Spath is a small village located north of

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Staffordshire borough of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. The town is from Burton upon Trent via the A50 and the A38, from Stafford via the A51 ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. The village is on the River Tean and is separated from Uttoxeter by the

A50 road The A50 is a major trunk road in England between Warrington and Leicester; historically it was also a major route from London to Leicester. Route The current A50 runs south-east from Warrington via Junction 20 of the M6 motorway, M6, Knu ...

History

In UK railway history, Spath was on the now disused Churnet Valley Line, owned and operated by

North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a Great Britain, British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shro ...

. The village is notable as the site of the first automatic half barrier crossing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, which came into operation on 5 February 1961. The railway closed four years later and the road which crossed it via the automatic crossing is now gated. There is no remaining visible sign of the crossing. Spath was the original home of the Stevensons of Uttoxeter bus company.

Notes

Villages in Staffordshire Staffordshire Moorlands {{Staffordshire-geo-stub