Wales, South Yorkshire

Wales shares its name with the country of Wales, and the derivation may well be the same if it bears the same Anglo Saxon (and Germanic) root meaning foreigner(s). The suggestion, therefore, is that there was a continued Celtic presence here following the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons at the turn of the 6th century. An alternative explanation suggests that the settlement's name may be derived from the word Waelas, meaning "field of battle".[2] The earliest reference to Wales is in 1002, when Wulfric Spot, a Saxon thegn, is recorded as owning Walesho.

Sir William Hewet, Lord Mayor of London in 1559, was born in Wales, and his descendants, the Dukes of Leeds, would come to dominate the area.

The collieries at Waleswood and Kiveton Park historically provided employment in the area, including to migrants from Wales' namesake country, until Kiveton Park Colliery was closed in September 1994.[2]

The village of Wales itself is located at approximately 53°20′30″N 1°16′45″W, at an elevation of around 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level. It lies on the A618 and B6059 roads. The M1 motorway bisects the parish, while the southern boundary is partly marked by the Chesterfield Canal whose Norwood Tunnel runs under meadowland to the south. To the west of the village is Rother Valley Country Park.

Education in Wales is provided by Wales Primary School and Wales High School. The industrial estate at Wales Common continues to be a large source of employment (not least the food manufacturer Greencore Prepared Foods) & LuK, part of the multi-national manufacturing group producing clutch & automotive parts.[6]

• Media related to Wales, South Yorkshire at Wikimedia Commons
• Wales in the Domesday Book