Anston

North Anston
North Anston  North Anston shown within South Yorkshire
Population	9,559
OS grid reference	SK5386
Civil parish	North and South Anston
Metropolitan borough	Rotherham
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Sheffield
Postcode district	S25
Dialling code	01909
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Rother Valley
List of places UK England Yorkshire

The village of North Anston is in England.

Anston was already established as a settlement by the time of the Domesday Book (1086), when North and South Anston (Anestan and Litelanstan) were under the ownership of Roger de Busli. The name Anston is thought to derive from "an stan" (a stone) as opposed to anything based on the suffix -ton, and there is much evidence of quarrying in the area. Anston, and neighbouring Dinnington make up a 2.2-mile (3.5 km) strip of urban development stranded amidst a sea of agricultural land, and its presence and growth owe much to quarrying. The original interest for the area (beyond Anston's agricultural uses) was the sandy "Anstone" magnesian limestone, but the real growth in Anston's population was more due to the sinking of the Dinnington Main Colliery in the early 20th century. Anston is Part of Rotherham Borough Council for the Anston and Woodsetts Ward. It is represented by the three Labour Councillors, Darren J L Hughes, Judy Dalton and Jo Burton.

Anston railway station opened on 20 May 1912 and closed on 2 December 1929.

North Anston

North Anston is located at about 53° 21' 20" N, 1° 13' W and merges seamlessly into the town of Dinnington to the north. Today, it is largely a commuter base for Sheffield, Worksop and Rotherham, and is mainly made up of sub—urban housing estates. The picturesque "old village" at the south-east however retains its green, and the village wells. The surrounding landscape contains several disused quarries: the plantations to the east, and Greenlands Park to the west being prime examples.

There are currently two pubs in North Anston: the Little Mester on Nursery Road and the Cutler on Woodsetts Road.

North Anston is home to the Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre, a popular attraction seeing around 80,000 visitors every year. It is also home to the limestone gorge of Anston Stones Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Anston stones wood stretches across the border of South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. The wood is believed to be part of a mediaeval smuggling route. Evidence of this has been found in the valley an example of this is Dead Man's Cave at Anston Gorge, a large cave carved out of the limestone used for hiding goods. An 1867 excavation of Dead Man's Cave pointed to Palaeolithic occupation, through the discovery of flint tools and a reindeer toe bone.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: North Anston is on main Rother Valley South bus routes to Dinnington, Worksop and Sheffield with Links to Rotherham too. Stagecoach East Midlands (Stagecoach Bassetlaw) covers services to Rotherham (Main Rotherham service), Worksop and Dinnington. First Bus South Yorkshire Covers Rotherham, Sheffield, Crystal Peaks, and Sheffield. The nearest railway station from North and South Anston is Kiveton Park and Kiveton Bridge, X5 & 27 (First South Yorkshire) serve the link between Anston and the railway station.

Sport

Anston Athletic F.C. competed in the FA Cup during the 1920s.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons