Duo's new book focuses on unseen scenes of historic Rotherham

The collection of 240 photographs provides a history of Rotherham and surrounding areas, featuring well-known landmarks such as Roche Abbey, Maltby, the Imperial Buildings and the old Pavilion Cinema, which also served as the former office for the Advertiser and has been the home of Boots since 1987.

The book, titled In & Around Rotherham: From Old Photographs, follows Melvyn Jones and Michael Bentley’s first book In and Around Rotherham Through Time, which contains old photographs of Rotherham alongside contrasting modern images of the same sites, featuring contributions from local historians.

The authors aim to dispel myths that Rotherham, as Daniel Defoe wrote in the 1720s, has “nothing of note except a fine stone bridge over the Don” and highlight the history of the area, using images that illustrate the great changes in landscape, industry and fashion over the years.

Most of the photos are from private collections and many have not been published before.

Michael and Melvyn, born in Rotherham and Barnsley respectively, have been working alongside each other for at least ten years and have been collaborating since 2013, combining Melvyn’s love of history with Michael’s large collection of old picture postcards.

The pair said they hoped the photographs “will take long-established residents on an affectionate tour of their past, and for relative newcomers they may be something of a revelation.

In & Around Rotherham: From Old Photographs is priced at £14.99 and available from www.amberleybooks.com, as well as Michael’s Famous Book Stall at Rotherham Market.