Rotherham
a manufacturing town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on the Don, here joined by the Rother; 5 miles E. N. E. of Sheffield.
Its chief glory is the magnificent cruciform church, Perpendicular in style, with crocketed spire and fine W. front. It is probably somewhat earlier than its reputed founder, Thomas de Rotherham, Archbishop of York (1423-1500); in 1875 it was restored by Sir G. G. Scott.
A handsome edifice in the Collegiate Gothic style, built for an independent college in 1875, has been bought and applied to the purpose of a grammar school (1843), at which Bishop Sanderson was educated. There are also a mechanics' institute (1853); a free library (1881); an infirmary (1870); a covered market (1879); public baths (1887); a park (1876) of 20 acres, 300 feet above the town; and the Clifton Park of 57 acres. The manufactures include stoves, grates, chemicals, pottery, glass, railway carriages, etc. Ebenezer Elliott was a native of the suburb of Masborough, which is included within the municipal boundary, incorporated in 1871. Roche Abbey, a ruin, 8 miles E. S. E., was a Cistercian foundation (1147); and 8 miles N. E. is Conisborough Castle. Pop. (1919) 71,913.