 1 in 5 properties in Royston are social rented; this is similar to the Barnsley rate and higher than the England rate: 950 (20.7%) of properties are social rented in RoystonPrivate Rented
Royston has fewer private rented properties than both Barnsley and England: 472 (10.3%) of properties are private rented in RoystonThe Council Tax Band
Properties are banded into one of eight valuation bands (A to H, with A being properties of lowest value to H being the highest). These are decided by the government’s Valuation Office which determines the amount of council tax to be paid. There are slightly more Royston households in Bands B, C and D compared to Barnsley.Amenities
Civic Hall (the Albert Shepherd Centre) is the perfect venue for any event. Whatever event you are planning, Royston Civic Hall can make any occasion a unique and special experience for you and your friends and family, catering for up to 250 guests.
Looking for a function room with a warm and welcoming environment with space for up to 120 guests? The function room at Royston Civic Albert Shepard Hall is available for parties and private hire all year round. Royston Civic is also available for children's parties all year round. A fully licensed bar which is exclusive to the room is also available.
Royston Library is getting ready for a major makeover that will turn it into a modern and welcoming space for everyone to enjoy. The library will temporarily close on Wednesday 20 December 2023 and reopen in early February 2024 with a fresh new look and exciting features.
Little Nipper Pre-School will continue to operate as normal during the library closure.
The makeover will include an enhanced children’s area, more comfortable seating, and a new local history wall. The wall will showcase the rich heritage of Royston, including a recently donated sign from the old Royston railway signal box that has been restored and is on loan from Barnsley Museums.
The Royston Library makeover is part-funded by £48,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund via the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority as part of Barnsley Council’s Libraries Refurbishment Programme.
However, the face of Royston is due for a dramatic uplift in the form of a regeneration and investment programme, thanks to Barnsley Council and its partnership with developers and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA). Who are investing in Barnsley.
It follows that Royston's inclusion in the Principal Towns Investment initiative, which attempts to revitalize the town and several other towns in South Yorkshire, creating job security, attracting business growth, and promoting a healthier and better place to work and live, is a viable decision.
AS well as the SYMCA regeneration and investment programme, Royston is also receiving a further masterplan framework to regenerate the area. The masterplan framework is a strategic document that sits beneath the Local Plan and will inform future planning applications. It is not a planning application.
What is the Royston Masterplan Framework MU5
Two new Masterplan Frameworks and Design Codes created by Gilespies’ were recently approved by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Hoyland South and Royston Masterplan Frameworks aim to promote sustainable projects that are fully integrated with the surrounding landscape and existing communities. They will suggest the construction of up to 2,000 new houses, new local shops, primary schools, and various local facilities. A net-zero carbon approach and economic growth throughout Barnsley are two of the Council's broader aims that are reflected in both Masterplan Frameworks.
Featuring 994 new residences, a direct active transport strategy, a new community hub, and a new primary school, the Royston Masterplan Framework serves as the entry point to Royston. Especially noteworthy is how well the development blends in with the surrounding area, utilising the abandoned railway to the north of the site as a strategically located green infrastructure for active transportation.
A new mixed-use development with 994 dwellings, a primary school, and a small store has been approved for the Royston allocation. To the north, west, and south of the designated site lies the Green Belt, and it is situated west of Royston town centre.
The framework, referred to as MU5, is a component of a larger initiative to advance economic development and revitalization throughout Barnsley, including Royston. This covers the enhancements suggested by the Transport Strategies and related Implementation Plans for the Sheffield City Region, Barnsley Transport Strategy, Local Plan Spatial Strategy, and Sheffield City Region Transport Strategy. Although the precise Local Plan site allocations are the main emphasis of this Masterplan Framework, it is indicative of these broader initiatives that the Council and its partners are putting forth.
Type and tenure: The planned homes inside the development should range in size from two to three stories for detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses to blend in with Royston's surrounding residential area.
Many of the homes should be family homes with two to four bedrooms, with a few higher density three-story blocks along Lee Lane allowing for smaller flats (perhaps one to two bedrooms) with a local shop or mixed use on the ground floor. These smaller residences near the Lee Lane entrance may be ideal for first-time buyers or those wishing to downsize.
