Sheffield to Hathersage Turnpike
Encyclopedia
The Sheffield
to Hathersage
turnpike
was an early road through the English Peak District.
with its moors, bogs, and steep escarpment
s called 'edges'. In 1758, the road from Little Sheffield
over the moors to Hathersage, through Castleton
to Sparrow Pit Gate on the Chapel-en-le-Frith Road was turnpiked and a distribution system was provided by carriers financed by the more enterprising captains of industry.
drivers who assembled at an inn adjoined the Cutlers' Hall, Church Street, Sheffield
.
at 'Little Sheffield
', the team climbed London Road to Heeley, thence up Sharrow Lane to Sharrow Head, pausing for water and refreshment at "The Stag's Head Inn", Psalter Lane. The toll-road continued past Brincliffe Quarry to Banner Cross, Ecclesall Road
. (The old toll-house at Banner Cross was demolished in the early 1900s.) When a toll-bar was established at Hunters Bar this new section of toll-road along Ecclesall Road
became a less arduous alternative route.
From Banner Cross the toll-road climbed Ringinglow Road to Bents Green where the "Hammer and Pincers" provided refreshment, water, and repairs to the animals' metal
shoes
. The hamlet of Ringinglow
was served by another toll-booth, known colloquially as "The Round House" opposite "The Norfolk Arms".
Here the road turns south west over Houndkirk (a.k.a. Ankirk) Moor to "The Fox House" where huge Millstone Grit
stone sets centered 4 ft. 8½ inches apart, prevented cart-wheels from sinking into the soft, peaty, moorland
soil. (Reputedly established by Julius Caesar
as Standard gauge
for Roman
chariots this measurement is still in use today and Houndkirk Road is still called "The Roman Road" by local people as is the Long Causeway, Lodge Moor.)
and on into Derbyshire via Hope
and Castleton ran through Lodge Moor over Stanage Edge where passenger had to disembark, assisting coachmen to unharness the team of horses and manhandle coaches over the precipitous gritstone
escarpment
. Stanage Pole, a wooden stake some 20 ft (6.1 m). high erected at the brow of the hill, provides a way-mark to travellers in bad weather.
Long Causeway, as the turnpike is now called, followed the old Roman road
. It is widely believed that this track follows the line of a Roman road running from Templeborough
to the fort at Navio (Brough-on-Noe), but archaeologists have cast doubt on this. During the early 19th century a section of the turnpike at Lodge Moor was lost when the three Redmires reservoirs
were built by 'Sheffield Waterworks', after obtaining an Act of Parliament authorising their construction and an aqueduct to Hadfield Dam, Crookes was completed in 1830.
(6,230-yards/3.5 miles/5.7 km long) was completed on the former London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Manchester
to Sheffield
railway beneath Totley Moor making it the longest mainline railway tunnel in England, and rail-travel superseded the old turnpike routes.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
to Hathersage
Hathersage
Hathersage is a village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. It lies on the north bank of the River Derwent, approximately 10 miles west of Sheffield...
turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
was an early road through the English Peak District.
Turnpikes
During the 18th century Sheffield's burgeoning industry required new customers and markets for their products and this needed samples and purchases to be transported far and wide. Existing communication to large towns like Birmingham and London to the south were adequate but markets to the west were largely inaccessible due to the High Peak, Derbyshire composed of high moorland plateau in the Dark Peak of the Peak DistrictPeak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
with its moors, bogs, and steep escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
s called 'edges'. In 1758, the road from Little Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
over the moors to Hathersage, through Castleton
Castleton
Castleton is a honeypot village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. The village lies at the western end of the Hope Valley on the Peakshole Water, a tributary of the River Noe. The village is situated between the areas known as the Dark Peak and the White Peak...
to Sparrow Pit Gate on the Chapel-en-le-Frith Road was turnpiked and a distribution system was provided by carriers financed by the more enterprising captains of industry.
Chaps
Chaps were PackhorsePackhorse
.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...
drivers who assembled at an inn adjoined the Cutlers' Hall, Church Street, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
.
