Hoyland is a town 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 ...
in
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. The town developed from the hamlets of Upper Hoyland, Hoyland, and Hoyland Common.
The town has also been known as ''Nether Hoyland''. When the
urban district council was formed the name they used was ''Hoyland Nether Urban District Council''. This was also applied to the area run by Hoyland UDC. However, most locals have always known it simply as Hoyland. Hoyland Nether comprised Hoyland Town, Hoyland Common, Upper Hoyland, Elsecar, Milton, Platts Common and Wentworth.
Hoyland is part of 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 ...
in the
metropolitan county
Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...
of
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 ...
, but it lies within the
historic boundaries 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 ...
. In 2001 it had a population of 15,497. At the 2011 Census the appropriate ward (Hoyland Milton) had a population of 11,852.
Governance

Hoyland Nether UDC was formed in 1894. Its jurisdiction covered
Elsecar
Elsecar (, ) is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is near to Jump, South Yorkshire, Jump and Wentworth, South Yorkshire, Wentworth, it is also south of Hoyland, south of Barnsley and north-east ...
, Hoyland Common, Platts Common and Skiers Hall (until 1938, when boundary changes took place Alderthwaite and part of Harley) were administered by Hoyland. This land was exchanged with Rotherham RDC for some land in Brampton Bierlow, which included the site of Elsecar Main Colliery, as well as Hoyland itself. It lasted until 1974 at which point it was merged into
Barnsley MBC.
Hoyland Town Hall is still standing and its upper floors have been converted into apartments.
Buildings

The town is home to an 18th-century folly called
Lowe Stand, built as a lookout and hunting lodge shortly before his death by the first
Marquess of Rockingham
Marquess of Rockingham, in the County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family ...
, at the highest point in the area some 593 ft above sea level.
On the sloping ground below this folly is Upper Hoyland Hall, the former home of a notable family of yeoman farmers, the Townends, who owned extensive land in Hoyland.
The
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
parish church is St Peter's, a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
dating from 1830. It is in the
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
style and is built of sandstone and slate roofed.
[British Listed Buildings]
Church of St Peter, Hoyland Retrieved 2 January 2017 The
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 (1929) is of brick and tile construction in the Italian
Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
, with a square bell tower.
[taking-stock.org.uk]
Hoyland Sacred Heart and St Helen Retrieved 2 January 2017 The former Princess Theatre on West Street is a brick building dating from 1893.
[theatrestrust.org.uk]
Princess (Hoyland) Retrieved 2 January 2017
Among Hoyland's remaining notable older residences and former residences are Hoyland Hall, a late Georgian property, situated in a small park off Market Street and sometime home to
William Vizard, first owner of Hoyland Silkstone Colliery, who was the attorney to Queen Caroline at her celebrated trial in the House of Lords. Also in or off Market Street are Kirk House, Kirk Cottage, Bark House, Thistle House and Riversdale. Netherfield House is situated near the town centre and Hoyland's oldest known surviving residence and at one time the home of a Townend, being in recent years used as a dentist's, is situated in West Street (formerly Finkle Street). Many of Hoyland's fine Georgian properties, consisting of cottages, shops and chapels were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s.
File:St Peter's Church, Hoyland 2014.jpg, St Peter's C of E Parish Church
File:St Helen's Catholic Church, Hoyland 2014.jpg, Sacred Heart & St Helen's Catholic Church
File:Wesleyan Church, Hoyland 2014.jpg, Former Wesleyan Chapel
File:Former Princess Theatre, Hoyland 2014.jpg, Former Princess Theatre
File:Hare and Hounds, Hoyland 2014.jpg, Hare & Hounds
File:Prospect Tavern, Hoyland 2014.jpg, Prospect Tavern
Education
* Greenfield Primary School
* Hoyland Common Primary School
* Hoyland Springwood Primary School
* Hoyland West Meadows Primary School
* Kirk Balk Academy
* St Helen's Catholic Primary School, founded in 1897
Notable people
*
Tommy Boyle (1886–1940), footballer, born in Platts Common. Tommy's death in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
led to him being buried in an unmarked grave in Hoyland Cemetery. In 2010, his grave was located and a granite headstone erected.
*
Barry Hines, (1939-2016), writer, born and brought up in Hoyland Common. Hoyland area is mentioned in the film of his script, ''
The Gamekeeper''. The Hoyland Nether area was used extensively for the filming of
Kes.
*
John Mayock, Olympic athlete, educated at St Helen's Catholic School and Kirk Balk Comprehensive School.
*
Brian Wildsmith, artist specialising in illustrating children's books, born and brought up in Hoyland Common and educated at St.Helen's Catholic School, Hoyland
*
Harry Worth (1917–1989), comedian was born and brought up in Fitzwilliam Street.
Sport
Hoyland has had as many as five football teams compete in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
- Hoyland Town F.C., Hoyland Silkstone F.C., Hoyland Common Wesleyans F.C., Hoyland St. Peter's F.C. and
Hoyland Common Athletic F.C.
Tony Fieldsend Rockingham Athletic Club.
See also
*
High Hoyland
*
Listed buildings in Rockingham
References
Further reading
*Geoffrey Howse Around Hoyland Sutton Publishing (1999)
*Geoffrey Howse Around Hoyland A Second Selection (2000)
*Geoffrey Howse Around Hoyland People & Places Sutton Publishing (2002)
*Sheila Margaret Ottley WHILE MARTHA TOLD THE HOURS Bridge Publications (1988)
*Arthur K Clayton,BEM Hoyland Nether (unpublished but available bound for reference purposes in local libraries) authoritative and accurate.
External links
{{authority control
Towns in South Yorkshire
Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley