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Barnsley Town Hall, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barnsley_Town_Hall_(1).jpgAuthor: Tony
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main town and administrative center of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley. Barnsley has a population of around 75,000 people (2012 estimate).
Barnsley was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until the change in boundaries in 1974. It first appeared in history though listing in the Domesday Book of 1086. The manor of Barnsley was granted to the St John Monastery in Pontefract in the 1150s. It received a market charter in 1249, permitting it to hold a weekly market on Wednesdays and an annual four-day fair at Michaelmas.
Being on the route between Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and London helped Barnsley to develop as a trading center. By the 18th century it was also a center for linen weaving and later glass making. The coal minings around town provided fuel for its industries. All these mines are now closed.
After a period of high unemployment brought about by the mine closures, Barnsley on a whole today enjoys relatively low unemployment, due partly to regeneration programs in place. The town has a number of national retail outlets including Marks & Spencer, The Body Shop, Boots, WH Smith and HMV.
Monk Bretton Priory, Lundwood, Barnsley: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_gatehouse,_Monk_Bretton_Priory_2_.jpgAuthor: Tony Grist
Visiting Barnsley
From London, take the M1 motorway. Exit the motorway at Junction 37, then head east on the A628 road to reach Barnsley.Places of Interest in Barnsley
- Barnsley Town Hall: Civic building completed in 1933,
- Cannon Hall: Country house museum between Cawthorne and High Hoyland, to the north of Barnsley. It dates to the 13th century and houses the Regimental Museum of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and the Light Dragoons.
- Houndhill: Fortified manor house in Worsbrough, Barnsley, today a Grade II* listed building.
- Monk Bretton Priory: Ruins of a monastery under the Cluniac order in Lundwood, Barnsley.
- Pot House Hamlet: Former center for glass works in Silkstone, South Yorkshire.
- The Mall Barnsley: Originally the Alhambra Shopping Centre, this is the main shopping mall in town.
- Wentworth Castle: Stately home and former seat of the Earls of Strafford, located near Barnsley.
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Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. While I try my best to provide you information that is as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors. Also, as I might not be able to update some information on time, some of these pages may contain outdated information.
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