Rotherham United

Rotherham logo
Full name	Rotherham United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Millers
Founded	1870
Ground	New York Stadium Rotherham (Capacity: 12,021)
Chairman	Tony Stewart
Manager	Steve Evans
League	League Two
2011–12	League Two, 10th
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Rotherham United Football Club (nicknamed The Millers^[1] or The Merry Millers^[2]) is an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history. Their current home strip is red and white; their away kit is black with red trim. The club play their home games at The Don Valley Stadium whilst the New York Stadium is being built for the 2012–13 season.

The club have spent the majority of their history in the Football League's third tier, though their most recent success came in the early 2000s when they found themselves competing in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. They have also enjoyed more recent success, reaching the League Two Play Off Finals at Wembley Stadium in May 2010.

Steve Evans was appointed Rotherham manager on 9th April 2012 after Andy Scott's sacking.^[3] Defender Johnny Mullins is club captain.

History[link]

The first Rotherham United kit (1925)

The club's roots go back to 1870,^[4] when the club was formed as Thornhill Football Club (later Thornhill United).^[4] For many years the leading team in the area was Rotherham Town F.C., who spent three seasons in the Football League while Thornhill United were still playing in the Sheffield & Hallamshire League. By the turn of the century, however, Rotherham Town had resigned from the Football League and gone out of business; a new club of the same name later joined the Midland League.^[4] Meanwhile, Thornhill's fortunes were on the rise to the extent that in 1905 they laid claim to being the pre-eminent club in the town and changed their name to Rotherham County. For a period both clubs competed in the Midland League, finishing first and second in 1911–12. Over time it became clear that to have two professional clubs in the town was not sustainable. Talks had begun in February 1925 and in early May the two clubs merged to form Rotherham United. Days later the reformed club was formally re-elected under its new name.

The red and white was adopted around 1928 after playing in amber and black, but there was no improvement in the club's fortunes: in 1931 they again had to apply for re-election. Immediately after the Second World War things looked up. After adopting Arsenal-style white-sleeved shirts, United finished as runners-up three time in succession between 1947 and 1949 and then were champions of Division Three (North) in 1951. Rotherham reached their highest ever league position of third in the Football League Second Division in 1955, when only goal average denied them a place in the top flight after they finished level on points with champions Birmingham City and runners-up Luton Town. The club held on to its place in Division Two until 1968 and then went into a decline that took them down to Division Four in 1973. In 1975 they were promoted back to the Third Division winning the championship. The Millers won the Division Three title in 1981; not only did they pip one of their neighbours, Barnsley, to the championship but the double they recorded over Sheffield United helped send their local rivals tumbling into the Fourth Division.

Rotherham had a dismal first half of the 1981–82 season but a surge after the turn of 1982 saw them emerge as promotion contenders for the first time in nearly 30 years. This was the first season of 3 points for a win rather than 2 in the league, and in the end they missed out on promotion by 4 points and finishing seventh. They have not finished this high ever since.^[5] The highlights of this campaign were two meetings with Chelsea. Firstly the Millers defeated the Londoners 6–0 at Millmoor before winning 4–1 at Stamford Bridge in the return in front of just 11,900 fans. This exciting but ageing team, which included John Seasman, Tony Towner, Rodney Fern and Ronnie Moore, could not maintain this level of performance, and they were relegated again the next year. By 1988, United were relegated to the Fourth Division but were promoted a year later as champions.

During the 1990s Rotherham were promoted and relegated between the Football League's lowest two divisions and they slipped into the Fourth Division in 1991, just two years after being promoted, but reclaimed their status in the third tier (renamed Division Two for the 1992–93 season due to the launch of the FA Premier League) by finished third in the Fourth Division in 1992. They survived at this level for five years, never looking like promotion contenders, before being relegated in 1997.

In 1996 Rotherham United made their first trip to Wembley, beating Shrewsbury 2–1 to win the Football League Trophy, with two goals from Nigel Jemson giving Rotherham the win, with over 20,000 Rotherham United fans following them.

In 1997, just after relegation to Division Three, Ronnie Moore took charge of Rotherham United and became the club's most successful manager. His first season ended in a mid-table finish and then his second in a play-off semi-final defeat on penalties to Leyton Orient. It was third time lucky in 1999–2000 as Rotherham finished as Division Three runners-up and gained promotion to Division Two. They were favourites to be relegated in 2000–01 season, but surprised many by finishing runners-up in Division Two and gaining a second successive promotion. Famously, the Millers beat Brentford 2–1 at a sold-out Millmoor Stadium, with Alan Lee scoring the winner, sealing promotion. During this successful campaign, Rotherham also beat Premiership side Southampton in the FA Cup.

