and Worrall found it easier to trade with Wadsley than with the more distant Sheffield. Ganister mining and quarrying were other industries that grew in the area. Quarrying developed from the middle of the 17th century when there was an expansion of farming in the area and farmhouses and cottages needed to be built for the workers. The biggest quarry in the area was the Middlewood quarry off Mowson Lane which was owned by George Turner. Local historian Joe Castle has suggested that stone from this quarry was used to build the Wicker Arches in Sheffield. The quarry closed at the start of World War II and is now a new housing development. There were three ganister mines in the immediate Worrall area. The Yews Mine and the Langhouse Mine were owned by Charles Bramall, while the Stubbin Mine was owned by the Oughtibridge Silica Firebrick Company and was the last to close in November 1927. The Bramall Company owned 2 silica brickworks in the area - Birtin Works and Caledonia Works, both had closed by 1927. Present day Today Worrall is mostly a residential village with a mixture of new and older housing. Most of its working residents commute to their jobs in Sheffield and other areas. There is a higher proportion of older people in the village compared to the rest of Sheffield with 32% of the population aged between 45 and 64. 87% of the houses in Worrall are owner occupied, a high figure compared to the 60% average for Sheffield as a whole. There are still several farms on the periphery of the village but farming is much reduced from the 19 farms that existed in the immediate area in the 1930s. Some such as Lund Farm, Grange Farm and The Yews Farm have been sold for housing development in recent years. The last farm to operate in the centre of Worrall was the Wiggan dairy farm on Towngate Road. Sycamore Park is a public recreation area off Briarfields Lane in the village; it is 1.4 hectares (3.46 acres) in area and has a playground, mini football pitch, cycle track and picnic benches. Significant buildings There are two public houses in the village. The Blue Ball is believed to have been originally two cottages which were connected at some time to make bigger premises. There is no documented date of origin although first licensed in 1825