Rotherham Museums

Rotherham has rich and diverse history which is still visible through the historic buildings and heritage sites across the borough. Rotherham Museums is responsible for Clifton Park Museum and Boston Castle, alongside five heritage sites including: Catcliffe Cone; Keppel’s Column, Waterloo Kiln; Walker Mausoleum; and the Payne Mausoleum.

Boston Castle

Boston Castle was as a hunting lodge by Thomas Howard, the 3rd Earl of Effingham in 1775. It acquired the name Boston Castle to commemorate the Boston Tea Party. It is set within Rotherham’s first public park named Boston Park which opened on the 4 July 1876 to mark the centenary of the American Independence.

The heritage site is now a museum open April to September. It has small exhibitions linked to the Earl of Effingham story and access to the roof in which views of Rotherham and Sheffield can be seen.

Keppel’s Column

Keppel’s Column was built between 1773 and 1780 and is situated on a prominent hill in Scholes, overlooking Wentworth Woodhouse. Charles Wentworth 2nd Marquis of Rockingham commissioned the architect John Carr to build the monument to further enhance the landscape of the Wentworth estate, and celebrate the acquittal of Admiral Keppel.

Waterloo Kiln and Pottery Ponds

Waterloo Kiln is believed to be the only surviving nineteenth century pottery kiln in Yorkshire. It is one of the few places in the country representing the development from coarse earthenwares for the local market, to fine porcelain and pottery for export. The pottery operated from 1745 to 1842; most significantly it operated as the internationally famous Rockingham Works from 1826.

Catcliffe Glass Cone

Catcliffe Glass Cone is highly significant in relation to the development of the glass industry in South Yorkshire. It dates from 1740 and remained in use until 1884, with a period of use c.1900-1. It is the earliest surviving example of its type in Western Europe; one of only six glass cones in the UK.

Payne Mausoleum

The Payne Mausoleum was built by John Payne in 1834. The Paynes were a Quaker family who owned land around Wath and attended the Quaker Meeting House in Barnsley. Newhill Hall, the Georgian mansion they built for themselves in 1785, was demolished in the 1950s. The grounds which surrounded the house still survive as a public park with the mausoleum still visible on the site.

Walker Mausoleum

The mausoleum was built in the 1760s as the burial site for the families of Samuel and Aaron Walker and is now a Grade II listed building. The Walker family had a large influence over Methodism in Rotherham and helped to build the Masbrough Independent Chapel in 1762. The mausoleum was located within the cemetery of the Chapel. This cemetery also holds the graves of many other local industrial families including the Oxleys, Beatsons, Clarks, and Habershons.

In 1776 Samuel Walker built a ‘vault or burying house’ between the grounds of the Chapel and Masbrough Hall and is now more commonly referred to as the Walker Mausoleum.