Rotherham managed to remained in Division One for four seasons, the most successful of which was the 2002–03 campaign. The Millers were in contention for a play-off place, but dropped off near the season's end to finish 15th, their lowest position all season. During their time in the Championship they managed some notable victories including two wins against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough and a home win against West Ham United. The second season saw them finishing 17th with the highlight of the season a 1–1 draw with Arsenal in the League Cup at Highbury. During the 2004–05 season, the club struggled and spent most of the season bottom of the league. The club was bought by the consortium, Millers 05. Ronnie Moore left by mutual consent during the campaign, after his team were rooted to the bottom of the division for the majority of the season.

After relegation to League one in 2005, Mick Harford took over as Millers manager, but was sacked after a run of 17 games without a win. Harford was replaced by youth team coach, Alan Knill. Early in 2006 it was announced that the club faced an uncertain future unless a funding gap in the region of £140,000 per month could be plugged. An eleventh-hour intervention by a consortium of local businessmen kept them in business.^[6] The final match of the 2005–06 season, home to MK Dons, was a winner-take-all relegation showdown where a scoreless draw kept Rotherham up. Rotherham United began their second successive year in League One with a 10-point deficit as a result of the CVA which saved the club from liquidation. The club initially pulled the points back but, after losing key playmaker Lee Williamson and star striker Will Hoskins in the January transfer window, the Millers sat 13 points adrift of safety, making the threat of relegation inevitable. This resulted in Knill being sacked on 1 March, with Mark Robins becoming caretaker manager.

Robins's position was made permanent on 6 April 2007,^[7] but he was not able to save Rotherham from relegation. The Millers spent the majority of the 2007–08 season in the automatic promotion places but in mid-March 2008 it was revealed that Rotherham had again entered administration and would be deducted 10 points. Local businessman Tony Stewart then took over as Chairman for the 2008–09 season and took the club out of administration via a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, resulting in a 17-point deduction.^[8] The Millers were subsequently forced to leave Millmoor, their home of over 100 years, for the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, after disputes with the landlords.^[9] The Millers had a successful season under the new regime, wiping out the point deficit and being in contention for a play-off place. Rotherham were also involved in two cup runs, reaching the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Northern Final and the Carling Cup last 16. This included victories over higher league opposition in the form of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester City and Leeds United. Mark Robins kept the majority of the team together from the 2008–09 campaign, whilst bolstering his squad with high calibre signings in the form of Nicky Law, and the prolific goalscorer, Adam le Fondre. The 2009–10 season started well until Mark Robins controversially departed to rivals Barnsley in September. Robins left the Millers at the top of the league.

Ex manager Ronnie Moore was reappointed on Friday 25 September 2009; Jimmy Mullen later being confirmed as his assistant. Ronnie led the club to their first ever play-off final and first trip to the new Wembley Stadium. Despite the occasion, this game ended in a disappointing 3–2 loss. On 22 March 2011, following poor form and a run of 5 games without a win (including a 5–0 defeat to rivals, Chesterfield), Moore and his assistant Jimmy Mullen left Rotherham by mutual consent,^[10] with Andy Liddell placed in temporary charge.^[11] Liddell's first game in temporary charge of the club was a superb 6–0 victory at eventually relegated Lincoln City.

Despite Chairman, Tony Stewart stating that Liddell would be in charge for the remainder of the season, he moved to appoint Andy Scott as the new club manager, following several disappointing results. During the close season, Andy Scott released 13 of the millers squad, surprisingly including key members of the team.^[12] Scott announced that there would be several "marquee" signings to improve the quality of the team, and brought in several players from divisions higher, including Schofield, Raynes, Pringle and Grabban.^[13] After an impressive start to the season, results steadily declined; Andy Scott was subsequently sacked on 19 March 2012 after a defeat to Oxford left the Millers with all but a very slim chance of reaching the Play Offs.

Chairman Tony Stewart had over 40 applicants for the managers vacancy, including Premier League and Championship managers, and appointed Steve Evans on 9th April 2012. Despite winning five of their last nine games since Andy Scott's dismissal, Rotherham still finished 5 points outside the play offs.

