Domesday
Thrybergh was another of the Rotherham area estates that had belonged to Northmann before the Conquest. In 1066 the manor had been given to William de Percy who had granted it to Rozelin. At the time of the Domesday survey Thrybergh appears to have been small with only 2 villeins listed.
13th Century
In the 13th century Thrybergh was held of the Percys by the family of de Heton, but the resident lords under the de Hetons were the de Normanvilles. This family may perhaps have been descended from the pre-Conquest lord Northmann. Ralf de Normanville had a royal grant of free warren on his estates at Thrybergh, Dalton and Brinsworth in 1260. In the early 14th century (c1316) the de Normanville estates passed to Adam de Normanville. In 1328 John, son of John de Heton conveyed his estate at Thrybergh to Sir Geoffrey le Scrope. Included in the conveyance were the homage and service of Sir Adam de Reresby for the lands which Adam held in Thrybergh.
Sir Thomas de Reresby, his wife Alice and their children, Thomas and Alice, were among the 74 inhabitants of Thrybergh who were assessed for the Poll Tax in 1379. Also listed are their children Thomas and Alice. Among the 74 villagers assessed for the tax was Thomas Breton, “artisan carpenter” who paid 12d.
A reminder of medieval Thrybergh still exists in the form of two cross shafts dating from c1200. St Leonard’s Cross is now in the churchyard but formerly stood in East Hill. Pevsner thinks that this may be Anglo-Saxon, recarved in the late 12th century. The other cross, known locally as the Butter Cross still stands in Three Hills Close, formerly the Green.
Reresby Family
The Reresbys were to remain lords of Thrybergh until the 17th century. On the death of Lionel Reresby in 1558, the Reresby estates were reported to consist of the manor of Thrybergh (including part of Dalton) with two water mills, 5 houses, 10 cottages, land at Haworth, the manor of Ickles with two water mills, the manor of Brinsworth, houses and land at Masbrough, Rotherham and Swinton, the manor of Denaby and extensive estates in the Ashover area of Derbyshire.
Lionel’s great-great-grandson Sir John Reresby was created a baronet by Charles I in 1642. His son, also Sir John Reresby achieved prominence during the reigns of Charles II and James II, when he served as Governor of York. His memoirs of his life and times were published after his death. On Sir John’s death in 1689, the Reresby estates were worth £1700pa but within a few years his son, Sir William Reresby, had gambled it away and was forced to sell Thrybergh.
Fullerton Family
The purchaser of Thrybergh, Denaby and Brinsworth was John Savile of Methley [WRY]. On the death of his son Samuel Savile in 1735, the estate passed to his granddaughter Elizabeth, who had married the Hon John Finch, son of the Earl of Ailesford. Their only child Savile Finch, MP for Maidstone and for Malton, died in 1780 without heirs and left his estates to his wife Judith, daughter of John Fullerton. The estate remained with the Fullerton family until the 1920s. The original house stood near the church. It was Col. John Fullerton who employed John Webb to rebuild the house in the park c1820, in Tudor revival style with Gothic details. It was said that trees to the value of £10,000 were felled in the Park to help pay for the new house. The Fullertons ceased to live at Thrybergh c1900.
Golf Club
In 1903 the Rotherham Golf Club leased the park as a golf course and the Hall became the clubhouse. The original nine hole course was extended to 18 holes. In 1929 JSH Fullerton sold the Hall and park to Herbert Hey of Harrogate from whom the club were able to purchase the freehold for £9,000.
Parish Church
The parish church of St Leonard at Thrybergh is a simple structure of nave and chancel. The eastern end of the nave is Norman but was extended shortly after. The chancel dates from 1349 and the upper parts of the tower, spire and clerestory are Perpendicular. Inside the church is a remarkable number of monuments to members of the Reresby family and their successors.
A new church, St Peter’s, was erected on Whinney Hill in 1909 to serve the growing population. The chancel was added in 1914. The church school was unable to cope with the influx of new children and a new Council school was erected at the top of Whinney Hill in 1907.
Education
There are records of a school being held as early as early as 1714 in the building which later became the Post Office. John Fullerton built a new school, later known as the Fullerton Church of England School, in 1819. This building, with additions, served until 1972 when the school moved to new buildings nearby. The Catholic primary school, St Gerard’s was opened in 1928, the £8,000 cost being raised by local Catholics Thrybergh High School opened in 1956, becoming a comprehensive in 1971.
Agriculture and Industry
Although the parish was almost entirely agricultural, there was some industry in the parish from the 16th century. The waters of the Don were used to power a forge as early as 16th century, utilising a waterwheel to power the hammers. In the 1660s, Charles Tooker operated a steel forge on the Don at Thrybergh. The forge was later taken over and developed by the Walkers. The main chage to the agricultural nature of Thrybergh came in 1900 when the Dalton Main Colliery Co began to sink Silverwood Colliery. Coal began to be produced in 1905 and large numbers of houses were erected in the Whinney Hill area to accommodate the miners.
Population
In 1801 the population of Thrybergh stood at 247. It rose to 332 in 1831 but then fell to only 207 in 1881. The population doubled between 1891 (245) and 1901 (489) and then, as a direct result of the sinking of Silverwood Colliery, rose to 2,656 in 1911. Peak population of 5,213 was reached in 1971 after which the numbers decreased to 4,916 in 1981 and 4,299 in 1991.
(Extracted from:- R.M.B.C, Patchwork of parishes, 1997)
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