Wales
St. John the Baptist church
Wales is located in South Yorkshire
Wales
Wales
Location within South Yorkshire
Area10.29 km2 (3.97 sq mi)
Population1,260 (2011 census) Civil parish: 7,069[1]
• Density122/km2 (320/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSK480829
Civil parish
  • Wales
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSHEFFIELD
Postcode districtS26
Dialling code01909
PoliceSouth Yorkshire
FireSouth Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament

Wales is a village and a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England.[2] Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it borders to the south Derbyshire and is astride the M1 motorway. The civil parish of Wales, which has a population of 6,455,[3] increasing to 7,069 at the 2011 Census,[1] encompasses the village and neighbouring settlement Kiveton Park.[4]

History

Wales shares its name with the country of Wales, and the derivation may well be the same if it bears the same Anglo Saxon (and Germanic) root meaning Romanised foreigner(s). A term used to refer to those in the western regions of the Roman Empire (see: Etymology of Wales). The suggestion, therefore, is that there was a continued Celtic presence here, that was distinctively Roman, following the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons at the turn of the 6th century. An alternative explanation suggests that the settlement's name may be derived from the word Waelas, meaning "field of battle".[2] The earliest reference to Wales is in 1002, when Wulfric Spot, a Saxon thegn, is recorded as owning Walesho.

Sir William Hewet, Lord Mayor of London in 1559, was born in Wales, and his descendants, the Dukes of Leeds, would come to dominate the area.

The collieries at Waleswood and Kiveton Park historically provided employment in the area, including to migrants from Wales' namesake country, until Kiveton Park Colliery was closed in September 1994.[2]

Waleswood

Waleswood is a small hamlet located to the north-west of Wales. Historically the hamlet was known for Waleswood Hall, and later Waleswood Colliery, which also featured a railway station. Much of the former colliery site is now occupied by the Gulliver's Valley theme park.[5]

Wales Bar

Wales Bar is another hamlet, located to the west of Wales. The village contains typical 20th Century miners housing, with many of the former occupants working in the surrounding collieries at Waleswood and Brookhouse.[6]

Geography

The village of Wales itself is located at approximately 53°20′30″N 1°16′45″W / 53.34167°N 1.27917°W / 53.34167; -1.27917, at an elevation of around 300 feet (100 m) above sea level. It lies on the A618 and B6059 roads. The M1 motorway bisects the parish, while the southern boundary is partly marked by the Chesterfield Canal whose Norwood Tunnel runs under meadowland to the south. To the west of the village is Rother Valley Country Park.

Education and employment

Education in Wales is provided by Wales Primary School and Wales High School. The industrial estate at Wales Common continues to be a large source of employment (not least the food manufacturer Greencore Prepared Foods) & LuK, part of the multi-national manufacturing group producing clutch & automotive parts.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wales Parish (E04000122)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Wales namesakes: The country and the Yorkshire village". BBC News. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Rotherham". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  4. ↑ Wales is made up of four output areas in the Wales ward http://www.ukcensusdata.com/wales-e05001035#sthash.Dj7dOifD.QR4CsRRh.dpbs
  5. ↑ Record Series (Yorkshire Archaeological Society). Yorkshire Archaeological Society. 1898.
  6. ↑ "Kiveton Park & Wales History Society - Buildings & Architecture". www.kivetonwaleshistory.co.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Schaeffler United Kingdom | Worldwide | Locations | List". Schaeffler UK. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
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