Stadia[link]

The club's traditional home is Millmoor in Rotherham. On one side of the ground is the site of the new Main Stand which is unfinished. It was hoped that the 4,500 capacity which is single tiered, all seated and covered, would be completed sometime during the 2006–07 season, but this had not come to fruition by the time the ground had became disused in 2008. On the other side of the ground is the Millmoor Lane Stand, which has a mixture of covered and open seating. Roughly each section on this side is about a third of the length of the pitch. The covered seating in the middle of this stand looks quite distinctive, with several supporting pillars and an arched roof. Both ends are former terraces, with several supporting pillars and have now been made all seated. The larger of the two is the Tivoli End, used by home fans. It was noticeable that the pitch slopes up towards this end. The ground also benefits from a striking set of floodlights, the pylons of which are some of the tallest in the country at approximately 124 feet high. The club left for the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield in 2008.

As of the 2008–09 season Rotherham United relocated to the Don Valley Stadium in nearby Sheffield. The stadium has a total capacity of 25,000 making it one of the largest grounds in League 2. It is now the only league stadium to have a running track around the pitch.

In January 2010 the club announced that their new stadium, later named the New York Stadium, would be built on the former Guest and Chrimes Foundry site in the town centre.^[14] The stadium is planned to open within the next two years with an initial capacity of 12,000, later expansion to 16,000 being possible. [5] Preparation work on the site began in February 2010 to make way for the foundations to be put in place and for the old Guest and Chrimes factory to be knocked down to make way for the Stadium. On 13 April 2010 the first drawings were exhibited showing the stadium will be a single tiered bowl on three sides with a two tier mainstand. The concourse will also be at the back of the stands in a similar fashion to MK Dons' stadium:mk.

Board of directors and ownership[link]

• Chairman: Tony Stewart^[15]
• Vice-Chairman: Terry Stewart
• Chief Executive: Paul Douglas
• Operations Director: Julie Hunt
• Commercial Director: Vacant
• Financial Director: Karen Thomas

Players[link]

As of 09 May 2012.^[16]

Current squad[link]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Jamie Annerson (Transfer Listed) GK Scott Shearer GK Andy Warrington DF Troy Brown DF Ryan Cresswell DF Nicky Hunt DF Johnny Mullins DF Ian Sharps DF Dale Tonge MF Mark Bradley MF Gareth Evans

No. Position Player MF Michael O'Connor MF Ben Pringle MF Mitch Rose MF Danny Schofield MF Jason Taylor FW Alec Denton FW Daniel Nardiello FW Kayode Odejayi FW Alex Revell MF Michael O'Connor

Team management[link]

• Manager: Steve Evans
• Assistant Manager: Paul Raynor
• Goalkeeping Coach: Andy Dibble
• Fitness Coach: Alasdair Lane
• Physiotherapist: Dennis Circuit
• Sports Physiotherapist: Ian Bailey
• Centre of Excellence Manager: Tony Morton

Notable former players[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

This list of "famous" or "notable" sporting persons has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to define clear inclusion criteria and edit the list to contain only subjects that fit that criteria.

The following players have made appearances for their respective national sides or made significant contributions to football at the club level.

See also Category:Rotherham United F.C. players.

Club records[link]

• Record League victory: 8–0 v Oldham at Millmoor, Division 3 North, 26 May 1947)
• Record Cup victory: 6–0 v 6–0 (v Spennymoor Utd, FA Cup 2nd Round, 17 December 1977, v Wolves FA Cup 1st Round, 16 November 1985, & v King's Lynn, FA Cup 2nd Round, 6 December 1997)

• Record defeat: 1–11 v Bradford City, Division 3 North, 25 August 1928)
• Record home attendance at the Millmoor: 25,170 vs Sheff Utd, Football League Second Division, 13 December 1952
• Record home attendance at Don Valley Stadium: 7,082 vs. Aldershot Town (19 May 2010) Football League Two play-offs^[17]
• Record league points : 91, Division 2, 2000–01
• Record league goals: 114, Division 3 (N), 1946–47
• Record League goal-scorer: Gladstone Guest, 130 league goals, between 1946–1956
• Record Cup goal-scorer:
• Highest league scorer in a season:
• Most goals in one match: 5 by Jack Shaw Vs Darlington, 25 November 1950
• Most capped player: Shaun Goater (18 caps for Bermuda)^[18]
• Record appearances: Danny Williams, 459 league matches, 621 total matches
• Youngest player: Kevin Eley, 16 years 71 days, 15 May 1984
• Record Transfer Fee: £150,000 for Alan Lee Lee Glover John Mullin Tom Pope Martin Butler http://www.rotherhamunited-mad.co.uk/feat/edz1/the_150000_men_339941/index.shtml
• Record Fee Received: £850,000 from Cardiff City for Alan Lee
• Record Gate Receipts: £106,182 Southampton FA Cup 3rd Round, 16 January 2002

