Dearne Valley (UK Parliament constituency)

Dearne Valley was a Parliamentary constituency in South Yorkshire. The constituency was created in 1950 and abolished in 1983.

Boundaries

The Urban Districts of Conisbrough, Darfield, Mexborough, Swinton, Wath upon Dearne, and Wombwell.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Sources

Dearne Valley

The Dearne Valley is an area of South Yorkshire along the River Dearne. It encompasses the towns of Wombwell, Wath-upon-Dearne, Swinton, Conisbrough and Mexborough, the large villages of Ardsley, Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe, Darfield, Stairfoot and Brampton Bierlow, and many other smaller villages and hamlets.

In 1995 the area became a regeneration area, as it had suffered much from the sudden decline of the deep coal mining industry in the 1980s. In the 2011 census the ONS-identified Barnsley/Dearne Valley built-up area had a population of 223,281, however this region includes Barnsley and certain other smaller towns and villages that might not historically have considered themselves a part of the Dearne Valley.

History

Many high-grade coal seams, including the prolific Barnsley seam, lie close to the surface in this area. This meant that by far the most prevalent industry in the area was deep coal mining, indeed much of the economic activity of the region was either directly related to, or reliant on this industry. It was home to the Oaks viaduct, the largest man-made rail bridge in Britain until its demolition in 1965.