26 Facts About Barnsley

1.

Barnsley is a market town in South Yorkshire, England.

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2.

The origin of the name Barnsley is subject to debate, but Barnsley Council claims that its origins lie in the Saxon word "Berne", for barn or storehouse, and "Lay", for field.

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3.

In 1249, a Royal charter was granted to Barnsley permitting it to hold a weekly market on Wednesdays and annual four-day fair at Michaelmas.

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4.

Barnsley station was located some 2½ miles away at Cudworth.

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5.

Barnsley became a municipal borough in 1869, and a county borough in 1913.

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6.

Barnsley was the site of a human crush that resulted in the deaths of 16 children in 1908, at a public hall now known as The Civic, when children were rushing to watch a film in the building.

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7.

Barnsley has a long tradition of glass-making, however Barnsley is most famous for its coal mines.

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8.

Barnsley arrived in the town on 11 March 1936 and spent a number of days in the town living in the houses of the working class miners while researching for the book.

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9.

Barnsley wrote very critically of the council's expenditure on the construction of Barnsley Town Hall and claimed that the money should have been spent on improving the housing and living conditions of the local miners.

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10.

Barnsley was created a county borough in 1913, administered independently of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

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11.

In 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, the county borough was abolished and Barnsley became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in the new county of South Yorkshire, along with nine urban districts and parts of two rural districts of the surrounding area, including many towns and villages including Penistone and Cudworth.

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12.

Barnsley is located in the valley of the River Dearne at the eastern foothills of the Pennines, near the uplands of the Peak District to the west.

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13.

Barnsley is within a green belt region that extends into the borough and wider surrounding counties.

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14.

Major companies in Barnsley include online retailer ASOS, the largest cake bakery in Europe, Premier Foods who make the Mr Kipling Cake brand, Ardagh Glass, Symphony Kitchens, Premdor, several double glazing joinery manufacturers and a number of other large food manufacturers.

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15.

Barnsley College is situated on a number of sites throughout the town centre, chiefly Old Mill Lane campus, SciTech Centre, Honeywell Sports campus, CUBE Construction Centre and STEM Centre.

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16.

All 14 secondary schools in Barnsley were demolished and replaced by academy education centres, named 'SuperSchools'.

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17.

Barnsley is home to a tradition of brass bands, which were originally created as social clubs for the mining communities.

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18.

Barnsley was nominated for a chair of poetry at Oxford University, and appears on BBC Radio 4.

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19.

Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes was set and filmed in several villages in Barnsley, including Lundwood and Monk Bretton, using local actors such as Freddie Fletcher.

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20.

Barnsley is the home of several live music venues such as The Underground, The Garrison, The Old No 7 and The Old School House.

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21.

Barnsley formerly hosted the Barnsley Origin Music festival, an outdoor summer music festival which catered for local and national artists.

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22.

Barnsley Council operates five museums, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Cannon Hall, the Cooper Gallery Worsbrough Mill and Experience Barnsley which opened in the Town Hall in 2015.

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23.

Civic, in Barnsley town centre, is a multi-purpose performance venue in a grade II listed building, The Civic was re-opened in March 2009 after a major redevelopment.

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24.

Also in Barnsley, there is a women's football team called Barnsley WFC, who currently play in the North East Regional Women's Football League Premier Division.

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25.

Also based at the Miners Welfare, Barnsley Broncos were set up to play in the less intense summer season.

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26.

Peoples Sport in Barnsley is a project writing the history of participation in sport in Barnsley is in progress and is expected to be complete in 2015.

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