Managers[link]

Club honours[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009)

FA Cup

• Fifth round – 1953, 1968

Football League Cup

• Runners-up – 1961

Football League Trophy

• Winners – 1996

Football League Third Division/Second Division (third tier)

• Champions – 1980–81
• Runners-up 2000–01

Football League Third Division North

• Champions – 1950–51
• Runners-up – 1946–47, 1947–48 & 1948–49

Football League Fourth Division/Third Division (fourth tier)

• Champions – 1988–89
• Runners-up – 1991–92, 1999–2000

• First team to score in a League Cup Final – 1961 vs Aston Villa^{[citation needed]}
• First team to win a Penalty Shootout in the FA Cup – 1991 vs Scunthorpe United^{[citation needed]}
• Most games won in a single month – 9 wins in February 1982^{[citation needed]}
• First ever black professional footballer – Arthur Wharton^{[citation needed]}

Famous fans[link]

The Chuckle Brothers were named as honorary life club presidents by former chairman Dennis Coleman. The brothers are lifelong supporters and maintain their close support of the football club and attend games whenever possible and appear to do the clubs half time draw at Don Valley on several occasions.^[19]

Premier League and 2010 World Cup Final referee Howard Webb is a Rotherham fan.^[20]

Chris Wolstenholme who is bassist for popular British band Muse is a Millers fan and has appeared on stage in a home shirt on some occasions.^[21]

Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes actor Dean Andrews is a lifelong Rotherham United fan.^[22]

Oli Sykes and Matt Nichols of Bring Me The Horizon are Rotherham fans.

Jamie Oliver adopted Rotherham as his 2nd team during filming of his ministry of food series. He appeared at a game in a Rotherham united shirt.^[23] After the game he cooked up some food for the fans outside the stadium.

Sponsorship[link]

The club's shirt manufacturer is Puma, with the club having a sponsor for both the home and away kits. The Home shirt is sponsored by local shopping centre Parkgate Shopping. The Away shirt is sponsored by Rotherham One Town One Community. The back of the home shirt is sponsored by Perrys car dealership and the away shirt is sponsored by Sports Identity.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Past Players – biographies and appearance statistics, Official Site

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since April 2010. It needs to be updated. Tagged since April 2010.

Coordinates: 53°25′48″N 1°21′26″W / 53.4301°N 1.3572°W / 53.4301; -1.3572

Rotherham
Rotherham Town Hall
Rotherham  Rotherham shown within South Yorkshire
Population	117,262 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SK4392
Metropolitan borough	Rotherham
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ROTHERHAM
Postcode district	S60–S63, S65–S66
Dialling code	01709 0114 01909
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Rotherham ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, Rotherham, at 6 miles (10 km) from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. According to the 2001 Census the population of Rotherham at that time was 117,262.

History[link]

Early history[link]

Rotherham in the late Mediaeval period

Although there were Iron Age and Roman settlements in the area covered by the town, Rotherham was not founded until the early Middle Ages. It established itself as a key Saxon market town, lying on a Roman road near a forded part of the River Don.^[1]

By the late Saxon period, Rotherham was at the centre of a large parish on both sides of the River Don. Following the Norman Conquest, an absentee lord, Nigel Fossard, was put in place. His successors the De Vescis rarely visited the town and did not build a castle or contribute to the town's civic life, but maintained a Friday market and a fair. In the mid 13th century, John de Vesci and Ralph de Tili gave all their possessions in Rotherham to Rufford Abbey. The monks collected tithes from the town and gained rights to an additional market day on Monday and to extend the annual fair from two to three days.^[2]

The townsmen of Rotherham formed the "Greaves of Our Lady's Light", an organisation which worked with the town's three guilds. It was suppressed in 1547 but revived in 1584 as the Feoffees of the Common Lands of Rotherham, and remains in existence.^[2]