The Journey Via Ringinglow
Fording Porter BrookPorter Brook
The Porter Brook is a river in the City of Sheffield, Englanddescending over 300 metres from its source among the sedge grass on Burbage moor behind a small farm on Hangram just inside the Peak District National Park in the west of the city at Clough Hollow, near the village of Ringinglow...
at 'Little Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
', the team climbed London Road to Heeley, thence up Sharrow Lane to Sharrow Head, pausing for water and refreshment at "The Stag's Head Inn", Psalter Lane. The toll-road continued past Brincliffe Quarry to Banner Cross, Ecclesall Road
Ecclesall Road
|thumb|200px|right|Ecclesall Road South, which runs through a large part of the Hallam Constituency, the second wealthiest in the UK.Ecclesall Road is a road in Sheffield that runs for about 3.5 miles south-west from Sheffield's city centre under the number A625...
. (The old toll-house at Banner Cross was demolished in the early 1900s.) When a toll-bar was established at Hunters Bar this new section of toll-road along Ecclesall Road
Ecclesall Road
|thumb|200px|right|Ecclesall Road South, which runs through a large part of the Hallam Constituency, the second wealthiest in the UK.Ecclesall Road is a road in Sheffield that runs for about 3.5 miles south-west from Sheffield's city centre under the number A625...
became a less arduous alternative route.
From Banner Cross the toll-road climbed Ringinglow Road to Bents Green where the "Hammer and Pincers" provided refreshment, water, and repairs to the animals' metal
shoes
Horseshoe
A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...
. The hamlet of Ringinglow
Ringinglow
Ringinglow is a village in the western section of Sheffield, England. It is on the western border of Ecclesall Ward, and although it is within the boundary of Sheffield, it is self-contained, being entirely surrounded by open countryside....
was served by another toll-booth, known colloquially as "The Round House" opposite "The Norfolk Arms".
Here the road turns south west over Houndkirk (a.k.a. Ankirk) Moor to "The Fox House" where huge Millstone Grit
Millstone Grit
Millstone Grit is the name given to any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the Northern England. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills...
stone sets centered 4 ft. 8½ inches apart, prevented cart-wheels from sinking into the soft, peaty, moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
soil. (Reputedly established by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
as Standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
for Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
chariots this measurement is still in use today and Houndkirk Road is still called "The Roman Road" by local people as is the Long Causeway, Lodge Moor.)
The Journey via Stanage Edge
A further turnpike road to HathersageHathersage
Hathersage is a village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. It lies on the north bank of the River Derwent, approximately 10 miles west of Sheffield...
and on into Derbyshire via Hope
Hope, Derbyshire
Hope is a village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. It lies in the Hope Valley, at the point where Peakshole Water flows into the River Noe. To the north, Win Hill and Lose Hill stand either side of the Noe....
and Castleton ran through Lodge Moor over Stanage Edge where passenger had to disembark, assisting coachmen to unharness the team of horses and manhandle coaches over the precipitous gritstone
Gritstone
Gritstone or Grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for paper and for grindstones to sharpen blades. "Grit" is...
escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
. Stanage Pole, a wooden stake some 20 ft (6.1 m). high erected at the brow of the hill, provides a way-mark to travellers in bad weather.
Long Causeway, as the turnpike is now called, followed the old Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
. It is widely believed that this track follows the line of a Roman road running from Templeborough
Templeborough
Templeborough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The area takes its name from the remains of the Roman fort found there which were mistakenly believed to be that of a Roman Temple.-Roman fort:...
to the fort at Navio (Brough-on-Noe), but archaeologists have cast doubt on this. During the early 19th century a section of the turnpike at Lodge Moor was lost when the three Redmires reservoirs
Redmires Reservoirs
The Redmires Reservoirs are a group of three reservoirs in Fulwood, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They are fed from the Hallam Moors by various small streams including Fairthorn Clough...
were built by 'Sheffield Waterworks', after obtaining an Act of Parliament authorising their construction and an aqueduct to Hadfield Dam, Crookes was completed in 1830.
The demise of the turnpikes
In 1893 the Totley TunnelTotley Tunnel
Totley Tunnel is a tunnel on the former Midland Railway Manchester-Sheffield line between Totley on the outskirts of Sheffield and Grindleford in Derbyshire, England. It was completed in 1893 and was the longest mainline railway tunnel within the United Kingdom that ran under land for its entire...
(6,230-yards/3.5 miles/5.7 km long) was completed on the former London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
railway beneath Totley Moor making it the longest mainline railway tunnel in England, and rail-travel superseded the old turnpike routes.