Barnsley, United Kingdom

Barnsley is located in the valley of the River Dearne at the eastern foothills of the Pennines, near the uplands of the Peak District to the west. Geologically, the town is located within the area of the South Yorkshire Coalfield, consisting of the middle coal measures and sandstones laid down in the Carboniferous period. The town lies approximately 12 miles (19 km) north of Sheffield, 17 miles (27 km) south of Leeds, 9 miles (14 km) south of Wakefield and 32 miles (51 km) east of Manchester.

Ardsley, Athersley, Barugh Green, Bank End, Birdwell, Darton, Carlton, Cawthorne, Cudworth, Cundy Cross, Darfield, Dodworth, Elsecar, Gawber, Grimethorpe, Higham, Honeywell, Hoyland, High Hoyland, Hoylandswaine, Kendray, Kexbrough, Kingstone, Langsett Lundwood, Mapplewell, Monk Bretton, Tankersley, New Lodge, Oakwell, Old Town, Penistone, Pogmoor, Royston, Shafton, Smithies, Silkstone, Staincross, Stairfoot, Thurnscoe, Wilthorpe, Woolley Colliery, Worsbrough (includes Worsbrough Bridge, Rockley, Worsbrough Dale, Swaithe, Worsbrough Village, and Ward Green), Worsbro Common, Wombwell and Wortley.

A large part of Barnsley town centre was constructed during the 1960s. The area around Cheapside and May Day Green, the Metropolitan Centre, is home to the market and many national high street chains. Alhambra Shopping Centre, which was opened in 1991, houses several retailers.

Other prominent areas include Queen Street, Market Street, Eldon Street and the Victorian Arcade, which houses the majority of the independent and designer retailers in Barnsley. The town also has a large concentration of pubs and bars in the central district. There is also a twin auditorium cinema called Parkway Cinema Barnsley occupying what once was the Odeon Cinema on Eldon Street.

The development of a new shopping centre was started in the town centre in late 2015.

Barnsley town centre has been undergoing a period of change; projects include:

Experience Barnsley – The creation of the Barnsley People's Museum and Archives Centre. This project was awarded almost £3m of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which means two floors of Barnsley's town hall were transformed into museum galleries (now completed)

Barnsley College A Block was completed and opened in September 2011.

A new area of town opened in 2021, the Glass Works. It re-houses the town's historic market, and adds a food court, a 13-screen Cineworld cinema, bowling alley and high street shops. (now completed)

The Civic, in the town centre, is a multi-purpose performance venue in a grade II listed building. The building was originally the Barnsley Mechanics Institute and Public Hall, built by Henry Harvey in 1877. His brother Charles Harvey, gave the building to the people of the town a few years later, renaming it the Harvey Institute. The Harvey Institute was host to many types of entertainment, including variety shows and cinema. It was also home to the public library and shops; public meetings and celebrations were held in the hall; and education was provided. The School of Art occupied the Public Hall from 1878 to 1948, which was also used as first headquarters and billets for "Barnsley Pals" during World War I. In 1962, the building became Barnsley Civic Theatre, closing in 1998.

The Civic was reopened in March 2009 after a major redevelopment, which included provision for a theatre and public art gallery. The Civic has hosted high-profile acts such as Al Murray and Russell Howard. The Civic houses a contemporary art gallery that hosts touring exhibition from the V&A and the Flow Gallery in London. The Civic also curates its own work for touring.

The Lamproom Theatre has four theatrical companies, and showcases theatre in the town.

Barnsley College is situated on a number of sites throughout the town centre, chiefly Old Mill Lane campus, SciTech Centre, Honeywell sports campus, CUBE Construction Centre and STEM Centre. The University of Huddersfield has recently opened a campus in the town on Church Street, beside Barnsley Town Hall; this is known as the University Campus Barnsley.

All 14 secondary schools in Barnsley were demolished and replaced by academy education centres, named SuperSchools. These combined all the previous LEA run comprehensive schools in the area into newly PFI built academies under the Building Schools for the Future programme.