In the 1480s the Rotherham-born Archbishop of York, Thomas Rotherham, instigated the building of The College of Jesus to rival the colleges of Cambridge and Oxford. It was the first brick building in what is now South Yorkshire and taught theology, singing, grammar and writing.^[2]

The College and new parish church of All Saints made Rotherham an enviable and modern town at the turn of the 16th century. The college was dissolved in 1547 in the reign of Edward VI, its assets stripped for the crown. Much of the college building remains intact but hidden from view in the town centre.^[2] By the end of the 16th century, Rotherham had fallen from a fashionable college town to a notorious haven of gambling and vice. The history of Thomas Rotherham and education in the town are remembered in the name of Thomas Rotherham College.^[3]

Memorial brass of the Swift family, All Saints Church, Rotherham, later owners of Broom Hall

Industrial Revolution[link]

The region had been exploited for iron since Roman times, but it was coal that first brought the Industrial Revolution to Rotherham. Exploitation of the coal seams was the driving force behind the improvements to navigation on the River Don, which eventually formed the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation system of navigable inland waterways.

Rotherham iron was very highly regarded for its strength. Iron, and later steel, became the principal industry in Rotherham, surviving into the 20th century. The Walker family built an iron and steel empire in the 18th century, their foundries producing high quality cannon, including some for the ship of the line HMS Victory, and cast iron bridges, one of which was commissioned by Thomas Paine.^[4]

Rotherham's cast iron industry expanded rapidly in the early 19th century, the Effingham Ironworks, later Yates, Haywood & Co, opened in 1820. Other major iron-founders included William Corbitt and Co; George Wright and Co of Burton Weir; Owen and Co of Wheathill Foundry; Morgan Macauley and Waide of the Baths Foundry; the Masbro’ Stove Grate Co belonging to Messrs. Perrot, W. H. Micklethwait and John and Richard Corker of the Ferham Works.

The Parkgate Ironworks was established in 1823 by Sanderson and Watson, and changed ownership several times. In 1854, Samuel Beal & Co produced wrought iron plates for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's famous steamship the SS Great Eastern.^[5] In 1864, the ironworks was taken over by the Parkgate Iron Co. Ltd, becoming the Park Gate Iron and Steel Company in 1888. The company was purchased by Tube Investments Ltd in 1956 and closed in 1974. Steel, Peech and Tozer's massive Templeborough steelworks (now the Magna Science Adventure Centre) was, at its peak, over a mile (1.6 km) long, employing 10,000 workers, and housing six electric arc furnaces producing 1.8 million tonnes of steel a year. The operation closed down in 1993.

Joseph Foljambe established a factory to produce his Rotherham plough, the first commercially successful iron plough.^[6]

A glass works was set up in Rotherham in 1751, and became Beatson Clark & Co, one of the town's largest manufacturers, exporting glass medicine bottles worldwide. Beatson Clark & Co was a family business until 1961, when it became a public company. The glass works operated on the same site, although the family connection ceased and the company is owned by Newship Ltd, a holding company linked to the industrialist John Watson Newman. It continues to the manufacture glass containers for the pharmaceutical, food and drinks industries.^[7] In the 19th century, other successful industries included pottery, brass making and the manufacture of cast iron fireplaces. Precision manufacturing companies in the town include AESSEAL, Newburgh Engineering, Precision Magnetics, Orkot Composites and Darron Oil Tools SBO. Rotherham is the location of the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

Milling grain into flour was a traditional industry in Rotherham, formerly in the Millmoor area, hence Rotherham United F.C.'s nickname "The Millers". Flour milling continued at the Rank Hovis town mill site on Canklow Road^[8] until September 2008.^[9] The site of the mill is a warehousing and distribution facility for Premier Foods.

Floods of 2007[link]

Ulley reservoir

Rotherham was affected by the floods in the summer of 2007, which brought disruption to the town, closed roads, schools, the local transport system and damaged personal and commercial property. The Parkgate Shopping centre was flooded, with shops suffering damage and losing stock. Ulley Reservoir caused major concern when its dam showed signs of structural damage, threatening to break and release the water into Canklow, Catcliffe, Treeton, Whiston areas and an electrical sub-station serving Sheffield.^[10] Rother FM evacuated its studios in the danger area, causing its sister station, Trax FM, to broadcast on the Rother FM frequency. Fire service and police officers used thirteen high-powered pumps to lower the water level in the reservoir and reduce pressure on the dam wall, which was damaged but held. By summer 2008, the reservoir and surrounding country park reopened.

