Harthill
Domesday name: Hortel. Harthill - ‘hill frequented by harts or stags’ Old English heorot + hyll. Source A Dictionary of British Place-Names in Names & Places
Ancient Deed , Harthill Poll Tax 1379, Harthill in 1900 and Woodall in 1900
Collieries have not robbed it of charm. Among its fine trees are the cedars of the rectory, and the churchyard has far horizons. Near the church is an admirable thing - a swinging sign, made from timbers of the old belfry, telling briefly the story of the village, its people, and its church. We read that its street was part of the Harthill Walk in Ivanhoe, that the church was first built by the Conqueror’s son-in-law, Earl de Warenne, and that a unique illustrated history of the place is kept in the school. The tower of the church is mainly 15th century, but the nave arcades were built when the Norman style was passing. The old font has a Jacobean cover, there is a fine old chest, and the modern woodwork is richly carved.
The famous Osbornes are sleeping here. They lived at Kiveton near by, and gave England several distinguished Dukes of Leeds, seven lying here with their wives. Lady Margaret (who “died comfortably” in 1642) kneels at a desk with one child behind her and another in swaddling clothes.
In a dark corner sleeps the most notorious of them all, Sir Thomas Osborne. He lies fittingly in the shadows, for his ways were dark, and his life was a scandal of two generations. He was born in the happy days of Charles I and lived to see the Stuarts toppling off the throne, and all his life he was corrupt. His love was scorned in his youth by his cousin Dorothy Osborne, and we may wonder what her life would have been like had she accepted him. Pepys thought him a comely gentleman when he first saw him at the court of Charles II, but he was a self seeking politician, a trickster and a traitor to the state, though he marched from dignity to dignity, baronet, baron, viscount, earl, marquis, duke. Source:Kings England, edited by Arthur Mee
More about the Dukes of Leeds
High Politics in the Shadow of the Tower, Danby and Shaftesbury in the 1670s
Sir John Buck of Harthill, a Yorkist, was executed at The Battle of Bosworth on 22 August 1485
Described in 1833 as a good village on the Rotherham and Mansfield Road and near the Chesterfield Canal, 10 miles from Sheffield and 6 miles West of Worksop, remarkable for its ancient church, All Hallows, under which is the funeral vault of the ancestors of the Dukes of Leeds, the lord of the manor, patron of the rectory and owner - except 4 small freeholds - of the whole parish of Harthill-cum-Woodall, which contains 3000 acres of land and 713 inhabitants. The parish is in the Worksop Union. The Church which has several neat monuments and a good tower at the west end, suffered much by lightening in 1807, since which the north aisle has been rebuilt, and the western end repaired. The rectory, valued at £689 in 1831 is enjoyed by the Rev. G. T. Hudson, M. A.
Woodall, a hamlet, has about 180 inhabitants. The school has £16 13s, 4d. yearly left by the Rev. J. Hewitt in 1812 and the poor have £3 10s. 5d. yearly. Chesterfield Canal and the Manchester to Sheffield Railway cross the north side of the parish and the latter has a station at Kiveton Park.
in 1833 The Rev. Jonathan Alderson was Rector of Harthill. Also in the village:
- John Booth, farmer
- George Brunt, farmer
- Elizabeth Buck, shopkeeper
- Mark Buck, wheelwright and joiner
- George Clark, carrier (Woodall)
- G & W. Clark, farmers (Woodall)
- G. Cutts, mason & wetstone manu
- Robert Cutts, nail manufacturer
- Samuel Duckworth, gardener,
- George Foulds, schoolmaster
- George Frith, gent
- Charles Glossop, jun butcher
- Fras Glossop. vict, Blue Bell, maltster
- George Glossop, farmer
- John Glossop, wetstone manu
- William Grant, gamekeeper (Kiveton)
- John Hall, farmer (Kiveton)
- Charles Hancock, shopkeeper and carrier
- Peter Hancock, farmer (Woodall)
- William Harvey, harding & sacking manu. (Woodall)
- George Holmes, maltster
- Joseph Holmes, vict and lime burner
- John Hydes, baker & flour dealer
- William Hydes, beerhouse (Woodall)
- William Jarvis, gent (Woodall)
- Samuel Jenkinson, farmer
- John Kay, boot & shoemaker
- John Kirkby, wheelwright
- Edward Lister, carrier (Woodall)
- William Lister, farmer
- Thomas Malley, carrier
- E. G. & Mullins, boot & shoemaker
- M. Nock, vict, Square & Compass
- Geo. & Wm. Nock, masons
- George Pattison, turner
- G & J Pearce,boot & shoemaker
- Samuel Pearce, surgeon
- Nathaniel Pearson, surgeon
- Benjamin Plant, blacksmith
- G & R. Roberts.boot & shoemaker
- George Rudderford, farmer
- G & J. Stacey, farmers
- Chas Staniland, farmer
- Barnet Storey, nail manufacturer
- John Storey, nail manufacturer
- William Storey, cattle salesman
- Robert Taylor jun, butcher, farmer
- William Taylor, boot & shoemaker(Woodall)
- John Union, boot & shoemaker (Woodall)
- G & J. Walker, boot & shoemakers, (Woodall)
- Mrs.Eliz Whitehead (Woodall)
- William Wilkinson, butcher
- Misses Eliz & Ann Wilks (Woodall)
- George Wilks, cooper(Woodall)
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.
There is a Leisure centre, Bowling Club and Resevoir here. Rotherham Sailing Club is based here
Harthill is the most southerly village in South Yorkshire and borders on Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Around Christmas 1975, a group of men, who lived in Harthill, got together to be part of the entertainment for a village function. Under the watchful eye of an experienced Morris Dancer, they learned the basics of the dance. It was expected to be a 'one-off' performance, however the response led to the formation of Harthill Morris,early in 1976.
Harthill Morris Dancers are dedicated to keeping the traditions of the dance alive
Harthill Poll Tax 1379
See also details about the Hewetts, including Rector of Harthill and Todwick
See also Shireoaks
Harthill in 1900 and Woodall in 1900
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