Bridgehouses railway station was the terminal station of the

Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne. The Peak District formed a formidable barrier, and ...

from its opening in 1845 until the opening of the

Wicker Arches Wicker Arches form a long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare Wicker, which passes through the main arch of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheffi ...

, a long viaduct across the Don Valley, which supported the new Sheffield Victoria opened on 15 September 1851. On 1 January 1847 a half-mile connecting line to the

Wicker Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...

station of the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

had been constructed in order to increase goods traffic and enable wagon transfers. This short steeply graded line, enclosed within a tunnel for almost its entire length was known locally as the ''Fiery Jack.'' By this time the railway operating company had become the

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

, which in 1899 became the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

. From 1851 Bridgehouses became the company's terminal for goods and cattle traffic. It remained open for freight until 1965. The station was approached by a ramp from Nursery Street and on the opposite corner a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

was built. Originally named "The Manchester Railway Hotel" its frontage was damaged in the Sheffield Flood of 1864 and was rebuilt (look at the alignment to the main building). It was renamed "The Manchester Hotel" and in spring 2006, after a short period of closure, it became "The Harlequin", taking the name from a recently demolished pub which stood a short distance away in Johnson Street. Part of the station site is now used as a car park and part of the retaining wall along Nursery Street has been demolished to make way for the northern section of Sheffield's Inner Ring Road. It has been suggested that this retaining wall might have contained stones from

Sheffield Castle Sheffield Castle was a castle in Sheffield, England, constructed at the confluence of the River Sheaf and the River Don, possibly on the site of a former Anglo-Saxon long house, and dominating the early town. A motte and bailey castle had been ...

Before the building of the "Borough Bridge", which carries Corporation Street across the River Don to reach Nursery Street, passenger access to the station from the city area was by a footbridge, depicted by an unknown artist, . On the night of 11 March 1864, when the waters of the

Great Sheffield flood The Great Sheffield Flood was a flood that devastated parts of Sheffield, England, on 11 March 1864, when the Dale Dyke Dam broke as its reservoir was being filled for the first time. At least 240 people died and more than 600 houses were ...

poured over the bridge, a vast quantity of timber and debris came down with the force of a battering ram, and carried the footbridge away. A successor to this bridge is still standing adjacent to the new bridge which carries the Inner Ring Road over the River Don, although it is in need of restoration. The terminal was the subject of a BBC local television documentary ''"Engines must not enter the potato siding"'' which contained vintage film and memories from former railway workers and which was broadcast in November 1969 at the time of the rationalisation of goods traffic in the

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

area and the opening of the new Sheffield Freight Terminal in Brightside Lane. This was adjacent to the site of the former

locomotive sheds and yard. The potato siding was situated high above the road and had a wooden floor, fine for wagons and vans but as the title says, not locomotives.

The last mystery

The building of the Sheffield Inner Ring Road (Derek Dooley Way) through the site took away the last remains of the yard but left one mystery, the unsolved murder of Sheffield prostitute Michaela Hague. She was working in the area on 5 November 2001 when she picked up a customer in a car and went to the Bridgehouses station site. She was killed in a frenzied knife attack and although found by police alive, she died later in hospital."The Star", 6 November 2001

References

External links

'Engines Must Not Enter The Potato siding' on YouTube
{{Sheffield stations Disused railway stations in Sheffield Former Great Central Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1845 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1851 Woodhead Line 1845 establishments in England