A new wetland and flood storage area, Centenary Washlands, has since been built by Rotherham Council and the Environment Agency to prevent flooding in the future. Sheffield Wildlife Trust manages the site as a local nature reserve.

Governance[link]

Like most of South Yorkshire, Rotherham is a Labour Party stronghold. Its seat in the House of Commons has been held by Labour MPs continuously since a by-election in 1933. Denis MacShane, the current Member of Parliament for Rotherham, has held the seat since a by-election in 1994 precipitated by the death in office of James Boyce.

Economy[link]

Rotherham is amongst the leaders in advanced manufacturing in the UK. The main Corus Engineering Steels (CES) plant produces steel for products worldwide, including Renault Formula One cars and the Airbus A380 "super jumbo" aeroplane. The smaller (CNS) site based close to the old Templeborough Melting Shop & Rolling Mills site produces hot rolled narrow strip to high tolerances for the aeronautical and agricultural industries. The future of the steel industry in Rotherham is in doubt in light of the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Rotherham's economic reliance on supplying the automobile industry with raw steel led to the announcement of a significant scale-back of operations in January 2009. This, combined with the closure of Rotherham's Burberry clothing factory led to the most significant economic crisis in the borough since the 1980s.

Over the next 20 years, Rotherham is expected to receive £2 billion in investment from private industry. The town's economy, when combined with that of Sheffield, is growing faster than Leeds and Manchester.^[11] In July 2010, statistics from Yorkshire Forward showed that Rotherham had attracted new investment and industry from abroad.^[12] The Advanced Manufacturing Park has attracted major companies including Rolls Royce and Castings Technology International (Cti). Technology developed on the AMP is utilised in leading edge projects within Formula One and the next generation of military and commercial aircraft, including the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Because of Rotherham's proximity to the Meadowhall Centre in the Lower Don Valley, and Sheffield city centre, it does not have a wide range of big name stores for a town its size. The town centre includes major high street stores, several independent stores, markets, cafes, restaurants and bars. Shops include a large Tesco, JD Sports, New Look and Primark. There are indoor and outdoor markets and a street market during the week. There are restaurants, cafes and bars around the town centre.^[13] Outside the centre is Parkgate Shopping Park, which is linked to the town centre by a free shuttle bus.

Regeneration[link]

2007 saw the start of an urban regeneration project known as the "Rotherham Renaissance". The project aimed at creating a vibrant town centre and included apartments, shops, outdoor cafés, and a new theatre.^[14] The project was developed from European Union Objective 1 funding. As of July 2010^[update], The Old Market and Keppel Wharf on the waterfront are open and include a mix of apartments, with retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. The old market building has won design awards. Also complete is Imperial Buildings which was renovated and reopened. A leisure complex and a NHS health village on the waterfront have opened.

New council headquarters incorporating a Customer Service Centre, Cafe, Library and Gallery Space will open in Riverside House on the former Guest & Chrimes factory site by April 2012. Rotherham United football club is building a new 12,000 seat stadium on the adjacent site. Rotherham Central railway station is being rebuilt. Forge Island (the current Tesco site) will form an anchor project containing a Cultural Quarter with retail space, theatre, library and arts centre when Tesco has moved to a new base in the Commercial Quarter.^[15] All Saints Building has been demolished.

Transport[link]

Rotherham is connected to the rest of the country by the M1 and the M18 motorways.

Geography[link]

This section requires expansion.

Beyond the town centre and away from the Don Valley, the Rotherham district is largely rural, containing a mixture of farming and mining communities as well as the large Wentworth Woodhouse estate, where the last surviving kiln of the Rockingham Pottery can be seen.

Demography[link]

Landmarks[link]

Rotherham Minster

Rotherham Minster in All Saints Square dates from the 15th century and includes parts from earlier Saxon and Norman structures. It was described by Pevsner as "the best perpendicular church in the country", and by Simon Jenkins as "the best work in the county".

Close to the town centre is the 15th century Chapel of Our Lady of Rotherham Bridge (or "Chapel on the Bridge"), beside Chantry Bridge (a road bridge opened in the 1930s). It is one of four surviving bridge chapels in the country. The chapel was restored in 1923, having been used as the town jail and a tobacconist's shop.