The development's planned housing will offer a variety of options, including accessible and Lifetime houses (LTH), starter houses, and affordable homes for seniors, families, and young people. Ten percent of the Royston construction is anticipated to provide affordable housing, in accordance with Barnsley Local Plan Policy H7. The suggested Lifetime Homes must be of the highest calibre, impeccably kept, and equipped with options for senior and specialty housing.
Tenure-blind neighbourhood: As previously mentioned, a variety of housing types can contribute to a more diversified and harmonious neighbourhood.
What are Lifetime Houses (LTH)?
The idea of Lifetime Homes is to create homes that are versatile and adjustable. Moreover, adding components that assist families' and people's evolving requirements throughout various life stages. As a result, many planning authorities mandate that new construction dwellings adhere to the LTH criteria.
Read more about the plan on Gillespie's website here: www.gillespies.co.uk/projects/hoyland-south-royston-masterplan
Royston Community Spirit
The Royston Ward Alliance is a group of people who have put themselves forward to help improve the community. They work with local councillors to determine what the priorities are for Royston and have a community plan which helps them to measure their progress. They have a small budget called the Ward Alliance Fund which helps fund community groups and activities within the Royston Ward.The Ward Alliance have identified 4 priorities for Royston (Environment, The Local Economy, Health & Well Being, Youth Engagement), which align closely to the challenges and opportunities identified in the plan.
There are a variety of Community Groups within Royston who already deliver various community events and support the different priorities of the ward.
Ad Astra are a young people’s charity and have worked closely with the Area Team in supporting out of school activities in the past. Not only do they entertain young people, but their work is also designed to be educational, they help with growing young people’s citizenship skills.
Places of Interest in Royston, Barnsley
Rabbit Ings – Country Park
Rabbit Ings is a country park located on the former colliery yard and spoil heap of the Monkton Colliery and then the Royston Drift Mine which closed in 1989. The 64-hectare site, situated near Royston in South Yorkshire, is home to an array of wildlife – including newts, snakes, and herons and was officially opened in 2011 under the ownership of Wakefield Council. In 2012 the Council transferred the land into the ownership of the Land Trust. Visit website here.Development
The reclamation of the site was supported through the Government’s National Coalfield Programme being implemented by the Homes and Communities Agency in partnership with Wakefield Council and Yorkshire Forward. The site had suffered environmental degradation with large areas of bare shale. The slopes of the 40m high tip were very steep in places and were potentially dangerous. Part of the reclamation scheme involved earth moving to lessen the slopes and make it possible for new vegetation to become established. Over 130,000 tonnes of soil making material have been used on site to create new areas of woodland, heathland, and grassland habitats. New footpaths and cycle tracks have been created and there are areas of extensive tree and shrub planting, as well as sports pitches for use by the community.An extensive network of footpaths comprised mainly of non-bonded crushed material. Most are more than 2.5 metres wide, but there are narrower trails through wooded areas which are unsurfaced. Paths vary in gradient from flat to 1:10 or steeper. There are a limited number of seating areas at varied intervals throughout the woodland, most more than 500m apart. Access onto site is through access control barriers which permit motorised buggies.
Walking - extensive path network offers a variety of walks suitable for differing levels of fitness. There are benches around the site offering a place to rest and enjoy wonderful views across the borough.
Cycling - The hard surfaced paths are ideal for a family cycle while the hill provides for those looking for more of a challenge! There's a winding bike trail from the top of the hill down the western slope that offers a thrilling ride.
Horse riding - There is easy access on to site for horse riders at each entry point as well as a bridleway. Further to this, there is a grass canter track on the North slope where you can stretch the horse's legs a little.
Den building - the woodland habitat offers a great place for young people to learn how to make their own shelter.
Pond dipping - Learn what fascinating creatures live under the water at the classroom pond.
Minibeast hunt - Sweep netting in our extensive grasslands can turn up all sorts of interesting bugs, from colourful beetles to slimy snails!
Sports pitches – there are three football pitches and an event field by the car park that can be hired.
