Skelmanthorpe is the largest village in the Denby Dale Parish and is home to the the parish council offices, which is also the same building as the library.
The village has a busy and vibrant high street with a variety of shops and cafes and restaurants for you to enjoy, as well as a Co-op.
You will also find Savoy Squash Club in the centre of the high street, as well as the Savoy Community Centre behind it and newly renovated play area on the other side of the road.
You can tell immediately that Skelmanthorpe has a rich industrial past, with old mill buildings found on Saville Road and there is even a Weavers Cottage which operates as a museum and a window into the past.
Locals refer to Skelmanthorpe as “Shat”. No one actually knows why, however Wikipedia says that it is an abbreviation of “Shatterers” as local labour was taken on during construction of the railway to break or ‘shatter’ rocks as well as work on the excavations. These unskilled labourers were referred to as Shatterers.
Skelmanthorpe has recently been made famous by Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker, as it was her home town while growing up.