Boston Castle

Built in the 18th century, Clifton House houses Clifton Park Museum. The remains of the 16th century College of Jesus are in the town centre. Boston Castle, in the grounds of Boston Park, was built as a hunting lodge by Thomas, 3rd Earl of Effingham between 1773 and 1774 to mark his opposition to British attempts to crush the Americans in their war for independence. It is named after Boston, Massachusetts, the scene of the Boston Tea Party.^[17]

On the outskirts of Rotherham, a brick built glass making furnace, the Catcliffe Glass Cone, is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Western Europe and one of four remaining in the United Kingdom - the other surviving cones can be found in Wordsley in the West Midlands, Lemington Glass Works and Alloa in Scotland. Threatened with demolition in the 1960s, it has been preserved as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and stands as a focal point in a sheltered housing complex. At Maltby near Rotherham, the medieval ruins of the Cistercian Roche Abbey are a popular tourist destination.

Culture and attractions[link]

Museums[link]

Furnace at the Magna Centre, Rotherham

The Magna Science Adventure Centre, an interactive science and adventure centre built in a former steel works in Templeborough, has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region.^[18]

Clifton Park Museum medium-sized municipal museum situated in Clifton Park. Admission is free.

Entertainment[link]

The Civic Theatre and an Arts Centre is in the town centre.

The Westgate district of the town centre is home to many pubs, bars and clubs and is the focal point of Rotherham's nightlife. .

Events[link]

Rotherhams holds several public event through the year:- A fashion show Rotherham Rocks in July, takes place in 'All Saints Square' and Rotherham by the Sea, in August, is held in the same location, where it is transformed into a seaside beach with sand, deckchairs and other traditional seaside attractions. Rotherham Show is an annual event, held in Clifton Park, with stalls from all sectors of the community, shows and live bands.

Parks[link]

Clifton park, in the town centre, includes sport facilities, an outdoor paddling pool, a small fairground and an adventure park.

Minster Gardens, is an urban park in the heart of the town centre, next to Rotherham Minster and All Saints Square. It has an amphitheatre and space for open air events, with stepped seating, lawns, grass terracing and a meadow area.

In popular culture[link]

Jamie Oliver's television series Jamie's Ministry of Food, broadcast on Channel 4 in 2008 was based in Rotherham. He aimed to make Rotherham "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" by his 'Pass it on' scheme. He tried to teach people to cook fresh food and establish healthy eating as part of daily life.^[19] The town is mentioned in the Arctic Monkeys' song "Fake Tales of San Francisco" in the lyric, "Yeah I'd love to tell you all my problem. You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham".

Rotherham has produced many classic and progressive rock bands, supported by the Classic Rock Society, such as Deadline, Saxon, Jive Bunny, Bring Me the Horizon, and Disarm.

Sport[link]

Rotherham United Football Club play in Football League Two. The team currently play at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield whilst a new stadium is being built on the town centre's Guest & Chrimes site. Historically the town was represented by Rotherham Town and Rotherham County, who both played in the Football League.

Rotherham Titans rugby union team reached the Guinness Premiership in 1999 and 2003 before being relegated. The club plays at the Clifton Lane Sports Ground. The town is also represented in rugby league by the Rotherham Giants of the Rugby League Conference.

Formula One team Virgin Racing are based in Dinnington in the borough. ChampCar and former Formula One driver Justin Wilson is from Woodall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham.^[20] Motorcycle speedway racing was staged in the town about 1930.

Hurdler Chris Rawlinson, Olympic gold medallist sailor Paul Goodison, Olympic silver medallist Peter Elliott and former England goalkeeper David Seaman are from Rotherham.

Freedom of the borough[link]

The Mayor of Rotherham, Cllr Shaukat Ali and Col Simon Newton, Yorkshire Regiment

On Monday 3 August 2009 Rotherham became the first town to bestow the Freedom of the Borough on the Yorkshire Regiment, giving it the right to march through the town with "flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed". At a ceremony outside the Town Hall, the Regiment paraded two Guards of soldiers who had recently returned from Iraq and the Colours of the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's), led by the Kings Division Band, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vallings, the battalion commanding officer. The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Shaukat Ali, on behalf of the borough, presented the Freedom Scroll to Colonel Simon Newton, who accepted the honour for the regiment. The regiment is the only military unit to become Honorary Freemen of the Borough.

Notable people[link]

Comedian Sandy Powell was born in Rotherham. The town has produced several other entertainers who started on the Working men's club circuit, such as Duggie Brown. Christopher Wolstenholme of Muse and Dean Andrews, of Life On Mars, and artist Margaret Clarkson were all born in Rotherham.^[21] Rob McVeigh, a contestant on Any Dream Will Do hails from Rotherham.

