This is an accepted version of this page Penistone (/ˈpɛnɪstən/ PEN-iss-tən) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 24,760 at the 2021 census.

The highest point, Hartcliffe Tower, is 1,194 ft (364 m) above sea level and has views over the Woodhead bypass and the Dark Peak.

The surrounding countryside is predominantly rural with farming on rich well-watered soil on mainly gentle slopes rising to the bleak moorland to the west of the town.

Dry stone walls, small hamlets and farms surrounded by fields and livestock are synonymous with the area.

The market town itself stands at its highest point around St Johns Church at around 820 ft (250 m) above sea level.

There are several vantage points around Penistone that afford panoramic views of the surrounding areas of West Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.

The place-name Penistone is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Pengeston(e) and Pangeston; later sources record it as Peningston.

[2] It may mean "the farmstead at the hill called Penning", in reference to the high ridge immediately south of the town.

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway opened on 15 July 1845, on a route via Penistone, Dunford Bridge and the three-mile long Woodhead Tunnel.

[13] Stone was obtained from Walk Mill Bank, Oxspring, and was conveyed by a tramway on the side of the River Don.

Following major investment, which started in 1935 but was delayed by the Second World War, the electrification of the railway was completed in 1954, and the line's power control centre was built adjacent to Penistone station.

Bus services in the area are operated by Stagecoach Yorkshire, South Pennine Community Transport, Globe Holidays (Barnsley) and TM Travel.

Penistone was a parish in the wapentake of Staincross in the West Riding of Yorkshire and after 1837 was a member of the Wortley Poor law union.

Test transmissions started in September 2003 on both 97.1 and the Barnsley and Dearne Valley frequency (102.0) before the station's official launch on 5 October 2003.

[27] Penistone Grammar School was founded in 1392. Notable former pupils include the blind mathematician Nicholas Saunderson, and Anne Campbell, who served as MP for Cambridge until May 2005.

In the early 20th century it was the custom in the town for the church to ring a pancake bell on Shrove Tuesday.

This is planned to be an annual charity event and occurs at around the same date as the earlier 'Penistone Sing', on the festival of St John, to whom the parish church is dedicated.

The day included a service at the parish church, a parade around the town, films and an evening of music at the Paramount Cinema and an exhibition at St John's Community Centre, and Hartcliff Tower was opened to the public.

There were Morris dancers, a farmers' market, a shop-window competition and a historic organ concert at St Andrews Church.