There is access to two changing rooms and a referee’s room: Classroom & meeting room - a heated room with tables, chairs, projector space and tea & coffee facilities available for workshops, conferences, and staff away days.
Geocaching - Rabbit Ings has several Geocaches established, why not see if you can find them.
School trips - rangers are available to lead guided walks and activities on the park for your school.
Staff away days - meeting room are offered for use, to host team building activities, as well as volunteer conservation work, such as tree planting.
Conservation, Wildlife, Flora, Fauna
There are woodlands and wetlands, providing a variety of habitats for wildlife, including Skylarks, Wheatear and Meadow Pipits in spring. If you're lucky, you may also spot Kestrels overhead.
St John’s the Baptist Church
Containing many fine features, Royston parish church is an inspiring building of architectural as well as spiritual significance which it is important to preserve for future generations. Built by the monks of the nearby Priory of St Mary Magdalen at Lund (Monk Bretton Priory), the present building can be dated back to before 1234. The association of this church with the monks would have ended abruptly when their Priory was seized by the Crown and dissolved in 1539.There was possibly an Anglo-Saxon church here, evidenced by some early foundation work, and the discovery of a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon cross, now displayed to the right of the altar.
On the opposite side of the sanctuary, the solid sacristy door with its original iron work is particularly fine. The eastern part of the chancel is probably the earliest part of the present building, the masonry of the north and south walls being part of the church described in 1240 as newly built. The proportions of the chancel would seem to agree with those of a mid-13th century structure, though it is uncertain if it was originally flanked by aisles and containing a peal of six bells.
Other attractions nearby to Royston
Anglers Country Park - Visit WebsiteCannon Hall Farm - Visit Website
Hemsworth Water Park - Visit Website
About The Unique Royston Dialect
Every wondered how people from Royston got their unique accent? The connection between Royston and the Black Country is part of Royston folklore. After studying a PhD in sociolinguistics local lad Andy Cave and later this hypothesis was tested by Kate Burland, who analysed certain vowel sounds, Kate Burland concluded that the connection was genuine and that it impacted dialect and accent, making Royston distinctive from its near neighbours. Popular understanding talks about parts of town known as “Little Staffs,” and perhaps a quarter of the town claim some sort of Black Country ancestry. The migration of Black Country miners may have been a major factor in the evolution of this distinctive accent.
Boom and bust
This was a critical period for the Black Country in the mid-1870s. In South Staffordshire, the early 1870s had been a boom time: the region's coal output was almost at its peak, and blast furnaces, foundries, and forges were producing an abundance of raw and processed iron and steel. Although the Black Country working class did not have great success throughout the 1800s, at least there was a high employment rate and minimal job insecurity compared to other regions in the area. But the end of 1873 brought with it a downturn that would persist for several years in the Black Country, maybe up until World War 1. During that time, wages fell, trade collapsed, and miners went hungry. As said by George Barnsby.Mining in the Black Country entered an irreversible decline and never fully recovered from its 1860s peak. The profitability of the coal plummeted as other coalfields opened elsewhere in Britain, and it became increasingly difficult and hazardous to obtain.
One of the new collieries opening in the later 1870s was near the village of Royston, 4.5 miles North-East of Barnsley – in the borough known back then as the West Riding of Yorkshire.
In fact, several were opening here: Monckton Main Nos. 1,2 and 5 in Havercroft, and New Monckton Nos. 1 and 2 in Royston itself, became operational between 1875 and 1878.
The Barnsley Canal, approved by Parliament in 1793, and the Midland Railway passed through these tiny communities, making the area a lucrative site to mine. There was just a minor problem though, the lack of miners.
The Migration
The census provides clear evidence of this migration. Among the 555 people living in Royston Parish in 1861—the most recent census for which data is available—there was, quite simply, nobody from Staffordshire. But the numbers skyrocketed between 1881 and 1901. Nearly tripling every ten years, Royston's population increased to 1,128 in 1881, 2,642 in 1891, and 4,397 in 1901. At least a third of the residents worked at Monckton. The number of Black Country people increased to around 500.Just over seven hundred of the 4,397 people who lived in Royston in 1901 (more than 16%) were from Staffordshire or Worcestershire. The majority coming from the Black Country.
