Wombwell

Wombwell
High Street, Wombwell
Wombwell  Wombwell shown within South Yorkshire
Population	11,477
OS grid reference	SE399028
Metropolitan borough	Barnsley
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BARNSLEY
Postcode district	S73
Dialling code	01226
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Barnsley East
List of places UK England Yorkshire

Wombwell (pronounced locally as Wum-well) is a small town near Barnsley, located in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 11,477.

Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, its name's origin may mean "Womba's Well", or "well in a hollow".

Wombwell railway station (formerly Wombwell West) serves the Penistone and Hallam lines. Until 1959 it had another station (Wombwell Central) on the Barnsley-Doncaster line that was closed when that line lost its passenger service.

Wombwell was home to two collieries; Wombwell Main and Mitchells Main.

Wombwell is close to the large shopping and leisure facilities of Cortonwood, and also has a number of local business from cafes to travel agents and high street chains like Wilkinson's on High Street.

Education

• Netherwood Advanced Learning Centre established in 2012 from a merger of Wombwell High School and Darfield Foulstone School
• St Michael and All Angels Catholic Primary School, located on Stonyford Road, was established in 1903
• Kings Oak Primary Learning Centre, established in 2007 from a merger of Kings Road Infant School and Oakfield Junior School
• High View Primary Learning Centre, established in 2007 from a merger of Highfields Junior School and Wood View Infant School
• Park Street Primary Learning Centre

Sport

The town has had a number of football teams -

• Wombwell Town (I) - The first to represent the village in the FA Cup, in 1896. Won the inaugural Yorkshire League in 1899. Dissolved in the 1900s.
• Wombwell Rising Star F.C. - Defunct team who entered the FA Cup just once, in 1904
• Wombwell - Formed in 1920. Played in the Midland League and reached the 1st Round of the FA Cup in 1930, but dissolved in 1934.
• Wombwell Town (II) - Three times Yorkshire League champions, dissolved in 2000. Previously known as Wombwell Athletic, Wombwell & Darfield and Wombwell Sporting Association.
• Wombwell Main - The sole senior club in the village today, competing in the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League.

Mark Jones, one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958, is buried in Wombwell Cemetery, having been born locally in 1933.

Roy Kilner, Yorkshire CCC and England cricketer was born in Wombwell and is buried in Wombwell Cemetery.

Earliest recorded scrying

William Byg (alias Lech) of Wombwell is credited with the first ever recorded case of scrying in modern Europe. This confession was recorded on 22 August 1467. He was said to have earned a living by finding stolen property with the help of his crystal ball for over a period of two years, and was eventually charged with heresy. Scholars have researched and examined, until modern times, Byg's description of his own scrying. His description matches many scying examples and methods which occurred later, and his work is considered authentic by those who believe it is possible to find property by paranormal means.

Floods

Parts of Wombwell were affected by the 2007 floods in the UK. The River Dove breached its banks on Friday 15 June and then again on Monday 25 June. Many homes and businesses were flooded.

Other sources

• Basterman, T. (1924), Crystal gazing: a study in the history, distribution, theory and practice of scrying, London: William Rider.

External links

• St Michael and All Angels School website
• Photo website featuring Wombwell / Hoyland etc