Reform Row

This is a planned terrace of 28 cottages built in 1837 for the Fitzwilliam estate. The terrace is constructed from rubble sandstone with a Welsh slate roof.

The long, curved two-storey row has a total of 31 windows to the first floor. A round-arched passage is centrally located, with an oval plaque above it inscribed “REFORM / ROW / 1837.” Two further through-passages exist within the terrace. Front entrances have horizontally tooled lintels, with most fitted with boarded doors, arranged in pairs. Each dwelling features a three-light window on each floor, with glazing bars, the central light typically recessed. Above each passage is an additional two-light window. The windows have concrete lintels and projecting sills. The end gables have kneelers, copings, and brick stacks, alongside 13 brick-built ridge stacks.

Reform Row is a significant example of housing development within the Fitzwilliam mining village of Elsecar. From the late 18th century, Elsecar was an industrial village owned by the Earls Fitzwilliam, whose nearby seat was Wentworth Woodhouse. They invested in coal mining and iron working, erecting industrial buildings alongside high-quality workers’ housing, a church, a school, and other urban facilities. The survival of these buildings makes Elsecar an important place, documenting three centuries of coal mining, a paternalistic Christian approach, and periods of industrial boom and decline. Housing provided by the Fitzwilliam Estate was regarded as superior, featuring walled yards to the front and rear for privacy, alongside a separate allotment garden assigned to each cottage. The terrace was built for the Fifth Earl Fitzwilliam (1786-1857), who was a Member of Parliament supporting the 1832 Reform Act before inheriting the Earldom.