History
Royston similar to its surrounding neighbours, evolved from a stone-built rural village into an enlarged mining community in its early years, until the coming of the coal mining Royston was what is known by geographers as a ‘street Village’, meaning it stretched from west to east along the High Street and then south-eastwards along Church Street past Royston Green (with its pinfold in which straying farm animals would be penned) on the right to the parish church towards the far end. There was also a little development to the northeast of High Street along Senior Lane (later renamed as Midland Road,)A relatively small, detached settlement stood beside the Barnsley Canal at Royston Bridge and included two public houses, The Ship and The Anchor. These public houses served the passing boat trade.
The fifteenth-century, perpendicularly designed tower of St. John's Parish Church dominated the village for centuries prior to the advent of colliery headgear. Originally, the parish of Royston, which encompassed not only the settlement of Royston but also Carlton, Notton, Chevet, Monk Bretton, Cudworth, and Woolley, was serviced by this church. A further uniqueness of the pre-industrial village was the remarkably high quantity of gardens and orchards depicted on the initial six-inch Ordnance Survey map, which was surveyed between 1849 and 1851. These were market gardens.
The population of Royston at the time of the first national census in 1801 was 360. By 1851 it had grown to 587 and on the eve of the sinking of the colliery in 1871 it was 676. The long established seasonal rural rhythm of this small agricultural village was changed following in the registering of the Monkton Main Coal Company on 16 September 1874.
The first sod was cut by the 6th viscount Galway of Serlby Hall, north Nottinghamshire, chairman of the company, on 24 May 1875. Monckton, the name of the new colliery, was one of the family names of Viscount Galway. The 6th Viscount died later that year and he was succeeded by his son, the 7th Viscount, who remained chairman for over half a century.
Production of coal from the Barnsley Seam started in 1878 and the following year the first coke ovens came into production.
There were more than 150 coke ovens in use by roughly 1890. The first colliery company was wound up in 1901, and New Monckton collieries Limited was created as a replacement. Before and after nationalisation, modernization of the colliery and the coke ovens continued throughout the first half of the 20th century. It was not finished until 1959, at which point six shafts were operational, exploiting the Barnsley Seam as well as Meltonfield, Beamshaw, Kent, and Haigh Moor.
More than 2,200 persons were employed at the colliery when it closed in December 1966, but the nearby Monckton Coke and Chemical Works continued to operate until December 2014 by utilising coal that was brought in from elsewhere.
Situated over a mile from the historic village centre, Monckton Main was sunk on farmland between the Midland Railway and the Barnsley Canal on the west and Lundhill Lane on the east. The outcome was, as would be predicted, the formation of an ever-growing annexe of brick-built homes between the colliery and the ancient hamlet to house the families of migrant miners. There was an upsurge in population when the colliery opened.
Between 1871 and 1881, the population nearly doubled, from 676 to 1,128. It increased to 6,237 by 1911, when Royston had 22,14 working males, 1,619 of them were in the coal mining industry. Midland Road emerged as the primary commercial avenue, encompassing a variety of retail establishments and two movie theatres, The Empire, and The Palace, situated between the former hamlet and the colliery.
Over 9,000 people live in Royston, a suburban hamlet, and the former waste heaps have been transformed into Rabbit Ings Country Park, more than 140 years after the first sod was cut at the colliery site.
By examining the 1901 census for just one street—Senior Lane, which had become Midland Road by 1901—that was created following the sinking of the new colliery, one may get an idea of the impact of the colliery's and the associated coke ovens' more than two decades of operation. 68 (84%) of the 81 working men and boys who lived on Midland Road in that year worked at the coal mine or in the coke ovens. These included a pit pony driver, a colliery lap boy, two product oven managers, and the colliery manager. In keeping with the main street's expanding commercial significance across the new section of the hamlet, was the presence of four grocers.
The further interesting fact about Midland Road in 1901, was that out of the 81 men and boys who were employed, only eight of them were Royston natives. Twenty-five of the men and boys living in the road (59 per cent) were from outside of Yorkshire, having been born in sixteen different English counties as well as in north and south Wales. The remaining twenty-five were from Scampston, in the then North Riding, and Castleford, Armley, and Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. A tiny portion of the numerous black country migrants who moved to Royston were from Staffordshire and Dudley, which are located just across the county boundary in Worcestershire, making up six of the English counties.
