Brampton Bierlow
Brampton = "Brantone" = farmstead in the broom
Bierlow = "byar - log" = a small administrative district with its own laws
Melton = "Medeltone" = middle farmstead (half way between Wath and Brampton); the suffix "west" was added to distinguish it from High Melton.
Domesday Book
There are several entries for West Melton in the Domesday Book where three estates are listed among the "lands of the King's Thanes". In 1066 an estate at Brampton and Melton had been held by Arnthorr the Priest who had arable land sufficient for five plough teams. He had been lucky enough to retain some of his lands under William I and was still holding enough land for two plough teams in 1086.
Besides Arnthorr, there were 3 villeins and a smallholder sharing two plough teams. Other Saxon tenants called Thorr and Sveinn had also retained estates at West Melton. The King had retained some land in Brampton and West Melton in his own hands.
In the reign of Edward I one half of Brampton was held by William Fleming. The other portion appears to have belonged to the Honour of Tickhill and were held by the FitzSwein family, descendants of the Domesday tenant. The FitzSwein estate seems to have been centred on Newhall. Adam FitaSwein, founder of the abbey at Monk Bretton, gave the abbey all his estate at Brampton viz. Newhall, Rainborough and Linthwaite. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey estates passed to the Wentworth family who also obtained the Fleming half of the manor.
14th Century
The 1379 Poll Tax returns seem to indicate that "Brampton iuxta Wath" was almost as large a settlement as Wath as there are 96 tax payers listed at Brampton against 114 at Wath. The most important people in the village at this time were Thomas Beynethegate, tenant of the Grange, and his wife Johanna, who paid 12d.
Wentworth Estate
Much of the land within the parish fell within the Wentworth estate. To the south, the parish included the hamlets of Street and Hoober and the folly of Hoober Stand, one of several around Wentworth Woodhouse. To the south of West Melton, Newhill Mill provided for the area's needs in flour and animal feed.
Education
The school at Brampton Bierlow traces its origins back to 1711 when it was endowed by George Ellis of Brampton Hall. A master's house was added in 1738 and the school and house rebuilt in 1791. The schoolroom was then able to accommodate 20 children. A separate infants' school was constructed in 1866. A new senior school, later Brampton Ellis Comprehensive School, opened in 1930. When the comprehensive school closed in 1985, the buildings were converted into business units. During the 19th century a private school, Brampton Academy, also existed in the village.
Churches
Brampton and West Melton were originally part of the ecclesiastical parish of Wath. By the mid-19th century, the population of Brampton and West Melton grew to the point where it could support a church of its own. The new church, Christ Church, was erected at West Melton in 1855 and the two villages became a separate township in 1856. There were also Congregational and Wesleyan chapels in the parish.
Development
In the late 18th century the Dearne and Dove Canal was constructed through the north of the parish but seems to have had little impact on the life of Brampton Bierlow. As late as 1851 Brampton Bierlow and West Melton were still small agricultural settlements, with a population of 1,731 (it had been 860 in 1801).
Coal Mining
The 1851 ordnance survey map shows collieries at West Melton and at Cortonwood and a number of smaller coal pits. The real development came in 1873 when the first shaft of Cortonwood Colliery was sunk. Between 1871 and 1881 the population rose from 1,978 to 3,704, reaching 4,597 in 1891.
The increased population of miners needed accommodation and the colliery company supplied these by constructing an estate of houses on a triangular site near the colliery entrance. There were eight rows of houses, varying in length from 19 to four houses per row. The construction of the houses was unusual for the period as they were built from concrete and the estate was known as Concrete Cottages.
The company also provided an infant school, built more conventionally of brick. The school survived until 1933 when the children were moved to the new infants dept. at Cortonwood School.
The mine survived for over 100 years. The proposal by British Coal to close Cortonwood in 1984 that was the spark that kindled the great Miners' Strike of 1984-5. Brampton Bierlow Parish Council was in the forefront of the community's efforts to support the striking miners and their families. The mine was among the first to be closed after the strike was settled and the surface buildings were soon swept away.
Population
The population of the township of Brampton Bierlow stood at 860 in 1801. By 1891 it had risen to 4,597. With the inclusion of West Melton in the new Wath Urban District in 1895, the population of Brampton in 1901 fell to 1,385 and then began to climb again, reaching 3,467 in 1991.
(Extracted from:- R.M.B.C, Patchwork of parishes, 1997)