250-year-old hunting lodge, Grade II-listed training site and former colliery office amongst unusual polling stations

Some, however, will have a more interesting place to vote in Rotherham – including a former hunting lodge, a grade II-listed training site, and colliery offices dating back to 1870.

Here are some of the weird and wonderful venues where voters will cast their ballots in this week.

Boston Castle

Built in 1775 for the 3rd Earl of Effingham, Boston Castle commemorates the Americans’ first encounter with the British at Bunker’s Hill near Boston in 1775.

Originally built as a hunting lodge, Boston Castle stands on one of the highest points in Rotherham, set in an eight-hectare park which was opened on the 4 July 1876 to mark the centenary of the American Independence

Mechanics Institute, Wentworth

Built in 1822, Wentworth’s Mechanics Institute was used to provide instructional classes for the men of the village, and also boasted a library and librarian’s house.

The grade II-listed building is now used as the village hall, and was built by Viscount Milton, who later became the Earl Fitzwilliam, as a place of learning for his estate workers.

Old Colliery Offices, Kiveton Park

The 155-year-old built began life as a school for the children of the village, before it was taken over and used as offices by the then newly formed mining company of Kiveton Park.

In return, the mining company built a new school in 1872, which is now a youth centre on Station Road.

Following extensive renovations in 2012, the clock in the clock tower can now be heard across the village when it strikes the hour.