Probably explaining why, the Royston accent resembles a patchwork quilt of dialects threaded together with a strong linguistic Yorkshire accent.
Education in Royston
Primary Education
Meadstead Primary Academy is part of the network of schools in the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET).Parkside Primary Academy is a fully inclusive Academy, catering for children from 3 to 11 years.
St John Baptist Church of England Primary School - Part of St Mary’s Academy Trust.
Summerfields Primary Academy belongs to the family of schools that make up Pioneer Academies Community Trust (PACT), a multi-academy trust based in the Barnsley area.
Secondary Education
Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School - Holy Trinity is a 3 – 16 Catholic and Church of England through school which opened in September 2012 in a purpose-built, state of the art building. With a 470-place primary phase and a 700-place secondary phase. With 3 – 16 through-school status offers exciting and innovative learning opportunities which enhance progress and create a seamless transition between Key Stages 2 & 3.Outwood Academy Carlton
Famous Royston People
Charles Adolphus Williams or better known as, Charlie Williams MBE (23 December 1927 – 2 September 2006) was an English professional footballer who was one of the first black players in British football after the Second World War, and later became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian. Read more on Wikipedia.Samson Haden (17 January 1902 – 1974) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Arsenal and Notts County. He also spent ten years as manager of Peterborough United. Read more on Wikipedia.
Lew Clayton was born on 7 June 1924 in Royston, West Riding of Yorkshire, best known as a professional football player. Read more on Wikipedia.
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, Privy Council and Deputy lieutenant (18 April 1924 – 19 April 2015), was a British Labour politician and Cabinet minister who was Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the 1970’s. Read more on Wikipedia.
Albert Edward Shepherd VC (11 January 1897 – 23 October 1966) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Read more on Wikipedia.
Andy Cave, an accomplished alpinist with multiple impressive first ascents to his name and a certified International Mountain Guide, was raised in a mining family in Royston, South Yorkshire. He received his doctorate in sociolinguistics from Sheffield University. His debut novel, Learning to Breathe (Hutchinson, 2005), was the recipient of the Banff Award for Adventure Travel Writing as well as the 2005 Boardman Tasker Award. This incredible autobiography recounts the tale of a talented young climber who began his career at Grimethorpe Pit in Yorkshire as a miner, following in his father and grandfather's customary footsteps after leaving school at the age of 16. Thin White Line, his second book, was published by Random House in 2008. Read more on Wikipedia.
House Prices in Royston, Barnsley
When looking for property in Royston, Barnsley to buy, it's essential to work with a local estate agent who can provide you with detailed information about available properties, guide you through the buying process, and recommend the best area to live in ensure you find a property that suits your preferences and requirements.
Over the past year, the overall average price of a home in Royston, Barnsley was calculated to be £175,075.
During the past year, most homes that changed hands in Royston were semi-detached homes, which sold for an average price of £159,542. The typical selling price for a terraced home was £109,218 while the average selling price for a detached home was £260,500.
Over the previous year, property prices in Royston were 11% down on the previous year and 2% down on the 2021 peak of £179,372. (Source: Rightmove UK May 2024)
About Butcher Residential and Commercial Estate Agents in Royston, Barnsley
Butcher Residential and Commercial Estate and Letting Agents in Royston believe that personality matters, and we work hard to understand what you're looking for in both your sale and your next buy. We feel it is critical to listen, maintain regular touch, and maintain strong communication, not just through text, email, or post, but also through regular phone contact. We use cutting-edge technology to market our properties, from plasma displays and digital pictures to floor plans and prominent advertising elements, but our most powerful motivators are our employees, whose daily phone calls keep us in touch with both buyers and sellers.The office staff are courteous, helpful, and above all, eager to get you to your new home. We provide accompanied viewings seven days a week, bringing buyers to your property or taking you to ours. After everything is said and done, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating,' so if you're considering a move, or simply want to discuss any part of buying, selling, or renting, please give us a call - we're here to assist!
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