Barnby Dun: The riverside Yorkshire village with a powerful past and a green future
Barnby Dun, on the banks of the River Don Navigation, downstream of Doncaster, could be said to have been put on the map in the 1960s by two 150m-high concrete chimneys and six 100m-high and 79m-wide cooling towers.
However, the village's key place in the future of South Yorkshire remains cemented despite the demolition of the colossal structures 13 years ago.
The scale of the 1 Gigawatt coal-fired Thorpe Marsh Power Station operation was immense.
Using its position close to the river, it took about 15,000 gallons of water from the Don every minute and produced 100 tons of ash and coal dust every hour.
As such, it provided a significant source of employment for the village and surrounding area with some 530 staff and this was reflected in the village's population trebling in the decades it was operational.
Consequently, later 20th century developments, featuring many semi-detached properties and bungalows, which dominate in the village.
Although the plant featured a nine-hole golf course alongside a bowling green and a canteen with some 14 staff.
A memorial garden dedicated to four power station staff who were fatally electrocuted in the chamber of an electrostatic precipitator in 1973, remained on the edge of the station's fishing lake for 50 years until it was recently agreed it be moved to Barnby Dun's church.
While the towers loomed large over the village long after the plant closed in 1994, in September it was announced European BESS developer Fidra Energy had secured £445 million in new equity for a 1.4GW project and construction at Thorpe Marsh Battery Energy Storage System was to begin.
The utility-scale battery storage scheme is set to be the largest in the country and among the largest in Europe and is being developed beside a National Grid substation.
Coincidentally or not, the scheme is being pushed forward in the Doncaster North constituency of MP Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Withstanding this, the transformation of the area to the west of Barnby Dun to a greener future began in 1980, with the opening of Thorpe Marsh Nature Reserve on the east bank of the River Don floodplain.
The 77-hectare lowland grassland haven features a large lake, copses of oak, blackthorn and ash trees and varied habitats for creatures including great spotted woodpeckers and tawny owls.
While the canal, which has bordered Barnby Dun since the 18th century, has become one of the village's most treasured green spaces, ahead of its construction in the 18th century it was feared it would cause flooding in the area.
The most influential opponent to the canal, the Duke of Norfolk, raised concerns about the effects on his mills and forges in Sheffield.
At the village's north-western entrance and the end of the High Street is a steel lifting bridge crossing the canalised part of the River Don, with an an elevated control house beside it.
The structure was more solidly built than usual for a bridge carrying an unclassified road, which links the village and Doncaster's suburbs, to cater for loads of up to 180 tonnes being transported to the power station.
It was built in 1983 to replace a Victorian swing bridge as part of a drive to conform to the 700-tonne Eurobarge standard.
An elevated control house was built for the sole use of operational staff, but in recent years a freestanding low level standard control console has been built for the use of boaters when the bridge is not staffed.
The High Street runs alongside the canal into the village, passing a significant convenience store, a farmhouse with outbuildings and up a small driveway the unpretentious Barnby Dun Social Club, a well-used community hub offering twice-weekly bingo, snooker matches, discos and an array of other activities.
Opposite and also just off the High Street stands Barnby Dun Farm Shop, at Well Green, which champions local growers and makers.
With the paucity of farm buildings in Barnby Dun it's easy to forget that 150 years ago it remained overwhelming an agricultural village.
Villagers' occupations listed in 1871 included several butchers, wheelwrights and corn millers, as well as some 13 farmers.
Work on constructing the canal, to ease the transportation of farm produce between Hull, Doncaster and Sheffield, was launched in 1732 at the village due to the impact of the tidal river and silt deposits which built up in the river.
For protection, flood banks were built by the village which stands beside flood plains.
The High Street emerges beside the independent Hart of Barnby Dun, a community-focused pub offering live music and quiz nights, at its junction with Top Road. Directly opposite the pub is The Olive bar and grill.
From Top Road leads Church Road, which is bookended by Barnby Dun Primary Academy, which was rated good in all areas at Oftsed's most recent inspection, and the Church of St Peter and St Paul.
Although it's Barnby Dun's only building which Historic England believes merits special protection, it has been given grade I listed status, placing it among the country's most extraordinary buildings.
The Ashlar magnesian limestone place of worship has lead and slate roofs and a parapetted tower with decorated pinnacles and gargoyles.
The church has been a fixture in the village since the early 14th century, but South Yorkshire Memorial Park and Crematorium Park and Crematorium, off Armthorpe Lane, is a recent addition, boasting a chapel which seats 100 people and the potential to stand and seat 200 by including the foyer space, meaning it can accommodate services attended by more than 400 people.