Rotherham
Description
Rotherham is a large town in South Yorkshire, England, which together with its conurbation and outlying settlements to the north, south and south-east forms the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, with a recorded population of 257,280 in the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, its central area is on the banks of the River Don below its confluence with the Rother on the traditional road between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham is today the largest town in a contiguous area with Sheffield, informally known as the Sheffield Urban Area and is as such an economic centre for many of Sheffield's suburbs — Sheffield City Centre is from Rotherham town centre.HistoryEarly historyIron Age and Roman settlements dot the area covered by the district, including a small Roman fort to the south-west in the upper flood meadow of the Don. Rotherham was founded in the very early Middle Ages. Its name is from Old English hām 'homestead, estate', meaning 'homestead on the Rother'. The river name was carried into Old English from Brittonic branch of Celtic words: ro- 'over, chief' and duβr 'water', thus 'main river'; a similar size namesake is in East Sussex, see Rother. It established itself as a Saxon market town, on a Roman road near a forded part of the River Don.
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