Bolton upon Dearne is a village in the

Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Wombwell, Worsbrough, Penistone and Hoyland. The borough is bisected by the M1 mo ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, England, in the part of the

Dearne Valley The Dearne Valley () is an area of South Yorkshire, England, along the River Dearne. It encompasses the towns of Wombwell, Wath-upon-Dearne, Swinton, Conisbrough and Mexborough, the large villages of Ardsley, Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe ...

through which the

River Dearne The River Dearne in South Yorkshire, England flows roughly east for more than , from its source just inside West Yorkshire. It flows through Denby Dale, Clayton West, Darton, Barnsley, Darfield, South Yorkshire, Darfield, Wath upon Dearne, Bolto ...

passes.

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, it is approximately east of

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, west of

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

and north of

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

History

Bolton upon Dearne was an ancient

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. It was recorded in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'' as part of the Manor of Bolton-upon-Dearne with

Goldthorpe Goldthorpe is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was anciently a small medieval farming village, Goldthorpe is recorded in the ''Domesday Book ...

which was owned by

Roger de Busli Roger de Busli (c. 1038 – c. 1099) was a Anglo-Normans, Norman baron who participated in the Norman conquest of England, conquest of England in 1066. Life Roger de Busli was born in or around 1038. His surname comes from the town now known as B ...

. In the early 18th century Barnsley attorney William Henry Marsden

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

of Burntwood Hall bought the Manor of Bolton on Dearne with Goldthorpe with over 1,000 acres (4 km²) of land for £10,000. Bolton upon Dearne and Goldthorpe are recorded in the 1761–1767

Inclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

Awards. The Marsden family continued to hold the manor until 1815. Bolton upon Dearne became part of Doncaster Rural District under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

until 1899, when it became a separate urban district. Bolton upon Dearne Urban District was abolished in 1937 under a

County Review Order The Local Government Act 1929 ( 19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 17) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales. The act abolished the system of poor law unions in England ...

, becoming part of the large Dearne Urban District, along with

Thurnscoe Thurnscoe is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Dearne North ward of the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, and along with Goldthorpe and Bolton upon Dearne is part o ...

and part of Barnburgh parish. On 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished to form Dearne. In 1931 the parish had a population of 14,245. It is now in the

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

of Dearne. At the 2011 Census the village in the Dearne South Ward of the Barnsley Metropolitan Council had a population of 6,744.

Facilities

The village is served by

Bolton-on-Dearne railway station Bolton-upon-Dearne railway station serves the village of Bolton upon Dearne in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Wakefield Line north of Sheffield railway station. History Bolton-upon-Dearne railway station was opened by the Sw ...

. which is on the Wakefield Line, with services to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, Wakefield Westgate,

, Meadowhall and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. There are three primary schools in the village: Carrfield School, Heather Garth Primary School and Lacewood. The main secondary school in the area is Astrea Academy Dearne, which caters for around 1,200 pupils aged 11 to 16 years. The Church of St Andrew the Apostle is on the corner of High Street and Angel Street. It was a 10th-century church with alterations made throughout the centuries. There is a

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

on Furlong Road founded in 1832. There was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church on Station Road. However, this closed in the late 1980s, and became an electrical goods shop.

Sport

The village has two rugby teams. Dearne Valley Bulldogs ARLFC founded in 2001 and Dearne Valley Rufc founded in 2023. Two football teams from the village have competed in the FA Cup: Bolton Athletic F.C. and Bolton United F.C.

Notable people

* George Unwin, sergeant pilot during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, later wing commander *

The Sherlocks The Sherlocks are an indie rock band from South Yorkshire. The band consists of brothers, Kiaran & Brandon Crook along with Alex Procter & Trent Jackson. History Early career The band formed in the summer of 2010 in the village of Bolton upo ...

, an indie rock and roll band whose first studio album ''Live for the Moment'' (2017) charted at number six in the UK.

References

External links