Brookhouse Hamlet

The hamlet of Brookhouse lies 10km south east of Rotherham Town Centre, to the north of Laughton-en-le-Morthen. The area to the west of Bib Lane forms part of the Civil Parish of Thurcroft; the rest of the hamlet to the east of Bib Lane forms part of Laughton-en-le-Morthen Parish.

Physically, the hamlet is a linear settlement built around the main street which parallels Brookhouse dyke, the most significant feature of the hamlet. The dyke and hamlet nestle in a valley with sweeping views towards open countryside to the north and Laughton-en-le-Morthen to the south.

Unlike surrounding settlements like Dinnington and Laughton-en-le-Morthen, Brookhouse receives no mention in the Domesday book. Nearby Thurcoft Hall and the surrounding Thurcroft Estate are referred to as early as the 15th Century when they were in the possession of the Mirfin/Mirfield family. In 1664, Robert Mirfield died childless and through marriage the estate passed into the Beckwith family who held property at Aldborough and Ripon.

The hamlet itself, built along the dyke has a historic core centred on Brookhouse Farm and Pear Tree Farm that date back to the 17th Century. From the historic map of 1850, it can be seen that this western section of the hamlet was very much as we see it today. Historically, the next major event in the development of the hamlet was the building of the South Yorkshire Joint Railway and the viaduct that so dominates the eastern approach to the hamlet. The line opened in 1909, its prime purpose to serve eight collieries in the South Yorkshire coalfield linked to a junction with the Midland and Great Central Joint Railway just south of Dinnington. The line encounters hilly country throughout its route and is characterised by several large viaducts, the largest of which is the one at Brookhouse.

The next significant phase of the hamlet’s development, the ribbon development between the Cartwheel and the Travellers Rest took place piecemeal in the 1960s and 1970s. There are three buildings in the hamlet that are listed, all adjacent to each other on the main Street.