Like Bolton upon Dearne, Goldthorpe was originally a medieval farming village, and archaeological findings suggest that the area may been inhabited for even longer with artefacts discovered that date to prehistoric times. Also like Bolton upon Dearne, it expanded during the twentieth century to provide housing for miners when Goldthorpe Colliery opened. But in most respects, it feels very different to its neighbour (which it more or less merges with thanks to urban sprawl); it lacks both a river and any old buildings of particular note, although it does boast a relatively modern one of some architectural merit, as we shall see. More than that however, Goldthorpe feels more like a victim of post-industrial decline than virtually anywhere we have thus far visited with possible exception of Darnall. Its high street is characterised by former cinemas, a derelict pub, and a smattering of slightly forlorn-looking shops. In recent years, Goldthorpe has gained notoriety as the burglary capital of South Yorkshire, and featured in local headlines in 2019 when arsonists set fire to two police cars outside the village’s police station.
But we shall make the best of it and, like all places, Goldthorpe has things of interest for those who know where to look. That said, the station isn’t one of them: it opened in 1988 on the Wakefield Line and is another drab twin-platform affair with minimal facilities, although it is much used by commuters travelling to nearby towns and cities for work and leisure. From the station we turn left along Barnsley Road and just after passing the junction with Kelly Street on the left, the former Picture House Cinema can be seen on the left-hand side of the road. This opened in 1912 as the Hippodrome, changed its name in 1922, and finally closed in 1963, later being resurrected as a bingo club, then a carpet warehouse, and later a hairdresser; most recently, it has housed a pub called the Picture House Tap. Next to this is Goldthorpe Library, and just past this on the right is the handsome Victorian Goldthorpe Police Station, which happily survived the 2019 arson attack on the vehicles parked outside it largely unscathed. Continue straight ahead past this, with the road now becoming Doncaster Road, and pass another former cinema on the left. This was the Empire Cinema, which opened two years before the Picture House in 1910 and survived until 1972, since when it has had other uses including a brief stint as a supermarket.
Take the second left turn after the cinema into Lockwood Road, and take a detour straight ahead to visit the Church of St. John and Mary Magdelene. This is Goldthorpe’s most noteworthy building, a ferro-concrete church dating from 1914-1916 and believed to be the first large church in England built out this material, with even the principal internal furnishings being made of concrete. The problems with using ferro-concrete became apparent by the nineteen-nineties, when years of rainwater leaching through the concrete had started to erode the metal core of the walls; a vigorous restoration campaign followed. The church’s unusual construction earned it Grade II-listed status, and whilst a concrete church may sound rather drab and unappealing, it makes for an impressive and imposing landmark.
The Church of St. John and Mary Magdelene.
After visiting the church, backtrack slightly along Lockwood Road, then turn along Main Street. At the end of the street, turn right along West Street and follow it back to Doncaster Road, then turn left, passing the Goldthorpe Hotel. A long-standing local landmark, this once-popular, large red-brick public house has stood empty for the best part of a decade, with its ground floor windows boarded up and its upper floor windows broken, no doubt by stone hurled from street level. After the long indignity of gradual dereliction, it is finally to be converted into housing, which will at least preserve the buildings handsome exterior. Just after passing the former hotel, turn right along Kingsmark Way, passing Goldthorpe Recreation Ground on the left. Follow the road until it ends at a roundabout and continue straight ahead along a footpath, now entering the first semi-rural part of the walk and shortly crossing a bridge over a disused railway line. This was once part of the Dearne Valley Railway, which was constructed by 1908-1909, and closed to passenger services in 1951; good services contained into the nineteen-sixties, when the line closed for good.
After crossing the bridge, continue to Barnburgh Lane, then turn left, cross over and turn right along a footpath named Engine Lane. To the left are fields, whilst to the right a new housing development continues Goldthorpe’s expansion. The new estate soon comes to an end however, just after passing which turn right and to follow an ill-defined public footpath diagonally across fields. These are rather marshy and treacherous under foot, although they make a very welcome change from road walking. The path soon reaches a band of immature trees: turn left and follow a path through these trees, and stay on the path as it eventually curves right and gains a tarmac surface as it runs close to a fence surrounding a local school Astrea Academy Dearne. The path shortly bends left and crosses a small wooden plank bridge over Far Moor Dike, after which bear diagonally across another field to reach Bolton Brickyard Ponds. As the name suggests, this is the site of a former brickyard near the undefined boundary between Bolton upon Dearne and Goldthorpe, and is now a fishery set within a public park. With three ponds all surrounded by trees and rich in wildlife, it is by far the prettiest place on this particular walk.
Bolton Brickyard Ponds.
Turn left and follow a path around the first pond, then turn right and walk between the other two ponds. At the end, turn left again along a track to leave the park on Furlong Road, then cross over and continue straight ahead along a path between sports fields and then underneath a railway bridge to reach West View Crescent. Turn right and follow this to Highgate Lane. Turn right, and follow the road to a public footpath sign, then turn left and follow this path along the top of a disused railway embankment. This is not the same disused railway that we crossed earlier, but rather a branch of the Hull and Barnsley Railway. The path ends at Carr Field Lane, where we turn right; when it bends left, continue straight ahead along a footpath. This soon turns right and follows the edge of a field on the left and the perimeter of a large industrial estate on the right. It then bends right around the edge of industrial estate and runs next to more fields to cross Carr Dike, offering decent views of open countryside to the west. Look out for the point at which the path turns sharp left and crosses two fields in a straight line to end at the A635 (this sudden left turn isn’t signposted, and is easy to miss, which will leave you following the edge of a field to a dead end). On reaching the A635, turn right and follow it to a roundabout, then follow Barnsley Road. When the junction with Nicholas Lane appears on the left, take a brief detour to see the Victorian red brick Highgate Primary Academy, then return to Barnsley Road and continue past Highgate Working Men’s Club, before finally returning to the railway station.
With our walk around Goldthorpe complete, we now head north along this branch of the Wakefield Line once again, but only for another three minute train ride, to Goldthorpe’s other neighbouring village, Thurnscoe…
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