Rotherham is the hometown of the Chuckle Brothers, Arsenal and England goalkeeper David Seaman, along with World Cup and English Premier League referee Howard Webb. Actors Liz White and Ryan Sampson also hail from Rotherham, as does former Conservative Party leader William Hague and Sir Donald Coleman Bailey. Presenter James May grew up in Rotherham.

Twin towns[link]

Rotherhams official twin town is:

• Saint-Quentin, France^[22]

Partner towns[link]

Rotherham has three partner towns:^[23]

• Cluj-Napoca, Romania
• Riesa, Germany
• Zabrze, Poland

See also[link]

Yorkshire portal

• Rotherham Tramway
• Trolleybuses in Rotherham

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rotherham

Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Rotherham.

• Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
• Boston Castle, Rotherham, website
• Rotherham in the Domesday Book

Trevor John Berry (born 1 August 1974) in Haslemere, England, is a retired English professional footballer who played as a midfileder for various teams in the Football League.

References[link]

• Hugman, Barry (2005). The PFA Premier and Football League Players' Records 1946-2005. Queen Anne Press. 
• Trevor Berry career stats at Soccerbase

Ben Pringle

Personal information
Full name	Ben Pringle
Date of birth	(1989-05-27) 27 May 1989 (age 23)
Place of birth	Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Rotherham United
Number	18
Youth career
	Wallsend Boys Club
2006–2007	West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2007–2008	Newcastle Blue Star
2007–2008	Morpeth Town
2008–2009	Ilkeston Town	42	(4)
2009–2011	Derby County	20	(0)
2011	→ Torquay United (loan)	5	(0)
2011–	Rotherham United	21	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:58, 12 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Ben Pringle is an English professional footballer, who currently plays as a midfielder for Rotherham United.

Early career[link]

Pringle started his career as a trainee with West Bromwich Albion, and later played for Newcastle Blue Star and Morpeth Town. He then joined Ilkeston Town.^[1]

At Ilkeston he made a total of 54 competitive first team appearances,^[2]scoring 6 goals.^[3]

Derby County[link]

In May 2009 it was announced he was moving to Derby County on a one year deal, with the move set to be completed in July.^[1]

He made his Derby debut as an 80th-minute substitute against Peterborough United on August 8, 2009. The following game of the 2009/2010 football season, Pringle started his first game for Derby in the Carling Cup 2–1 loss to League Two side Rotherham United. Pringle signed an extension to his Derby deal to take him through to the end of the 2010–11 season on December 11, 2009.^[4] Pringle was captain of the Derby County reserves side that won the 2009/10 Central League Central Section title and was also named the club's Young Player of the Season for the campaign.^[5] He was handed his first League start in the final game of the 2009/2010 season against Cardiff City in a 2–0 win and earned the supporter's Man of the Match award. In February 2011, Pringle's contract was extened until summer 2012.^[6]

In March 2011, Pringle joined League Two outfit Torquay United on a months loan.^[7] Pringle spent just 19 days of the loan at Torquay, playing five games, but returned to Derby after expressing a desire to fight for a place in the Derby first team rather than remain at Plainmoor.^[8] Despite having had his contract extended three months earlier, at the end of the 2010/11 campaign, Pringle was told he was free to find another club.^[9]

Rotherham United[link]

On June 3, 2011, it was revealed he had agreed personal terms with Rotherham United.^[10] The transfer was confirmed later that day, with Pringle joining The Millers on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.^[11] He made his first team debut for Rotherham at home to Oxford United on 6 August 2011, and scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 win over Crewe Alexandra on 16 August.^[12] He had made 9 appearances for Rotherham up until mid-October but following his substitute appearance versus Bristol Rovers he had not played again for them as of mid-February.^[12] However, he was an unused sub in Rotherham's game against Burton Albion on 18 February.^[13]

Achievements[link]

with Ilkeston Town

• Northern Premier League Premier Division Runners-Up 2008/09
• Northern Premier League Premier Division Playoff Winners 2008/09
• Supporters' Player of the Year 2008/09^[14]

with Derby County

• Sammy Crooks Young Player of the Year Award 2009/10^[5]

Statistics[link]

(as of 20 February 2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ben Pringle

• Ben Pringle career stats at Soccerbase